Welcome to Quarterback Scoreboard!
Each day of Denver Broncos training camp we’ll tell you everything you need to know about practice, starting with the competition for the starting quarterback job. Practices are scheduled for every day except Sundays until preseason games start. Fans can attend starting on Friday.
The Broncos held their first practice of the season on Wednesday, but it was quick. The practice lasted about 75 minutes and included only two competitive periods.
Head coach Sean Payton decided to begin camp with an “acclimation period,” which builds toward longer practices—typically double the length of Wednesday’s practice—over the next few days.
While Wednesday’s practice didn’t include as much action as next Wednesday’s will, there’s still plenty to talk about.
Let’s dig in…
Check out our Day 2 notes here.
Quarterback Scoreboard
The Broncos appear poised to rotate all three quarterbacks—Jarrett Stidham, Bo Nix and Zach Wilson—through the starting lineup. Stidham got the start on Wednesday.
Each quarterback had four snaps in seven-on-sevens and four snaps of 11-on-11s. That means about six passing plays each. And much of the work came in heavy personnel, which led to plenty of check-downs to tight ends.
The result: a lackluster, small-sample-size day from the Broncos’ quarterbacks.
I’m not reading too much into today’s practice as far as quarterbacks go. They had very few opportunities to make plays. I doubt the coaches will read too much into today either.
Jarrett Stidham: C+
If you wanted to complain about Stidham, you’d point to a missed pass that was behind Phillip Dorsett a few yards upfield. Three defenders were bearing down on the 31-year-old receiver, so the missed pass would only cost about three yards in a game situation.
Unfortunately, three-yard gains were the theme. Stidham found Adam Trautman for a short gain on the right sideline. He found Jaleel McLaughlin for a short gain in the middle of the field. He found Tim Patrick on a quick out on the left sideline.
The only decent gain that Stidham sparked was a dump-off to Greg Dulcich on play-action, who had room to run for a first down or more in a game situation.
I’m not concerned about Stidham’s day, but it was highlight-free.
Zach Wilson: C-
Wilson’s grade depends heavily on how you weight one play…
Seven-on-seven drills are built to pass. The offense has a quarterback, a center and five eligible receivers (running backs, tight ends or wideouts). The defense has the back half of their squad. Every play is a passing play.
On Wilson’s first snap of seven-on-sevens, he rolled out to his right and then scrambled for a short gain. That’s a no-no. Wilson did the same thing during a drill this spring, and reporters who have covered the team longer than I say they’ve only seen Paxton Lynch run in seven-on-sevens.
To me, though, a throwaway isn’t much different than a scramble; it’s an unsuccessful play in seven-on-seven drills, but I count it as no gain and move on.
Outside of the faux pas scramble, Wilson played pretty well. He hit Devaughn Vele on a comeback after the receiver cut back behind Ja’Quan McMillian. The biggest gain of the day for any quarterback came when Wilson found David Sills on a shallow post for 15 yards or so.
In full-team drills, Wilson never got a pass off. The pressure was too much. That’s not his fault, though.
Bo Nix: D+
The grade is low, but don’t panic.
Nix threw an out route to Marvin Mims a step too far in front of his receiver. He left a deep slant route to Tim Patrick too far behind his receiver, though traffic in front of Patrick made leading him impossible.
A lack of chemistry with Josh Reynolds showed up on a comeback route when Reynolds didn’t come far enough back toward the line of scrimmage to catch the ball. (Rookie cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine was in great position in coverage.)
Nix’s best throw was on a deep out route to Greg Dulcich, who was wide open on the sideline for at least a dozen yards.
Like I said, I’m not concerned in the slightest. But the results were poor, so a D+ is fair.
Perfect Attendance
While training camps across the league opened with stars like Jordan Love, Trent Williams and maybe Ceedee Lamb staying home while hoping for new contracts, the Broncos had perfect attendance for Day 1.
The only players not on the field were those who are on the Physically Unable to Perform or Non-Football Injury lists, making them ineligible.
The most notable arrivals:
- WR Courtland Sutton. He practiced, but I don’t remember seeing him in team drills. Maybe he took limited reps like veterans often do, and I just didn’t notice him in a day filled with checkdowns (very likely). Maybe there’s more to the story (much less likely). But he was in attendance and going through some drills, and that’s the big news.
- RB Audric Estimé. The rookie is back from a leg injury sustained this spring. He looked a touch slower than I expected, but at field level, the angles sometimes skew perspective. And, to be fair, the run I thought he looked slow on resulted in a 10-yard gain.
- TE Greg Dulcich. The 24-year-old has battled injuries throughout his career and missed all of this spring’s workouts. He looked great on Wednesday, though, bringing in a couple of catches. Dulcich looked as explosive as you could hope.
Click here for more on Greg Dulcich’s big day.
