The Denver Broncos didn’t have a first-round pick this season. That’s because they turned that, Drew Lock, and Noah Fant into Russell Wilson. So, you can forgive them for having a somewhat lackluster 2022 NFL Draft class, at least from a fantasy football perspective. To be honest, they were pretty much set at all the fantasy football-relevant positions. Denver has Wilson, Javonte Williams & Melvin Gordon at running back, Albert Okwuegbunam at tight end, and a bevy of wide receivers (Jerry Jeudy, Cortland Sutton, Tim Patrick and K.J. Hamler). So, they only took two guys in the 2022 NFL Draft who could be relevant in fantasy football leagues. And, to be honest, I’m not entirely sure how relevant either will be this season. Let’s dive into Greg Dulcich and Montrell Washington!
FULL DENVER BRONCOS DRAFT RESULTS
| Rd. | Pick | Player | Pos. | College |
| 2 | 64 | Nik Bonitto | OLB | Oklahoma |
| 3 | 80 | Greg Dulcich | TE | UCLA |
| 4 | 115 | Damarri Mathis | DB | Pittsburgh |
| 4 | 116 | Eyioma Uwazurike | DE | Iowa St. |
| 5 | 152 | Delarrin Turner-Yell | S | Oklahoma |
| 5 | 162 | Montrell Washington | WR | Samford |
| 5 | 171 | Luke Wattenberg | OL | Washington |
| 6 | 206 | Matt Henningsen | DE | Wisconsin |
| 7 | 232 | Faion Hicks | CB | Wisconsin |
Round 3, Pick 80: Greg Dulcich, Tight End, UCLA (6’4” 243 lbs)
Depth Chart:
TE1: Albert Okwuegbunam
TE2: Greg Dulcich
TE3: Eric Tomlinson
TALENT
Dulcich is among the “blob” in this draft class at tight end. He has some warts (lateral agility and size) but he’s fast with good hands and is a willing blocker. I wanted to put a whole bunch of comparisons on him: T.J. Hockenson, maybe Mike Gesicki, but the height (and the short arms) just kept stopping me from doing it. But, he does remind me a lot of a former tight end who was consistently productive year after year: Delanie Walker. He’s a good YAC guy, who can stretch the field a bit, and he has good hands. Dulcich is also versatile enough to become a possession receiver should the Denver Broncos wide receiver room become decimated by injuries.
2022 OPPORTUNITY
Greg Dulcich will mostly dampen the fantasy football outlook of Albert Okwuegbunam in his rookie year, more than doing anything to breakout. Even if Albert O goes down with injury, Russell Wilson doesn’t particularly care to use his tight end, and Nathaniel Hackett doesn’t particularly care to highlight the position, either (Bob Tonyan’s unsustainable 2020 notwithstanding). That means that in the event of an Albert O injury, it’s more likely they pivot more to the wide receivers and tight ends than they funnel targets to his backup.
2022 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Dulcich could develop into a good end zone weapon for Russell Wilson in two-tight end sets, but that’s basically where his value lies this year. The Broncos could use him in a rotational way, and he could end with 400 yards and 7 touchdowns, potentially saving the bacon of fantasy football managers who want to stream tight end and whose roulette wheel lands on Dulcich through sheer touchdowns alone. That’s not what I want out of my tight end if I can help it.
TALENT
2022 OPPORTUNITY
2022 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Round 5, Pick 162 Overall: Montrell Washington, Wide Receiver, Samford (5’10” 170 lbs)
Depth Chart:
WR1: Courtland Sutton
WR2: Jerry Jeudy
WR3: Tim Patrick
WR4: K.J. Hamler
WR5: Montrell Washington
TALENT
Montrell Washington is indistinguishable from a half-dozen wide receivers in this draft who are too small (whether through height or weight) to do what they did in college, but who teams are going to jam into gadget roles because Deebo Samuel exists. Washington is a speedy guy, but ultimately, he is a gadget player. Samford used him a ton on sweeps and handoffs, which is probably the only way he gets on the field on offense. And if they do that, they’re going to get him killed and make him unable to do what he does best (special teams). Montrell Washington is basically Tavon Austin, but worse. The Broncos already have a guy who is small and fast, and better than Washington (K.J. Hamler) who they have to figure out how to use before they use Washington.
2022 OPPORTUNITY
Washington can (and should) be relegated to return man duties and rotational WR5 and gadget snaps. There isn’t enough here for him to matter for fantasy football.
2022 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Someone is going to overdraft him in your home league because he pops off for two long touchdowns in the fourth quarter of preseason games. Don’t be that guy. He’s purely a return man at this point.
TALENT
2022 OPPORTUNITY
2022 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
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