Editor’s note: Welcome into one of many, many BSN Denver observation pieces to come this offseason. A fan favorite in the past, these stories will be posted after each and every training camp practice. Who is standing out, who is lagging behind and who is looking like the favorite in each of the position battles? Those questions and many more will be answered right here.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — They’re baaaaaaaackkkkk.

The sweet smells of freshly-cut grass and sunscreen filled the air at the UC Health Training Center on Saturday morning as 3,417 Orange & Blue-clad fans flocked in droves to see the Denver Broncos take the field for the first training camp practice of 2018.

As the team took the field, it was the veterans like Von Miller and Case Keenum who drew the loudest praise from the crowd, but as practice wore on, it was the young guns who stole the show.

Here’s what BSN Denver saw as we took in each and every play of the day.

Suttonly Famous

He’s big, he’s fast, he’s physical and his hands appear to be made of flypaper. Grab yourself a seat on the Courtland Sutton hype train, because demand has ticket prices rising faster than flights to Cabo during Spring Break.

If you poked your head into any media conversation on the sidelines at Dove Valley on Saturday, you heard Courtland Sutton’s name, as he consistently impressed on the day.

“I love him,” former Broncos wide receiver Mark Jackson told me.

“I really like him,” added another former Denver receiver, Brandon Stokley.

What may be most encouraging sign of all of this is that Sutton didn’t win the day with a couple of big plays or any eye-popping grabs, he did it with consistency, usually a rookie’s worst enemy.

The rookie did have some nice moments, including plucking a Case Keenum pass that looked way outside without even having to leave his feet from in between double coverage. Later, the 6-foot-3, 218-pound receiver tossed Brendan Langley—who was playing press coverage—off of him as if Langley was a sweaty dress shirt after a summer wedding, drawing oohs and ahhs from the crowd in the process.

In the end, though, it was the amount of times I wrote his name down in my notebook (9) that was most impressive to me.

Just a few months after he was selected in the second round of the NFL Draft, The notions of Sutton being a “raw prospect” have faded away.

“Everyday I come out, and I try to get one percent better, even in the offseason,” Sutton told BSN Denver of his improvements. “So, I would say that I am getting better every single day because I find something new in my game that I can get better at. I know that I’m not a perfect wide receiver so there’s always something I can get better at. That’s why you probably see those improvements from when I got drafted to this point and from my last game as a Mustang to this point. I’m consistently trying to work on my craft, so I can be the best version of myself that I can be.”

“I think that’s overstated when your talking about a big body like Courtland and his catch radius,” head coach Vance Joseph added  There are not very many big guys who are great route runners, but they are great receivers because of their body… Obviously, he’s going to improve his route running—all young guys do—but until he does, his body and catch radius are going to win for him. That’s not a concern for us, that’s overstated.”

In true Courtland Sutton fashion, he later told me that his catch radius will only get better as his route running improves.

One of the ways he’s working to improve is by following Demaryius Thomas around like a puppy. Any time I looked to the sideline when neither of them were on the field, I would find Sutton right there next to Thomas, talking his ear off.

“Man, I’m trying to learn as much as I possibly can from him,” Sutton said. “We were laughing earlier today about this being his ninth training camp, and I was like, ‘Man, that’s a blessing right there.’ He has so much knowledge from playing that many years. He’s had guys that he’s played with, “The Sherrif” has been his quarterback. He has so much knowledge, and I would be crazy to not try to sit there and soak up as much knowledge as I possibly can from him.”

If things continue on this path, it’s going to be hard for the Broncos to keep No. 14 off the field come September.

Other young players who stood out

• Phillip Lindsay had a great day and drew big-time praise after practice from his teammates.
• Bradley Chubb played well in his first camp practice.

Quarterback Coaster

It’s not uncommon in football for the offense to take a bit longer to get into the groove of things than the defense when training camp opens, and Saturday’s practice for the Broncos ‘O’ was a perfect example of that.

All three quarterbacks had their good and bad moments, and all three looked to be shaking off a bit of rust on the first day of camp.

