Next test for Broncos' Pat Surtain II? His ability to bounce back

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Rookie choky extremity Greg Dulcich has played successful lone 4 games for the Denver Broncos this play aft an extended betterment from an offseason hamstring injury. But successful those selected cameos, helium has shown helium tin determination the needle for a radical sorely successful request of much output.

"He's been truly special," backmost Russell Wilson said recently. "You know, erstwhile you've thrown arsenic galore footballs arsenic I've thrown for arsenic galore years arsenic you've thrown it, the archetypal 3 throws you tin tell, 'OK, he's got it. There's thing to it.'"

The illustration size is inactive reasonably small: 13 receptions for 193 yards. But for the league's worst scoring discourtesy (14.6 points per game), Dulcich has been a barometer for however things person gone for Denver implicit the past month. When Wilson gets him the shot -- arsenic helium did connected Dulcich's archetypal vocation drawback for a 39-yard touchdown against the Chargers -- oregon finds him capable -- similar the 87-yard time successful a London triumph implicit the Jacksonville Jaguars -- the discourtesy clicks better.

But if Dulcich gets little country to enactment oregon doesn't link capable -- similar his one-catch crippled Sunday successful a nonaccomplishment astatine Tennessee -- it's different indicator of a disjointed unit.

Dulcich did not signifier with the discourtesy until helium was designated to instrumentality connected Oct. 11. Since then, helium has made the interaction plays the Broncos person not had astir capable of arsenic a squad (Denver has 12 full touchdowns successful 9 games).

"I conscionable privation to support working," Dulcich said. "Every clip I spell retired determination and I privation to beryllium successful a presumption to contribute, to beryllium acceptable to lend ... I consciousness similar this squad is close, close there, if we tin conscionable cleanable immoderate things up, decorativeness plays. When I get the accidental I privation to decorativeness plays."

With wide receiver Tim Patrick connected injured reserve since the summer, and WRs KJ Hamler (hamstring) and Jerry Jeudy (ankle) besides presently question marks, the 3-6 Broncos are surely connected the hunt for passing-game interaction arsenic they get acceptable to big the 2-7 Las Vegas Raiders connected Sunday (4:05 p.m. ET, Fox).

Dulcich has that benignant of potential. In the archetypal 3 games of his vocation (against the Los Angeles Chargers, New York Jets and Jaguars) -- Dulcich had the champion yards per drawback full of immoderate NFL choky extremity astatine 15.5 yards per catch. And contempt missing 5 games, Dulcich is already 3rd among the league's rookie choky ends successful catches and yards receiving, down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Cade Otton and the Baltimore Ravens' Isaiah Likely.

Dulcich, a third-round prime successful this year's draft, initially started retired arsenic a walk-on wide receiver astatine UCLA, and that comfortableness level is casual to spot erstwhile helium has a walk wrong his drawback radius. He averaged 19.9 and 17.3 yards per catch, respectively, successful his past 2 seasons astatine UCLA.

"When I watched the assemblage portion coming out, you could spot the explosiveness and you could spot however creaseless helium was to the ball," said Broncos violative coordinator Justin Outten. " ... He truly doesn’t accidental much, but helium studies, helium prepares, you tin determination him a batch successful the discourtesy itself. You tin dispersed him out, enactment him successful enactment and I deliberation we tin grow arsenic we determination guardant with him."

The Broncos person spent astir of their clip connected discourtesy successful a three-wide receiver set, particularly implicit the past 4 games -- astatine slightest 44 three-WR snaps successful each of those games, including punishment snaps -- truthful Dulcich has divided clip with the different choky ends arsenic the Broncos person sputtered. In that process Albert Okwuegbunam, a fourth-round prime successful the 2020 draft, has been mostly displaced by Dulcich arsenic the receiving choky end.

Okwuegbunam has been a game-day inactive successful 3 of the past 4 games and was successful azygous Sunday successful Tennessee but did not play. The Broncos could pump up Dulcich's playing time, arsenic good arsenic others astatine the position, by leaning much toward immoderate of the bigger unit groupings, but manager Nathaniel Hackett has consistently cited Wilson's comfortableness level arsenic a important crushed successful playing the mode they person contempt the struggles.

But the operation of Dulcich and Okwuegbunam successful a two-tight extremity look hasn't truly been explored by the Broncos contempt its imaginable successful the passing game.

"We are trying to bash what we deliberation is close for the radical and inactive astatine the aforesaid clip premix immoderate of those bigger unit (groupings) successful and immoderate of those things successful determination to beryllium capable to tally the ball," Hackett said earlier this week.

"You conscionable enactment acceptable whenever they telephone your number," Dulcich said. "That's what I do."