ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Broncos Country got its first look at the 2024 Denver Broncos on Friday.
Friday’s practice, the third of Broncos Camp, was the first of 16 practices that fans are welcome to attend.
“Anytime people are watching, I think it brings out—there’s a little bit more of a competitive environment,” head coach Sean Payton said after practice. “Especially when you have a good turnout like we did. When you’re practicing on that field [near the fans], I think it gets competitive.”
The fans were there to see rookie quarterback Bo Nix.
When Nix appeared out of the locker room, they cheered. When he ran to the sideline and hyped them up, they cheered louder. When he completed passes during the walkthrough, they popped.
Nix didn’t have his best day, but there was tension in the air whenever he let go of a ball.
“I really haven’t paid much attention to the fan favorite,” Payton said, when asked about the reaction to Nix. “I want the fan favorite to be someone that wins for us.”
Friday’s practice was the longest yet, lasting about two hours. The practice featured a third-down emphasis, the first extended situational work of camp.
The Broncos will hit the practice field again on Saturday before their first off day on Sunday. From there, they’ll practice every day but Sundays until the first preseason game, Aug. 10.
Quarterback Scoreboard
The biggest question entering Friday’s practice was whether Zach Wilson would get his turn in the captain’s seat. The Broncos are rotating their quarterbacks through the starting spot day-by-day, and Wilson was next up.
But Payton was noncommital on Thursday when asked if Wilson would play with the starters. The Broncos also held their first personnel meeting—a chance to evaluate practice and decide who deserves reps with starters, backups and reserves—Thursday night.
All of a sudden, a possibility that the competition could be whittled down to two existed.
But Wilson got his day with the starters, leaving Jarrett Stidham and Bo Nix to work with the backups.
While Wilson didn’t help his chances to win the starting job on Friday, neither did the Broncos’ other quarterbacks.
Zach Wilson: D+
Other than finding tight end Lucas Krull in the middle of the field for at least 15 yards, Wilson had a tough time in seven-on-sevens. Cornerbacks Ja’Quan McMillian and Damarri Mathis each deserve credit for suffocating coverage when they were targeted.
Wilson was sacked repeatedly and pressured from all angles, so he didn’t get many throws off during team drills.
For what it’s worth, Wilson has been sacked often on all three days. He seems to hold the ball longer than the other two quarterbacks. That’s something to keep an eye on.
Wilson converted a few third downs on short throws to Greg Dulcich, Michael Bandy and Marvin Mims Jr. On one 3rd & 9, he tried a short pass to Bandy but left the ball way behind his receiver. Maybe he saw cornerback Riley Moss waiting upfield to jump into the play to make a hit.
Jarrett Stidham: D+
For the first time in camp, Stidham wasn’t sharp.
His first pass of the day came in seven-on-sevens, and Moss broke it up. He completed a few of his seven-on-seven attempts, but they were all short gains.
Stidham found Tim Patrick for two curls, one of which was at least 10 yards downfield. He found Devaughn Vele in the middle of the field to convert a 3rd & 10.
He also missed Courtland Sutton, who was wide open 20 yards down the middle of the field. He missed Patrick near the boundary with Kris Abrams-Draine in position. He had a ball swatted away from Lucas Krull by Justin Strnad. He tried a deep shot to Phillip Dorsett, but Mathis was in tight coverage and the pass was overthrown.
When you’re living in the short areas of the field, you need a high batting average. For the first time in camp, Stidham had too many misses to call it a solid day.
Bo Nix: D
The worst throw of training camp belongs to Bo Nix.
The rookie tried to drive a ball to the sticks on the sideline on 3rd & 5. Cornerback Reese Taylor lurked and lept, but dropped the interception. The second-year cornerback should have had the first pick of camp.
During seven-on-sevens, Nix got off to a hot start. The ball wasn’t hitting to ground. A corner route to David Sills for 20 yards was the highlight. On his last throw, Nix went for the heat check. He targeted wideout Troy Franklin deep down the boundary but overthrew the rookie, just like he did on Wednesday during team drills. Second-year cornerback Art Green was in good position.
Nix had a few other rough moments. He stepped up into second-year edge rusher Thomas Incoom‘s arms for a sack. He led Greg Dulcich too far outside on an out route. He rushed a throw to Josh Reynolds on a dig, giving the wideout no chance to make the play.
Nix wasn’t helped by his offensive line. He was under constant duress. His receivers didn’t help either, like when Franklin couldn’t bring in a high ball on a hitch that should have been caught.
Outside of seven-on-sevens, Nix only hit short throws to guys like Nate Adkins, Brandon Johnson, and Michael Bandy, who had a very good day.
If Nix hadn’t thrown the ball that should have been intercepted and had hit Franklin on the deep ball in seven-on-sevens, he would have earned high marks. We’d be asking if Nix had taken control of the competition.
But, in a small sample size, the results weren’t great.
I’m still not worried about Nix. He’s only three training camp practices into his career. There’s plenty of time left for him to prove that he can be a capable starter.
My timeline looks something like this:
Turn the tides by Monday’s practice, which should be his day in the starting lineup, and Nix will be in great shape. He doesn’t need to be perfect. A sharp practice—similar to what he did consistently during spring practices—would be plenty. Some explosive plays would be ideal.