Here’s what we saw from each quarterback, in order of their performance quality.

Case Keenum

Of all three quarterbacks, Keenum certainly had the best day, which is obviously what you want to hear every day if you’re a Broncos fan.

After a slow start, Keenum finally got hot in the second team period when he and Emmanuel Sanders—who not so coincidentally spent time working together during the summer—began to build chemistry.

First, Keenum ripped a 20-yard ball from inside a collapsing pocket to hit a sliding Sanders for a first down. Then, on the very next play, Keenum dropped back and, in a clean pocket this time, found Sanders running free up the left sideline and dropped the ball perfectly in the basket for a 50-yard touchdown.

On the day, Keenum was at his best while using the middle of the field an area in which he excelled last season—his quarterback rating coming in at nearly 40 points above the league average—and the Broncos, well, didn’t. He consistently found Sanders, Sutton and others in the middle, gaining easy years in the process.

Also of note with Keenum, after nearly every play, he sought out his receiver or intended receiver and gave them an “atta boy,” once again putting the leadership we’ve heard so much about on display.

Paxton Lynch

Stop me if you’ve heard this before—Paxton Lynch had a day full of high highs and low lows.

Okay, can I keep going now?

Lynch started the day very hot, finding, of all people, Isaiah McKenzie multiple times for big plays, the last of which, a rainbow of a 50-yard touchdown to the speedster who has shown himself to be more of an offensive threat this year since OTAs.

The third-year QB also hit rookie wideout DaeSean Hamilton for a 40-yard bomb later in the practice.

Unfortunately for Lynch, all of his good was matched with bad. Early on, he was nearly intercepted by Bradley Chubb, who would have sent the fans in attendance into a frenzy had he come down with it. Later, Zach Kerr got his mitt on a pass and sent it straight up into the air where Shaq Barrett was waiting to haul in the first interception of camp. Lynch also was nearly picked by Will Parks while looking for Sutton down the sideline. The safety would have likely come down with the ball had he not run into a teammate who was also in position to bring it in.

In the end, while he did look comfortable out there, it was much of the same for Paxton, who was far too inconsistent and had far too many balls deflected at the line—both Jeff Holland and Derek Wolfe also got their hands on a Lynch pass.

Chad Kelly

To be honest, there isn’t much to say about Chad Kelly’s day. He didn’t do anything that was great; he didn’t do anything that was terrible. For the most part, aside from the accuracy drill (read below) he was just there.

It’s to be seen whether or not performances like that will help or hurt his status in the backup quarterback battle, but Saturday was certainly underwhelming from an entertainment point of view.

Accuracy Drill

In what has become a media favorite this offseason, the three quarterbacks stand 20 yards away from a net that had three small nets in the middle of it and are told by a coach which way to roll in the pocket as well as which of the three pockets to aim for.

In the drill, both Keenum and Kelly hit their target multiple times, tying for the “win,” while Lynch failed to his hit target once.

Health and Availability Notes

• Both Carlos Henderson and Jimmy Williams were not present for the start of camp, as expected.
• Both Josey Jewell and Kenny Bell missed the first practice of camp with hamstring issues. Jordan Taylor (hips) was the only other Broncos to miss practice; he is currently on the PUP list.
• Jared Veldheer, Ron Leary and Troy Fumagalli and Clinton McDonald all participated in practice on the day after missing most of the offseason.
• Of course, as expected, Shane Ray was back on the field.

Other Observations

• Isaiah McKenzie had a nice first day, hauling in multiple passes and looking comfortable returning punts.
• Speaking of punts, McKenzie, Phillip Lindsay, River Cracraft, Philly Brown and Brendan Langley appear to be the players vying for the starting PR spot.
• It’s hard to evaluate running backs, especially bigger backs, before the pads come on, but Royce Freeman failed to make much of an impact on the day.
• Peyton Manning was on hand for the practice. He and John Elway spent a large chunk of the practice together. Elway, who is usually very stoic on the sidelines, was absolutely mucking it up with Manning, having a grand old time.