Javonte cut weight
Running back Javonte Williams struggled last season. He didn’t break nearly as many tackles as you’d expect from a back who led the NFL in broken tackles as a rookie. He averaged 3.6 yards per carry. He looked less explosive.
Last year was Williams’ first season back from a major knee injury that included ACL and LCL tears, which probably played a part in Williams’ struggles.
But Williams made a plan to regain his burst.
“I don’t know if you have noticed—if you guys get a chance to get up and close—but he’s lost weight,” Payton said. “He looks trim. I thought he looked sharp today. He looked much different. His weight’s down, and I’m proud of him.”
Payton watched a bunch of Williams’ college tape with the running back and told him that North Carolina Javonte is the Javonte the Broncos need. Step one was getting back to his college weight. The Broncos listed Williams at 220 pounds, but North Carolina listed him at 212.
Williams was noticeably faster on Wednesday, even compared to early June when we last saw him practice. Payton named Williams first when asked who impressed him on Day 1 of camp.
Trench Battles
Zach Allen was the star of the trench battles.
Despite only playing a handful or fewer reps in team drills, Allen made his presence felt. He pushed his way past Quinn Meinerz and may have had a sack in a game situation. I thought Meinerz was able to run him by the pocket, but I was in the minority among observers.
Then Allen beat Ben Powers to blow up a run. He wan’t in position to make the tackle, but he set up a tackle for loss for one of his teammates.
The starting offensive line also had a nice moment. On the first play of team drills, the right side of the line created a massive crease on a zone toss that would have set up a double-digit-yard gain for Javonte Williams.
Linebacker Alex Singleton noticed a difference in the newly revamped defensive line.
“I love it,” he said. “It’s exciting. They’re playing fast, physical. I can’t wait to get the pads on.”
The back-up offensive line struggled.
Running back Tyler Badie got stuffed after making a nice cut. Jaleel McLaughlin’s rush attempt was stuffed. Zach Wilson would have been sacked twice; once by 24-year-old edge rusher Durell Nchami and once by a combination of defensive lineman Elijah Garcia, outside linebacker Thomas Incoom and inside linebacker Andre Smith. Alex Palczewski would have been called for a false start.
The “glass-half-full” approach would say the Broncos may have more pass-rushing depth than we thought.
The “glass-half-empty” approach would say the Broncos may have less offensive line depth than we thought.
Of course, the Broncos aren’t in pads yet, so reading too much into trench play is a bad idea.
“Until the pads come on, you have to work with each other,” he said. “I think it’s hardest for the offensive and defensive linemen. Both are trying to win a certain gap… But at some point, somebody acquiesces inside so you can stay off the ground and have a drill.”
The linebackers go shot-for-shot
The Broncos have a question mark at inside linebacker next to Alex Singleton. Cody Barton, Jonas Griffith and maybe Justin Strnad are all in the mix for the job.
The competition is off to a hot start.
During seven-on-sevens, Griffith carried Adam Trautman on a seam route and jumped to contest an over-the-shoulder pass, forcing an incompletion.
Then Griffith got into the backfield with Zach Allen to stop a run for a loss in team drills.
Just when Griffith appeared to be taking an early lead in the battle, Barton matched him with a tackle for loss of his own. (Rookie edge rusher Jonah Elliss deserves credit for also bottling the run.)
While it’s only the first day, the early indications at linebacker are positive.
Notes
- Pro Bowl returner Marvin Mims Jr. is excited about the new kickoff rules. “I think that will be one of our hidden gems this year.” He and the Broncos coaches will be keeping close tabs on how teams are attacking the play in the preseason. “We’ll see a lot of good things. We’ll see a lot of bad things.” His early guess is that most teams will try to bounce the ball at the 15-yard line.
- Mims also participated in a passing retreat in Texas earlier this month with Broncos quarterbacks and pass-catchers. When they weren’t on the practice field, the players golfed and played paintball. “It was a lot of fun. Everyone went out there and we just hung out, worked out a lot of hanging out, eating together, some good stuff.”
- Payton said that the team will put on full pads for the first time on Saturday or Sunday. Since the team isn’t scheduled to practice on Sunday, I’d guess either Saturday or Monday is the plan.
- Rookie wide receiver Troy Franklin caught an earful from pass game coordinator John Morton. Payton said not to read into it. “It’s Troy today, but he’s an equal opportunity (scolder), but he’s teaching all the time.” Payton is excited about Franklin. “You see playmaking down the field. You see certain routes that are strongsuits. I do feel good football IQ.”
- David Sills almost made a great catch on the sideline on a back-shoulder fade. He lept but couldn’t get his feet down in bounds. The pass from Zach Wilson was too high, but I thought Sills had a chance to make the play. Sills made a handful of similar catches this spring