But if Nix hasn’t found a rhythm by Thursday—the next time he should be in the starting lineup after Monday—I’m going to start getting antsy about his chances to start Week 1.
But we have a lot of football to watch between now and then, so there’s no need to read too deeply into a couple dozen throws over these first three practices.
GPAs
Average of daily grades.
Stidham: 2.1 (C)
Wison: 1.7 (C-)
Nix: 1.3 (D+)
Baron Browning leads a dominant pass rush
The story of the day—if the story can be anything other than the quarterbacks during a quarterback competition—was the pass rush.
And Baron Browning was the leader.
He combined for a sack with Alex Singleton. (Jaleel McLaughlin, a smaller back, wasn’t able to keep Singleton from the quarterback.)
On the next play, he beat Mike McGlinchey for another pressure.
He might have had another sack after beating Garett Bolles around the edge. At the very least, he would have had a blindside hit on Wilson.
And Browning wasn’t the only pass rusher making noise.
Zach Allen beat Luke Wattenberg up the middle on one play.
Ronnie Perkins led the way when a bunch of Broncos combined for a sack.
Thomas Incoom had another sack, when Bo Nix stepped into his arms.
Tight end Greg Dulcich gave up a couple of pressures; one to Durell Nchami and one to Jaylon Allen.
And Nik Bonitto is due back from a minor injury for Saturday’s practice, according to Sean Payton.
All of a sudden, the Broncos have a few pass rushers vying for the fifth spot in the rotation. Through three days, I have Nchami and Incoom leading the way, with Perkins entering the conversation today.
The cornerbacks step up
You might have noticed in the quarterback section, but just about every cornerback made a notable play on Friday.
I’ll add one more name to that list: Pat Surtain II.
The Broncos’ star cornerback got into the backfield and blew up two different running plays. Two.
I don’t think there’s a clear leader for the second starting boundary cornerback job. All of the likely candidates have made plays. While a couple of strong plays early in camp don’t guarantee a big season for anybody, it’s a sign that the Broncos should have at least one good option by Week 1.
I’ve enjoyed watching Riley Moss in particular. He’s a hawk in zone coverage. He’s patient. He knows where the sticks are. He knows how to bait a throw. He hasn’t been able to turn those instincts into ball production yet, but he looks like a veteran. He’s always in control.
And we need a shoutout to Reese Taylor, too. The depth cornerbacks have made some plays, but none have been as impressive as Taylor’s play on his near-interception of Bo Nix. The athleticism was on full display.
Garett Bolles wants to be a Bronco
With one year—and no guaranteed money—remaining in left tackle Garett Bolles’ contract, he made it clear where he stands on Friday.
“I love this city and I love this organization,” Bolles said. “I want to play my whole career here. The front office knows that. They know I want to be a Bronco for life.”
Bolles has only played for the Broncos. Both of his kids were born in Denver. The third is on the way, and she’ll be born in Denver, too.
“My job is to just play good football and the ball is in their court,” he said. “I just have to do my job and the rest will take care of itself.”
Bolles is already 32, but Payton thinks he has another gear in him.
“He’s a tremendous athlete,” he said. “He’s extremely athletic. You don’t feel eight years (of experience). Sometimes you feel that when you work with a player, other times you don’t. I don’t feel that with him.”
For our full story on Garett Bolles, click here.
Fans Arrive
- Cody Barton and Jonas Griffith each made plays on the first day of camp, which was a hot start to the inside linebacker competition. Justin Strnad, the dark horse in the race, narrowed the gap with a sharp pass breakup on Friday.
- The punter competition doesn’t get much attention, but Trenton Gill (the underdog competing with Riley Dixon) fired the first shot on Friday. He bounced a ball inside the five-yard line from about 50 yards out, allowing Tremon Smith to dive into the end zone to knock the ball out to Michael Bandy, who downed it at the three-yard line. Remember, special teams plays like these loom large on cutdown day, and Smith makes as many as anybody on the roster.
- Teams rarely keep three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster these days, but the Broncos could be in a rare situation in which carrying three makes sense. Payton was asked about keeping three and said: “Possibly. Possibly. Good question. Possibly.”
- Pat Surtain II is taking on an increased leadership role this year, and he’s enjoying it. “I think I’ve been taking that role well. That new role is something that I love to be in.”
- Surtain is excited to have fellow Alabama alum Levi Wallace competing for the vacant starting cornerback job. “He’s provided a great presence to our secondary room. His experience—I think this is Year [7] for him. Going into it, he knows a lot about the game, a lot about X’s and O’s. It helps a lot because when you have a veteran presence in the defensive back room it helps your game for sure.”
- Safety Brandon Jones left practice early with a tweaked hamstring. Payton: “We’ll evaluate and see where he’s at. We’ll get a follow up and see how significant it is.”
- Seventh round rookie offensive lineman Nick Gargiulo returned to practice on Friday, after missing Thursday’s practice.
- Country star Kenny Chesney attended Friday’s practice. Payton, who has known Chesney for more than two decades, wanted to gift him a custom jersey. Chesney wore No. 7 in high school, which created difficulty. “Seven is kind of a special number here.”
