AFC Notes: Greg Dulcich, Sean Payton, Steve Spagnuolo, Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs

Broncos

Broncos TE Greg Dulcich said he hopes to get healthy over the offseason after dealing with hamstring and foot injuries throughout the year. 

“The plan’s just going to be trying to get healthy and then just stay healthy and make sure I put this stuff behind me,” Dulcich said, via Mike Klis of 9News.

Dulcich said they are leaving “no stone unturned” on his recurring hamstring issues. 

“There’s a lot of factors, I think, that kinda could go into it, and that’s why we were trying to think of all the things and leave no stone unturned,” Dulcich said. “That was kind of the plan with, like, losing some weight — I mean, it worked, because my hamstring feels great, it was just [the foot].”

• Tony Pauline of Sportskeeda hears   the Broncos are eying quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL Draft and HC Sean Payton wants one of the top three prospects in USC’s Caleb Williams, North Carolina’s Drake Maye, or LSU’s Jayden Daniels. 
• Although Pauline said Denver is interested in moving up from No. 12 overall to acquire a quarterback, it appears unlikely given the cost required to trade up.
• The Broncos would likely have to part with star CB Patrick Surtain II, something they’re loathe to do except as a last resort, per Pauline. 

Chargers

Chargers executive John Spanos had high praise of new GM Joe Hortiz, calling him one of the “most respected” personnel executives in the league. 

“Joe is one of the most respected player evaluators and personnel minds in the league whose contributions to the Ravens front office over the past two decades cannot be overstated,” Spanos said, via ProFootballTalk. “When you consider his football IQ, eye for talent, ability to think both short and long term as it pertains to roster construction, organization, thoroughness and ability to be creative within the confines of our Collective Bargaining Agreement, it’s hard not to be excited about the future. Factor in his experience working with two of the best in the business in Ozzie Newsome and Eric DeCosta and the consistency of performance that their teams have achieved, Joe is without a doubt the right person to help coach Harbaugh and his staff build a team that will make Chargers fans proud.”

Hortiz is excited about his opportunity with Los Angeles after spending his entire 26-year career with the Ravens. 

“When you’ve had the privilege of working with one organization your entire career, something that’s exceedingly rare in our business, the opportunity and fit has to pretty much be perfect to consider a change,” Hortiz said. “This is that opportunity — the Chargers’ brand, the uniforms, foundational building blocks already on the roster, a new training facility, SoFi Stadium and a clear commitment from the Spanos family to dedicating every resource possible towards bringing a Lombardi trophy home to our fans; it’s all there. Then of course, having known the Harbaugh family for all these years and the chance to continue that special relationship in this new role, I truly could not be more fortunate.”

• James Palmer reports that the Chargers staff under new HC Jim Harbaugh is moving on from Director of Sports Performance Anthony Lomando.

Chiefs

Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo is deservedly receiving a lot of flowers for his game plan to shut down the Ravens and star QB Lamar Jackson, with players rocking T-shirts with Spagnuolo’s face on them after the game. Spagnuolo said the players deserved a lot of credit for executing on the field. 

“I’ve been trying to explain to people what we have,” Spagnuolo said via Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. “This is the highest number of defensive players with high intelligence with football I’ve had, and they’re really passionate. I’ve had really smart players before. Tyrann Mathieu and Anthony Hitchens. We’ve had a lot of smart people, but the amount of them now is unbelievable. Trent , LJ [L’Jarius Sneed], Nick [Bolton], Dru [Tranquill], Leo [Chanel].

“And they all love to play. Everybody has a guy that doesn’t get it, that makes all the mistakes. We don’t have any of those guys. That makes all the difference in the world.”