Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton has a philosophy: Slow to hire, quick to fire. That philosophy has more to do with the coaching staff, but it's applicable in the situation with former Denver Broncos 3rd-round pick Greg Dulcich, who is now a member of the Miami Dolphins.
When Payton was hired by the Broncos in 2023, Dulcich simply wasn't able to get on the field very much. He appeared in two games that season as he dealt with injuries, and he wasn't able to play the position the Broncos and Payton needed or wanted him to when he got another chance in 2024.
After the first four games of the 2024 season, it became clear to pretty much everyone in Broncos Country that Dulcich wasn't cutting it. Both as a receiver and blocker, he appeared to be a liability. And given his injury issues in the past on top of it all, the Broncos decided to take the "quick to fire" route with the third-year player.
Since the Broncos made that decision, Dulcich has done a great job of proving them wrong for letting him go.
Greg Dulcich appears to be thriving with the Miami Dolphins after premature exit from Denver Broncos
Very quietly in the 2025 season, Dulcich caught 26 passes for 335 yards in 10 games with the Dolphins. He spent some time on their practice squad before getting called up, and is now looking like he could be a featured weapon in offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik's offense.
A @Greg_Dulcich one-handed catch for your Friday 🙂↕️✋ pic.twitter.com/vwjVbbPivr
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) May 29, 2026
It's expected to be a major rebuilding year for the Dolphins, who are on the Broncos' schedule on December 6, but that provides the perfect opportunity for Dulcich to prove himself.
One report out of Miami indicates that Dulcich is quickly becoming the #1 target for new quarterback Malik Willis...
As frustrating as Dulcich's time with the Broncos was, part of the reason for that tension was the fact that he showed so much tremendous upside as a rookie in Denver back in 2022. The Broncos got Dulcich involved in a Monday night game against the Chargers, his first game in the NFL, and he was an immediate difference maker.
Another game that really stands out from that season is the team's victory in London over the Jaguars, where Dulcich showed his big play abilities on a number of occasions.
The Broncos cut Dulcich in the middle of his 3rd NFL season. And he had to work his way back onto the field over a longer period of time both with the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins, but his emergence with the Dolphins isn't really a surprise at all. Sometimes guys just need a change of scenery, but most importantly, they have to have a clear vision from the coaching staff in charge of them.
And while Nathaniel Hackett famously pounded the table for Dulcich, it doesn't appear as though Payton and his staff shared that sentiment. The Broncos have struggled -- to say the least -- to identify a consistent threat at the tight end position. They misused Evan Engram last season after signing him to a big-money free agent deal, which should give us an indication of what the common denomenator is in all of this -- Payton's staff.
As outstanding as they have been in so many different ways, Payton is also the first person who will tell you that one of the things he hates when it comes to team building is the idea that they would have someone on their team, their practice field, their meeting rooms, who they ultimately let go and he finds success somewhere else.
That's the type of moment that will cause you to look in the mirror and do some self reflection.
And it might also be a reason why a player like Drew Sanders is still on the team at this point. Even though it feels like the former 3rd-round pick's roster chances are hanging by a thread, it's also important to remember that you believed in the guy enough to take him in the 3rd round for a reason.
Dulcich was still a young, developing player when the Broncos had him. Injuries piled up and prevented him from showing his progression. But the Broncos' decisions to choose certain players at the position instead of him are looking worse by the day.
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