The Denver Broncos have an exciting young duo of tight ends in Greg Dulcich and Albert Okwuegbunam, but where do they rank among the AFC West?
The Denver Broncos have a fun young duo at the tight end position but how do Greg Dulcich and Albert Okwuegbunam stack up against the rest of the AFC West?
At this point, it’s probably fair to say this duo is the most unproven duo in the entire division.
Okwuegbunam was a backup last year and Dulcich was a third-round pick in this year’s draft.
It would be foolish to sit here and say the Broncos have the best tight end pairing in the entire division before these guys even take the field together but it’s a fun opportunity to look at the upside these two present as well as what the Broncos are up against in the talented AFC West.
Let’s look at the top two tight ends from each AFC West team, and rank them from worst (or most unproven) to best.
Where do Denver Broncos TEs stack up vs. the AFC West?
8. Noah Gray, Kansas City Chiefs
There was some pretty serious offseason hype for Kansas City Chiefs tight end Noah Gray in 2021, but the rookie barely made an impact.
He did have a clutch touchdown catch on fourth down against the Raiders worth noting…
First of many for Noah Gray! 😈
— Duke Football (@DukeFOOTBALL) November 15, 2021
📺 @SNFonNBC #DukeInTheNFLpic.twitter.com/Q9yNxbBYr6
Noah Gray was a day three pick out of Duke but his overall athletic traits had a lot of Chiefs fans excited about the potential of him stepping into a prominent and dare I say relevant TE2 role behind Travis Kelce.
Maybe we’ll see more of that in 2022. For now, Gray is mostly upside and that’s okay. He has a chance to become a bigger weapon in year two.
7. Greg Dulcich, Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos, as I previously stated, have the most unproven duo of tight ends in the division.
That doesn’t mean a player like Greg Dulcich is going to be stuck in this slot all year long.
Dulcich has a chance to rise up this list rather quickly, as a matter of fact.
I think he’s got the opportunity and ability to not only play a prominent role for the Denver Broncos this season but maybe take over the TE1 role before too long.
Dulcich is a big-bodied tight end with some outstanding hands and big-play ability downfield.
He was the talk of most of OTAs and has a chance to be one of the league’s breakout players at the position in 2022.
6. Donald Parham, Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers may not have the most notable duo of tight ends in the NFL, but Donald Parham is kind of a fascinating piece for them.
Parham has just 30 receptions over the last two seasons, but six of them went for touchdowns and the QB rating when throwing to Parham is off the charts (over 120 since 2020).
Parham is 6-foot-8 and a serious mismatch in the passing game but the Chargers need to give him a higher volume of work to get him higher on this kind of list. For now, I think Parham is a fine secondary option in the passing game.
5. Albert Okwuegbunam, Denver Broncos
Albert O. has got to go out there and prove himself as a true TE1 before earning that kind of distinction.
The Broncos have to love the athletic upside Okwuegbunam brings to the table. We’ve seen him do some great things and there’s no question that when he’s playing well, he’s tough to cover.
Heading into his third NFL season, following the Russell Wilson trade, Albert Okwuegbunam stock has probably never been higher.
He will have to fend off Greg Dulcich for more snaps but Okwuegbunam could benefit greatly from having Russell Wilson around.
With his size, athleticism, and speed, Okwuegbunam is a mismatch at every level of the field.
4. Gerald Everett, Los Angeles Chargers
After starting off his career with the Los Angeles Rams and then moving to the Seattle Seahawks, veteran Gerald Everett will now make his way back to Los Angeles to catch passes from Justin Herbert.
Presumably as the team’s TE1.
Everett has been a solid pass-catching tight end in the NFL for a long time now and he brings consistency to the table in that regard.
He scored a career-high four touchdown passes last season in Seattle where Russell Wilson was his primary quarterback.
3. Foster Moreau, Las Vegas Raiders
This might seem like a hot take but Foster Moreau is in a contract year for the Las Vegas Raiders, and he might be someone’s TE1 in the 2023 offseason.
Unfortunately for him, if he has another good season, the franchise tag for tight ends is actually not that bad for teams.
Moreau’s numbers and blocking at the position since 2019 speak for themselves:
- 58 receptions
- 10 touchdowns
- 11.8 yards per reception
- 74.4 catch percentage
Moreau has played a TE2 role with the Raiders behind Darren Waller, but he’s not a typical backup. He’s a stud who should be starting for someone.
2. Darren Waller, Las Vegas Raiders
Since he was the latest big-bodied receiver out of Georgia Tech once upon a time, Darren Waller has really established himself as one of the top pass-catching tight ends in all of football.
Waller averages almost 1,200 yards and six touchdowns per 17 games and his touchdown opportunities could continue to just go up.
He’s a mismatch with his size, he’s a mismatch with his speed, and he can make plays on the ball in contested catch situations.
We heard from Vic Fangio a variety of times over the last three years what an athletic marvel Darren Waller is at the position.
He’s one of the toughest tight ends to cover in the league.
1. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
Travis Kelce is the best tight end in the league right now.
Debate a wall, as they say.
Kelce cranks out 1,000-yard seasons like clockwork. He’s got six in a row and he was over 800 receiving yards the two years before that.
This guy is an absolute machine and is unquestionably one of the most dynamic players at the position in the entire NFL.
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He does everything well, and he’s one of the most hated players in Broncos Country for a reason. Nobody likes this guy because the Broncos have yet to employ anyone that can stop him.