Broncos Minicamp Observations: A concern for the offense as the offseason program wraps up

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — It’s quite common for one legendary quarterback to be in attendance at a Denver Broncos practice and it’s not out of the ordinary for two legendary quarterbacks to be at a Denver Broncos practice, but it’s pretty rare to see three legendary quarterbacks at a Denver Broncos practice.

That was the case on Wednesday as John Elway, Peyton Manning and Archie Manning all manned the sidelines side by side at the UC Health Training Center. No pressure, Drew and Joe.

Additionally, legendary Denver defensive coordinator Joe Collier, the team’s longest-tenured coach of all time, joined the group in what was a start-studded cast of guests.

What made it even more special is that Peyton and Archie both took a second to chat up the Denver quarterbacks on the field between reps during 7-on-7 drills, we can only assume whatever they said was meaningful.

Between the lines, though, there were some ups and downs on both sides, here’s what we saw.

Snap out of it

What originally looked like a mishap here and there had now become a concern for the Broncos offense.

Connor McGovern, the man tasked with replacing the formidable Matt Paradis, is having real trouble getting his snaps into the sweet spot when Joe Flacco is standing in the shotgun.

Multiple times during Wednesday’s practice, McGovern missed the mark badly, including a set of two plays in a row where one ball went rolling right by Flacco and the other he was forced to pick off of his shoe tops.

This could be brushed off as rust if this wasn’t also a repetitive issue for McGovern last year. At this point, it’s a full-blown concern.

To make things worse, his misses are almost always low, which any quarterback will tell you is worse than high. When the snap is high, so long as it doesn’t go right over the QB’s head, they can still see the defense in their peripherals, and you’ll even see some quarterbacks catch the ball without looking at it at all. When the snap is low, the quarterback is forced to look straight down, meaning they are losing all of their vison of the field.

When you have a good center, as the Broncos have for years, you start to take good snaps for granted, but nothing can derail a play before it even gets going quite like a bad snap.

Freeing up space

While all eyes have, rightfully so, been focused on the recovery of Pro-Bowl runningback Phillip Lindsay this offseason, another now-fully-recovered back has been taking advantage of his additional reps.

After struggling a bit to regain his form after suffering a high-ankle sprain in the middle of last season, Royce Freeman looks like the guy the Broncos thought he could be when the selected him in the third round. In fact, he looks even faster than he looked at his peak last season.

While Lindsay will certainly be a centerpiece of the offense, as offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello called him “one of the great assets of the organization” and “one of the more dynamic players in this league,” don’t count out Freeman as a big part of the running game. The Oregon product’s combination of size, speed, and quickness make him a great fit for Denver’s zone-running scheme.

On multiple plays the last two days, Freeman has displayed his ability to get the ball, diagnose the running lanes and burst through them and into the open space, showing both times that his size does not preclude his elusiveness.

Under pressure

It has been stated multiple times now that Joe Flacco is very clearly the best quarterback on the roster right now, and nowhere else is that more clear than when he is faced with pressure, something all four quarterbacks have seen a lot of over the last two days.

With both Garret Bolles and Ju’Wuan James having trouble with Von Miller and Bradley Chubb, respectfully, Flacco was faced with pressure for most of the day on Wednesday, but his veteran presence was on display throughout, as he had no problem seeing the pressure, feeling the pressure and finding his outlet.

One thing that has been really impressive about Flacco is how calm he looks in these situations. Maybe he’s been forced to learn it because running isn’t exactly an option for him, but on many occasions, he has seen the pressure, taken one or two steps to buy an extra half second and delivered a calmly-thrown ball to the flat or to an outlet in the middle of the field. You never see him panic.

If Flacco can bring that demeanor to the field on Sundays, it will have a calming effect of the offense as a whole, something multiple players have already said he brings due to his experience at the top of the mountain.

Other notes

• Drew Lock had an up and down day, highlighted by multiple downfield throws that got to the receiver on a frozen rope. On one throw to tight end Bug Howard 25 yards down the field, it hit him in the chest so hard that it made the pop sound that you hear when players are wearing pads. Howard, though, was not wearing pads.
  • On the other side of things, Lock had three interceptions on the day while forcing throws with pressure bearing down on him, something he was clearly disappointed in.
  • Lock had more reps with the second team than he’s had at any other practice this year.
• Joe Flacco had the throw of the day when he found Courtland Sutton in the end zone 50 yards down the field with a perfect drop into the bucket. What was crazy about it is it barely looked like Flacco tried to throw the ball that far.
  • Sutton had multiple touchdown catches on the day as he continues to build a rapport with Flacco.
• Bradley Chubb is a bad man.
• Malik Reed continues to stand out, making plays and causing pressure each and every day while running with the second and third teams.
• Todd Davis had a pick-six just one day after missing practice due to the birth of his child.
• Wide receiver Aaron Burbridge continues to make plays on offense.
• Ju’Wuan James made his fellow offensive lineman proud when he caught a tipped ball and ran for a first down on third-and-short. He looked quite athletic in the process, too.
• Brandon McManus smashed the windshield of a team employee with a field goal that soared far through the uprights.
• Overall, the defense won the day for the second time in a row.