Broncos’ youth have already deciphered an important lesson

The Denver Broncos entered the second week of offseason training activities Tuesday and there are certainly several new young faces running around at the UCHealth Training Center. There are endless storylines as the team hits the field in the spring but the most important thing for the rookies is getting acclimated to the championship roster.

Between workouts, studying film and heading home to hit their playbooks, there is a lot of work to do for the new players on the team. However, according to some, the biggest key is to emulate the veterans out at practice.

“Just follow their lead,” rookie safety Justin Simmons said Tuesday when asked about his biggest key the last two weeks. “Just really learning from under those guys and taking in what they already know that has made them great, putting myself, Will [Parks] and all the other young guys in position to help this team.”

The Broncos lost two starters on defense in particular but also several players that added depth in the recent free agency period. The youth of the roster, rookies included, will likely be a big key to the team’s success during the long season in which starters will, inevitably, go down with injuries. As OTAs continue, nine-year veteran Aqib Talib detailed the best way to get players familiar with the speed and complexity of the NFL game.

“Just have those guys with us,” he explained. “The more that those guys are out there with us and see it full speed, get thrown into the fire. That is the best way to learn it.”

Will Parks and Simmons, two safeties drafted this year, will immediately get chances to impact the roster. Shiloh Keo is the only other safety that played defensive snaps for the team in 2015.

Simmons and Parks are currently roommates and have learned a lot during their short time with the team by watching the example of the best defensive backfield in the league.

“They go about their business and that is kind of what I’m about,” Parks said following practice Tuesday. “Being in that group, that atmosphere, you can’t do anything but be motivated. Me and Justin [Simmons], we go behind them and we go out there and do the same thing.”

Of the Broncos on the current roster, there are just eight projected backups with four or more seasons of experience, mixed in among 31 rookies.

Even a rookie quarterback can learn something from a veteran on defense as Paxton Lynch pointed out Tuesday.

“I’m coming here to work every day and I’m learning from those guys who have been here before,” he said. “Those receivers, those offensive linemen and those defensive players. All of those vets. I take anything from them going forward.”

While there is constant competition among teammates, some players come into the NFL with too much confidence and a feeling of entitlement. Talib does not see that from the Broncos 2016 rookie class.

“They are definitely doing better and better in the classroom and they are bringing it to the field,” he said adamantly “These guys close their mouth, put their head down and they are definitely working, so that’s a start.”

The importance of the early work cannot be understated. As the regular season approaches, reps and opportunities will dwindle for many of the younger players on the roster. Watching the first group take snaps and then following them up with their own reps of equal intensity is a vital education for players like Simmons and Parks.

“Everything they do they do is at a high tempo, a high speed and if you don’t match that they get on you pretty quick,” Simmons declared. “Learning the defense at one position, coming into a new system is already a lot of work in itself. So, just for me, I’m just trying to get better daily, learn from the veteran guys, pick up any keys, any tips I can to improve so I’m ready for training camp.”

The Broncos OTAs have entered week two and already the youth of the roster seems to be picking up the importance of each day’s work, a staple head coach Gary Kubiak intentionally emphasizes from day one. While May practices may seem like no big deal to some, these players have watched and already learned firsthand from the best in the business. Now, they’re trying to take that next step as quickly as possible.