Greg Dulcich Could Be The Answer at Tight End

Greg Dulcich Could Be The Answer at Tight End

During the Mike McDaniel Era, the Dolphins struggled to find consistent production at the tight end position. McDaniel’s offensive scheme necessitated that the position be talented at both receiving and blocking, with an emphasis on blocking. This led to talented receivers staying on the sideline, and the talented blockers never fully developed as pass catchers. 

When McDaniels first arrived, Miami had a number one tight end firmly established in Mike  Gesicki. Gesicki was coming off of back to back 700 plus yard seasons and the hope by many in the fanbase was that he could flourish in McDaniel’s system and become like San Francisco 49ers’ tight end George Kittle.

Unfortunately, that was not to be as Gesicki struggled to find the field in his lone season under McDaniel. When 2022 concluded, he had put up a putrid stat line of 32 receptions for 362 yards and 5 touchdowns. His inability to provide a consistent blocking presence made him primarily used near the goal line. The Dolphins would move on from Gesicki following the season. 

It wasn’t until 2024 that Miami finally found a tight end that could do it all in Jonnu Smith. Smith set a franchise record for a tight end with 88 receptions for 884 yards while adding 8 touchdowns. Easily the best season of his career and the best season we’ve ever seen out of a tight end. 

Unfortunately, with success came demands for higher pay, and the Dolphins didn’t want to give Smith a new contract, so they shipped him off to Pittsburgh as part of the Jalen Ramsey trade. 

They tried to fill the void at the position with former Pro Bowler Darren Waller. Waller had retired following the 2023 season and took a while to even find the field due to injuries in 2025. When he was healthy, he was great, finding the end zone 6 times on only 24 receptions.

Waller was rarely healthy, however, starting only 3 games and playing in 9. The experiment failed, and Waller’s future with the team is murky at best. His agent, Drew Rasenhaus, recently commented on his client’s future and a potential return to Miami while appearing on the WSVN Sunday Sports show with Josh Moser. 

“Certainly haven’t ruled anything out,” Rosenhaus said. “I can say that he will make it to free agency (Monday). I do anticipate that Darren will be a coveted player and one of the most sought-after tight ends in free agency. Darren had a rejuvenated season with the Dolphins. He was really productive. The games that he missed due to injury, fortunately, were not serious injuries, so he finished the season 100% healthy, and the year that he had last year and really projects to have an even bigger year.”

I find it unlikely that Waller will return to Miami, especially since they just re-signed Greg Dulcich. Dulcich signed with the Dolphins last August and spent the beginning of the season on the practice squad, only finding the field in the wake of Waller’s injuries. He started 3 games near the end of last season and provided a spark with a stat line of 26 receptions for 335 and 1 touchdown. 

He’s a talented player with great size at 6’ 4”, 245 pounds. He’s already shown that he has a solid work ethic, climbing his way onto the active roster from the practice squad. He’s also quite cheap with a cap hit of $3.11 million this season. He’s the ultimate low risk high reward player and could become an important part of the offense with new signal caller Malik Willis set to take over the reins.

I love that he’s been re-signed, he showed me that he’s the kind of player worth taking a flyer on after his performance last season and he could morph into the consistent starter we’ve been looking for.

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