ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — We’re one step closer to football.
The Denver Broncos wore pads for the first time in training camp on Monday. Head coach Sean Payton said that coaches learn “a lot more” about players during padded practices. He also felt that the pads raised the level of competition.
Right tackle Mike McGlinchey agreed.
“I think it just adds that little bit of extra energy to practice,” McGlinchey said. “Certainly, the offensive and defensive lines get a little more charged up, but at the end of the day you still [have] to execute the plays and still [have] to use the technique we’re being taught. I think it’s actually a good training tool to try and maintain focus on what’s important with all the extra energy that’s getting thrown at you from both sides of the ball. It’s a good thing to get pads back on.”
The Broncos have one more step to take before we reach the cruising altitude of training camp.
Monday’s practice was shorter because of NFLPA rules regarding the first padded practice. The Broncos will hold a longer practice on Tuesday before hitting their standard practice length, 2-1/2 hours, on Wednesday.
The shortened practice meant the Broncos only held three competitive periods; one round of seven-on-sevens while the offensive and defensive lines competed in one-on-ones, and two sessions of team drills.
The first team drill session was extremely run-heavy. The second round featured more from the quarterbacks.
Here’s how they fared…
Quarterback Scoreboard
The shortened practice meant that Monday was the smallest workload of camp for the Broncos’ quarterbacks. That small sample size meant that every throw carried a lot of weight.
If there was ever a day to take these grades with a grain of salt, it’s Monday’s.
Jarrett Stidham: A-
Jarrett Stidham was solid in seven-on-sevens with a few short completions. He tried a deep shot to Marvin Mims Jr., who had a step-and-a-half on Tremon Smith up the sideline, but Stidham only threw the ball 45 yards instead of 50. Mims slowed down in an attempt to make the catch, but Smith caught up and forced the incompletion. Some hand fighting could have been called in a game situation.
Stidham bounced back with a pair of nice throws in full-team drills.
The first was a play-action pass. Stidham found rookie wideout Troy Franklin breaking back to the ball 15 yards downfield.
Then, Stidham rolled out and hit Lil’Jordan Humphrey on the sideline about 10 yards downfield. Humphrey spun back inside and doubled that gain.
Stidham hit short passes the rest of the day.
Stidham did his thing; he found short completions and kept the ball off the ground. He sprinkled in a couple of bigger gains. If he had hit the long ball to Mims, he would have earned a perfect score.
Bo Nix: C
Bo Nix got his second day with starters on Monday. (And I’ve got a conspiracy theory about that, which I’ll save for later.)
The seven-on-sevens weren’t pretty. Nix found short gains to tight ends Greg Dulcich and Nate Adkins, but he had a baffling miss to running back Jaleel McLaughlin. Maybe he was scared off by linebacker Alex Singleton, who was in solid position and created a smaller window.
The low point came on Nix’s final rep when he tucked and ran after not finding a receiver. That’s a major faux pas in a passing-only drill.
During team drills, Nix hit running back Tyler Badie on a swing pass and had a ball to Mims batted away by Pat Surtain II on the sideline. His big-gainer came on the ground. I initially thought Nix got free for 25 yards or more, but a fan-posted video on social media shows that defensive lineman Zach Allen would’ve gotten a hand on him, and Singleton may have had an angle at him, too.
I’ll give Nix the benefit of the doubt and say he would’ve picked up a dozen yards.
If anything, the C grade might be generous.
Here’s the conspiracy theory…
On Saturday, Payton mentioned that we might see a change to the starting quarterback rotation in the near future.
“The rotation has been pretty consistent,” Payton said. “I think that will begin to change a little bit as we get into the next week and a half to two weeks.”
Monday’s practice gave each quarterback a handful of passes, most of which came in seven-on-sevens.
What if Payton gave Nix Tuesday’s practice, too? Between Monday and Tuesday, another shortened practice, Nix would probably have a standard number of passes for a single practice.
Then the Broncos could advance to Zach Wilson, who is next up in the rotation, on Wednesday.
The Broncos will also have non-padded practices every few days for the rest of camp. If Payton wants to create a balanced competition, he might account for those in the rotation, too.
Maybe Payton’s comments simply mean that he’s cutting down the competition in the near future, but maybe he means that each practice will be different, so balancing reps might not be as easy as keeping the same rotation.
I wouldn’t be shocked to see Nix back with the starters on Tuesday.
Zach Wilson: C-
Zach Wilson was unlucky in seven-on-sevens. Michael Bandy and Audric Estime caught short passes for him, but tight end Thomas Yassmin dropped a ball and David Sills juggled but dropped a deep ball through solid coverage from cornerback Quinton Newsome.
The low point for Wilson came on a pass to the sideline about 10 yards downfield. Rookie cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine dove and got both hands on the ball but couldn’t haul it in for an interception.
