Denver Broncos Training Camp Takeaways: Courtland Sutton is back to making his quarterbacks look good

Editor’s note: Welcome to one of many takeaway pieces to come during Broncos training camp. A staple of DNVR’s training camp coverage, these stories will be posted after each and every practice of camp. Who is standing out, who is lagging behind and who is looking like the favorite in each of the position battles? Those questions and many more will be answered right here.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Broncos offense had a problem with false starts Wednesday. But one player on their offense had the kind of performance that could offer true hope that he is all the way back.

That player is Courtland Sutton. And he looked like his old, pre-ACL-tear self.

One step closer to being all the way back

The thing about Sutton is this: You don’t have to throw an on-target pass to No. 14, although it’s nice and always welcomed. You simply have to give him a chance. A jump ball in tight coverage down the or a pass thrown behind him as he runs a crossing route – these are plays with which many pass catchers can do little, but Sutton can do a lot.

He began in the opening team period of practice. Teddy Bridgewater threw a pass behind Sutton. No problem; he simply reached low and grabbed it with one hand as he lunged toward the grass.

He closed by doing the same for Drew Lock – not a one-handed grab, mind you, but a snag of a 24-yard pass as he came across the field that was behind him, getting the first-team offense off to a promising start in a move-the-ball period.

Sutton has been on the field since the start of training camp, with his repetitions steadily increasing throughout the first seven days of practice. The Broncos plan to play him in one preseason game – enough to make sure that he is at full-tilt.

If Sutton is hesitant on the knee that he injured in Week 2 at Pittsburgh last year, it doesn’t show in his play. His cuts are decisive; his willingness to lunge or jump for a ball unchanged.

Bridgewater knows a little about where Sutton stands. Like Sutton, the eighth-year quarterback made a Pro Bowl in his second season, only to see a severe injury derail in him in this third campaign.

“I mentioned something to ‘Court’ like last week. I said, ‘Man we’re in the same boat.’ He was like, ‘What do you mean?’ I said, ‘Well, I happened to make the Pro Bowl my second year as well, and then my third-year, boom. I had a knee injury. So, I understand what it’s going to take for you to get back to the player that you want to be.’”

And that gives Bridgewater confidence when he sees Sutton lunging and reaching for passes. After all, he knows what it feels like when a player is close to all the way back.

“So, honestly when he’s out there making plays like today — we don’t want him on the ground — but if he’s on the ground making acrobatic catches, if he’s stumbling and going to the ground, it’s honestly building confidence for him. He’s going to continue to trust his knee more and that’s exciting for us.”

Defense wins the day in move-the-ball period

Few things in a training-camp practice are livelier than a two-minute drill, move-the-ball period. And for a team with a quarterback competition, few aspects of practice are more revealing.

Neither Lock nor Bridgewater had their drives end the way they wanted to. After marching the first- and second-team offenses, respectively, over 50 yards into the defense’s red zone, both saw their days end with interceptions.

“Obviously, we’d like to not end those drives there to go win the game with interceptions, but that’s why we practice,” Broncos coach Vic Fangio said. “We obviously need a lot of work, and we’ll continue to get a lot of work.”

Each offense was given this scenario: 2:10 on the clock, two timeouts remaining, a 7-point deficit and possession beginning at the offense’s 25-yard line.

Lock began by guiding the No. 1 offense 61 yards downfield against a defense that mixed first- and second-teamers. The afore-mentioned 24-yard pass to Sutton preceded five short completions and a 14-yard draw play to Mike Boone, setting the offense up with third-and-4 at the defense’s 14.

And then – he looked down the middle. With third down, a scrambling lane available and 35 seconds on the clock, he didn’t have to fire it. But he did – right to safety Justin Simmons, the only player in the general vicinity of the pass. It was a crushing interception – and frustrating for the entire offense, no one more than Garett Bolles, whose anguish could be heard 50 yards away.

“Take care of the ball. Don’t make that decision down there,” Lock said. “[I] was halfway between running and halfway between throwing. Just make a better decision. Jerry [Jeudy] ran a good route. Either put it over the top of him, or really chuck it into the dirt and go to the next play. Don’t go half-and-half there.”

