Here’s what happened when the Broncos took the field for their first voluntary-minicamp practice

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — When it came time to run at the conclusion of the pre-practice stretching period, Russell Wilson was out in front of his new teammates.

Make no mistake: Just one practice into what he and the Broncos hope will be a long and mutually-beneficial time together, Wilson — No. 3 in your program but already No. 1 in the hearts of the team’s fans — is their leader.

While organized team activities began April 18 with a combination of individual on-field work and a series of team-wide and position-group meetings, this week’s voluntary minicamp marks the first time that offense can go against defense — and the only time until May 23, when the Broncos’ organized team activities ramp up into full, low-contact practices.

Teams that hire new head coaches receive the opportunity to hold the extra three-day voluntary minicamp, which must be completed before the NFL Draft. The Las Vegas Raiders — the only other team in the AFC West with a new head coach this year — are also conducting their voluntary veteran minicamp under Josh McDaniels this week.

And the Broncos’ new head coach, Nathaniel Hackett, even took part in a drill, playing the roles of running back and linebacker at one point during the individual period. There’s a history with the Broncos when it comes to this sort of thing, and while Hackett avoided a collision that left blood streaming down his nose as Ring of Fame coach Red Miller endured at one point in the 1977 season, it was nevertheless a constrasting — and welcome — sight compared with recent years.

“I’ve always wanted to play running back when I was younger—actually, I wanted to play all the positions,” Hackett said. “You want to make everything game-like as much as possible. In the play-pass world, all those things, you want the quarterback to always feel somebody back there. Obviously we don’t have all those guys, there’s some special teams going on [too], but that’s why you saw [RBs coach Tyrone] Wheatley, all those guys. We have to go out there and give him a look.

“It’s our job to support them and make it look as realistic as possible. I feel like I gave it a realistic look. Maybe not. Let’s not talk about that right now,” Hackett continued, laughing.

Whether Hackett’s running-back technique adheres to proper form is debatable. What is not is his involvement with his players — and his eagerness to get started and channel his boundless energy into the day-to-day business of guiding his team. Monday, Hackett gallivanted about the field as though his sneakers were spring-loaded.

And with good reason: There are schemes to learn, skills to perfect and not even eight more weeks of offseason work left to squeeze everything in. Sure, that may sound like plenty of time, but the days drain with the speed of a no-huddle offense.

“So, we have a very, very large playbook and there’s a process with how you teach everything,”: Hackett said. “Kind of like the foundations of what you want to build. Sometimes you have to put plays in you might not necessarily run but are in other parts of the playbook. So it’s understanding and learning it the proper way, so that when the guys are out there, they can react fast. It’s a long deal, all the things that we do.

“Today was kind of the very basics of what we do, then we’ll slowly start expanding that with the guys as we move forward with Phase 2 and OTAs.”

NOTES:

• Three days after general manager George Paton declined to put a timeline on third-year wide receiver KJ Hamler’s return to action after suffering a torn ACL last September, Hamler saw some limited individual work running routes and catching passes. “We don’t want to rush it too fast. We want to do what’s right for him,” Hackett said. “It’s about that process and making sure we don’t push it too hard or we’re pushing it enough. Just making sure we’re doing all the right things to get him out there when he can.”
• As Hackett promised at his opening press conference in January, music played through much of practice, and not only during the “scratch-and-stretch” calisthenics period to open the session. “That’s the only thing I know. I like the music. If I don’t have it, I start freaking out. You always want to hear that stuff,” Hackett said. “For some reason, I feel like on game day it’s pretty loud, there’s a lot of things going on, so I think distractions — to a certain extent — are good, and different music, different people saying things. That’s how it is on game day.”
• For the fourth consecutive year of offseason work, the players took the field in their game jerseys, which have a more snug fit than the practice jerseys traditionally used by teams. The Broncos began doing this in 2019, then-coach Vic Fangio’s first year on the job.
• Wilson wore his blue uniform pants with his blue practice jersey.
• As expected, edge rusher Randy Gregory did not practice due to shoulder surgery that the free-agent pickup underwent last month. “We’re just kind of working through everything,” Hackett said.
• Denver had seven extra players on the field trying out Monday: wide receivers Keelan Doss, Juwan Green and Trey Quinn, tight end Caleb Wilson, running back Artavis Pierce and cornerbacks Blessuan Austin and Donnie Lewis Jr. Of those players, Austin has the most NFL regular-season experience, with 29 games played and 17 starts since 2019. Austin, who was most recently with the Seattle Seahawks, started 16 games for the New York Jets over the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
• The Broncos have two more on-field sessions at a part of this voluntary camp, with practices to be held Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning. Defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero is expected to speak with media after Tuesday’s session, while offensive coordinator Justin Outten and special-teams coordinator Dwayne Stukes will answer questions after Wednesday’s work.