Gregory Paul Dulcich ( hr, Dulčić; born March 26, 2000) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

and was twice an all-conference selection in the

Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

, including first-team honors in 2021. He was selected in the third round of the

2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...

Early years

Dulcich was born on March 26, 2000, and grew up in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...

. He attended Saint Francis High School in

La Cañada Flintridge LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

. As a junior, he had 30 receptions for 406 yards and four

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s. In his senior year, the Golden Knights reached the 2017

CIF Southern Section The California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section (CIF-SS) is the governing body for high school athletics in most of Southern California and is the largest of the ten sections that comprise the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF ...

Division III championship, losing 44–42 to

Rancho Verde High School Rancho Verde High School is one of three comprehensive high schools in the Val Verde Unified School District. The school is situated on 38 acres in the southern section of Moreno Valley, California. Rancho Verde represents a community of diverse ...

on a last-second

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

. During the season, Dulcich caught 50 passes for 1,168 yards and 12 touchdowns, and ran for another three touchdowns. He also made 21

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

on defense. Dulcich was ranked as a three-star

recruit __NOTOC__ Recruit can refer to: Military * Military recruitment * Recruit training, in the military * '' Rekrut'' (English: Recruit), a military recruit or low rank in German-speaking countries * Seaman recruit Books *''Le Réquisitionnaire'' (E ...

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and listed as the No. 78 recruit in California. He was initially recruited by

Derek Sage Derek Robert Sage (born October 11, 1978) is an American football coach. He the offensive coordinator and tight ends coach at University of Nevada, Reno, a position he has held since 2022. Early life Sage was born on October 11, 1978, in Ventur ...

, who was the receivers coach for

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

. However, Sage moved to UCLA, as did Dulcich.

College career

walk-on Walk On may refer to: Music * ''Walk On'', a 1994 album by Boston, and its title song Albums * ''Walk On'' (Boston album), 1994 * ''Walk On'' (John Hiatt album), 1995 * ''Walk On'' (Randy Johnston album), 1992 *''Walk On'', a 2007 album by ...

at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, Dulcich played three games as a freshman. He appeared in eleven games in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, playing on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

and as a receiver. His first touchdown with the Bruins was against

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

on September 7, 2019, when he had three receptions for 37 yards in a home loss at the Rose Bowl, about from his high school. In 2020, Dulcich was informed by UCLA on his 20th birthday that he was put on

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

. He had a breakout year that season, which was shortened by the

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, finishing with 26 receptions for 517 yards and five touchdowns. He led the team in both receiving yards and touchdowns, while finishing second in catches to

Kyle Philips Kyle Michael Philips (born June 17, 1999) is an American football wide receiver for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UCLA and was a first-team all-conference selection in the Pac-12 in ...

(38). Dulcich's averages of 19.88 yards per catch and 73.9 receiving yards per game both ranked second in the country among tight ends. He was targeted 18 times on vertical pass routes, catching nine for 321 yards and four touchdowns. Ranked sixth in the

in receiving yards per game, he was named second-team All-Pac-12. In

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, Dulcich was named to the preseason watch list for the

Mackey Award The John Mackey Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding tight end. Established in 2000 by the Nassau County Sports Commission, the award is given annually to the tight end who best exemplifies the play, sportsmanship, ac ...

, awarded to the best tight end in the nation. He had three catches for 117 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown, in a win over No. 16

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

. He logged a career-high nine catches for 136 yards in a loss to

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

, his third career game with 100 yards or more. He earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors and finished fifth in the conference in receiving yards per game with 60.4. Dulcich averaged 17.3 yards per catch, which ranked second among tight ends in the nation, and his 725 receiving yards ranked second on the team to Philips (739). He declared for the

NFL Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

after the season.

Professional career

Dulcich was selected by the

in the third round of the

with the 80th overall pick. He was the third tight end chosen in the draft. Bothered by a

hamstring In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury. In quadrupeds, ...

injury during most of training camp, he was placed on injured reserve on August 31, 2022. Dulcich was activated for a Week 6 matchup against the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, AB ...

, and caught a 39-yard touchdown from

Russell Wilson Russell Carrington Wilson (born November 29, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played his first 10 seasons for the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson is widely regarded ...

in his NFL debut. He finished his rookie season with 33 catches for 411 yards and two touchdowns in ten games, of which he started six.

Personal life

Dulcich is of Croatian descent through all four of his grandparents.

References

External links

Denver Broncos bioUCLA Bruins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dulcich, Greg 2000 births Living people Sportspeople from Glendale, California Players of American football from Los Angeles County, California American football tight ends American people of Croatian descent UCLA Bruins football players Denver Broncos players