Bridgewater led backups against backups, and his drive started and ended in a similar fashion to Lock’s, as he completed a 19-yard pass to Seth Williams, moving the offense to its 44-yard line. Three completions in his next five attempts followed, with 8- and 4-yard passes to Trinity Benson and a 24-yard pass to Shaun Beyer moving the offense to the defense’s 20-yard line with 59 seconds remaining.

Then came the play Bridgewater wanted back: a pass near the left sideline to Branden Mack. Mack was in one direction; the ball was in another. Rojesterman Farris intercepted it, and the day’s work ended.

“That was a little miscommunication. We’ll work on that,” Bridgewater said. “I’m glad we’re making that mistake now and not in the game,” adding that the miscue was “nothing that we’re going to panic about.”

Perhaps not, but for an offense and quarterbacks still trying to answer questions, it was a frustrating manner in which to go into the second off-day of camp.

Also a point of frustration: a cluster of false starts against the offense throughout the morning.

“We tried to change up the snap counts and pre-snap communication – checks and audibles,” Fangio said. “It was a little bit of everything.”

Play of the Day

Lock was a proficient play-action passer last year; according to Pro Football Focus, no quarterback had a greater positive discrepancy in passer rating between play-action and straight dropbacks than the 2019 second-round pick.

But on Wednesday, it was Bridgewater whose play-action work stole the show — with an assist from tight end Noah Fant, who broke open down the left sideline, leaving inside linebacker Justin Strnad in his wake.

DNVR Stock Report

Trending up

RT Calvin Anderson: The right-tackle competition continues to percolate, with Anderson taking his turn on the right flank Wednesday. Working alongside right guard Netane Muti, the two were able to help clear paths for multiple solid runs.

DL Marquiss Spencer: With the unusual-for-a-D-lineman jersey number of 51, the Mississippi State product has been a pleasant surprise in recent days, generating consistent interior push, including one pressure on Bridgewater in a 2-vs.-2 period that would have been a sack in game conditions.

DL Dre’Mont Jones: It didn’t take long for Jones to discombobulate the offense, On the second play of the initial team period, he generated pressure on Lock that would have been a sack in game conditions, although in practice, Lock bought time to hit Sutton for a 10-yard game. One snap later, Jones burst into the backfield past center Lloyd Cushenberry to blow up a handoff to Mike Boone.

Trending down

ILB Justin Strnad: He continued to fill in for Josey Jewell, but found himself on the wrong end of a 55-yard Bridgewater-to-Fant connection, as the third-year tight end left Strnad in the dust by several yards. He also found himself on the receiving end of a powerful burst by rookie running back Javonte Williams, who burst through the hole and drove right at Strnad.

Quote of the Day

“I think I need to start watching Justin Simmons tape on my free time, just to make sure nothing like that happens again..” —Lock, in the wake of Simmons intercepting him on his final pass of the day

Injury and Availability

RG Graham Glasgow: The veteran lineman received his first veteran rest day of training camp.

WR K.J. Hamler: He returned to practice after missing two days because he was in the COVID-19 protocol.

ILB Josey Jewell: He remained sidelined due to a groin injury that is expected to keep him out through the weekend

OLB Von Miller: He received a veteran off-day. With Bradley Chubb still being eased back into a full workload, that meant the No. 1 defense often featured Malik Reed and Derrek Tuszka as the edge rushers.

NT Mike Purcell: The Broncos hope that he returns next week from an ankle injury suffered early in camp.

WR Tyrie Cleveland: The second-year receiver remained sidelined because of a backside bruise.

S Jamar Johnson: The fifth-round rookie was on the practice field for the second consecutive day, watching as he continues the process of returning from the COVID-19 reserve list.

CB Mac McCain: The undrafted rookie remained sideline with a hamstring injury that he suffered Monday.

DL Deyon Sizer: He suffered a “tweaked” hamstring during Tuesday’s practice and remained sidelined Wednesday.

OT Cody Conway: After suffering a knee injury on Tuesday, Conway was placed on the waived/injured list.

Name to Know

CB Rojesterman Farris — The evocatively-named cornerback closed practice by intercepting Bridgewater, tracking down an errant pass that the quarterback chalked up to “miscommunication” between himself and intended receiver Branden Mack. It was Farris’ second interception in three practices since joining the Broncos.

“He’s got a great opportunity, and he’s done well so far,” Fangio said. “He’s got a license to compete and make the team in some shape or form.”