Wilson bounced back with a 20-yard completion to Dulcich on a perfectly placed pass just past rookie linebacker Levelle Bailey‘s fingertips.
Wilson may have had the best and worst throws of the day, but I came away more scared than excited and that’s why he gets a C-. But you can’t ignore the flash of talent.
GPAs
Average of daily grades.
Jarrett Stidham: 2.54 (B-)
Bo Nix 1.94 (C)
Zach Wilson: 1.88 (C)
The defense won
The first day in pads typically goes to the defense, and Monday was no different.
The Broncos’ revamped defensive line dominated.
On the first play of practice, outside linebacker Baron Browning chased down a run from the back side for a loss of about five yards.
Then Zach Allen beat Ben Powers up the middle to take down McLaughlin about five yards behind the line of scrimmage.
Outside linebacker Ronnie Perkins got a tackle for loss, adding to an impressive performance in training camp. Defensive lineman Matt Henningsen was also in the backfield.
Outside linebacker Dondrea Tillman, a former UFL star who is getting a chance in the NFL, got a sack on a play-action throw by Zach Wilson.
Defensive lineman Jordan Miller, a rookie out of SMU, plugged up a run, too.
The offense had a couple of nice moments on the ground, like when Javonte Williams took a toss 10 yards before being touched, but the story of the first day in pads, as usual, was the defense.
“What I think begins to take place is that you begin to see days where one side of the ball or the other gets the better in practice,” Payton. “The thing you have to balance as the head coach—regardless of whether you’re a head coach involved in the offense or the defense—is growth on both sides of the ball.”
The competitive nature of practice led to some overeagerness.
“We had some snap count (violations) and we had a handful of things that we have to get cleaned up, but that can be true early on with pads.”
The defense seemed to know runs were coming. They charged into the backfield without much regard for the passing game.
Zach Allen jumped offside the play after his massive tackle for loss, a sign that he might have been gambling. Nix might deserve credit for making him jump.
Regardless, the Broncos’ defense was on the attack all day, and the results were monstrous.
Big Boy One-on-Ones
While the skill position and back-seven players partook in seven-on-sevens, the big boys had their first one-on-one battles of camp.
I spent most of my time watching the quarterbacks but caught a handful of reps on the other side of the field.
From what I saw, right tackle Mike McGlinchey had a very solid day, including a stuff of Jonathon Cooper on a bull rush on his first rep.
I only saw one snap from Quinn Meinerz and John Franklin-Myers, but Meinerz took the win easily.
Outside linebacker Baron Browning had a very solid showing, including driving Garett Bolles backward on a bull rush, which surprised me. Browning has been one of the Broncos’ best defenders in camp so far.
I’ll give some props to tackle Matt Peart, guard Quinn Bailey and center Sam Mustipher, too, but I can’t say they were perfect because I prioritized seven-on-sevens.
Notes
- Bonitto returned to practice, as expected, after two days off.
- Wide receiver Tim Patrick spent the majority of practice on an exercise bike in what seemed like a veteran rest day.
- Broncos defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike was suspended last year for betting on NFL games. He became eligible for reinstatement last week. Mike Klis of 9News reported that the NFL was waiting for Colorado prosecutors to finish reviewing evidence for a potential criminal case before considering Uwazurike for reinstatement. Klis reported Monday that the prosecutors decided not to pursue a case. The door is now open for the NFL to make a decision, which means Uwazurike could be back as soon as this week. Payton said recently that the team wants him back.
- Abrams-Draine didn’t quite pull in the interception, but he’s quietly put together a solid camp. Payton: “He is a player that we’ve seen a noticeable jump from the spring to when he returned. He’s playing a little bit more decisively with more confidence and that’s probably because he’s getting to know the system. It’s hard to play that way if you’re thinking and you don’t know exactly the assignment as well as you need to. He’s noticeably been more comfortable in his role right now.”
- The Broncos had perfect attendance for Monday’s practice.
- Payton gave an update on Trenton Gill and Riley Dixon for the punting job. “Both of them are very experienced. They both can hold exceptionally well. Both of them are hitting it pretty well. Today we had an extended punt period, and I think the competition is good. It’s healthy.”
- The Broncos hosted alumni at Monday’s practice. Payton: “It’s important that we embrace the tradition here. That was set and built on the shoulders of a lot of these guys, and I want them to always feel this is home and they’re welcome [at] any practice or game.”
- The Broncos will debut their throwback uniforms Oct. 6 against the Raiders. The team will also honor Randy Gradishar’s Hall of Fame induction and induct Steve Foley and Riley Odoms into the Ring of Frame. The throwback jersey go on sale Saturday and will be available for purchase at Saturday’s practice.
- McGlinchey is a big believer in Nix. Click here for the full story.
Check out our Day 4 notes here.
Check out our Day 3 notes here.
