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QB Scoreboard: Bo Nix and Jarrett Stidham lead two-minute drill scores on Day 9 of Denver Broncos Training Camp

August 2, 2024

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos held their first two-minute drills of training camp at the end of Friday’s practice.

The first- and second-team offenses each got a chance at their own 20-yard line to drive the length of the field and score. It was the first timed period of camp, and it was probably the most competitive period, too.

Friday’s practice was supposed to be padded, but the team did not wear pads. They did, however, practice for nearly 2-1/2 hours.

The Broncos will hold a semi-scrimmage on Saturday, which should feature plenty of move-the-ball and situational drills. They’ll take Sunday off.

Quarterback Scoreboard

The bulk of these gades will be based on the two-minute drill. That’s where about 75% of the throws were.

Here’s the situation…

1:48 left in the first half. A 6-point deficit. Two timeouts. And it’s first down with the ball on the 25-yard line.

After practice, head coach Sean Payton explained what he tells his quarterbacks in that scenario.

“You’re thinking field goal initially and then maybe if you get down there a little earlier you might get aggressive (and try for a touchdown),” he said.

Bo Nix: A

Bo Nix started the drive off with a seven-yard curl to Greg Dulcich. He missed his next throw, a comeback route to Josh Reynolds against Levi Wallace. Nix led Reynolds toward the boundary, away from Wallace. Reynolds wasn’t on the same page.

Facing a do-or-die 3rd & 3, Nix found Dulcich on a drag route against Riley Moss for about five yards. Dulcich got out of bounds, topping the clock at 1:20 with the ball at the 37.

Nix scrambled for five yards then hit Javonte Williams for a first down.

An offsides set up a 1st & 5 with 36 seconds left just past midfield. Nix caught Ja’Quan McMillian trying to blitz, changed his protection and hit Lil’Jordan Humphrey in one-on-one coverage for 13 yards on a dig to get into field-goal range.

But a holding call on Matt Peart knocked the Broncos out of field goal range and set up a 1st & 20.

Nix hit Tim Patrick in front of Ja’Quan McMillian in the middle of the field for about 10 yards. That’s where things got hairy.

The referees called a penalty on the defense. I heard it was illegal hands to the face but missed the signal and can’t confirm. Regardless, the Broncos had either a 1st or 2nd & 10 and only had time for two more plays.

The first play, from the 37-yard line, was a bomb to Courtland Sutton in the end zone. Sutton elevated and spun to make the grab but only got one foot down in bounds.

Then Nix hit Samaje Perine for a 12-yard catch-and-run. With six seconds left on the clock, Payton stopped the drill, signifying he’d take the 42-yard field goal with six seconds left on the clock.

Nix threw a few other passes during practice. The best was a 25-yarder to Troy Franklin on a deep cross. Nix also connected with Sutton in the middle of the field for about 13 yards with Pat Surtain II forcing a tight window.

His seven-on-seven reps were ugly, but he caught some tough breaks. Lucas Krull dropped a short pass. Courtland Sutton slipped and left Jonah Elliss with a chance to intercept a ball, which he dropped.

Nix also ran during seven-on-sevens. That’s generally taboo, but Payton said he doesn’t care after practice.

“I’m good with it,” Payton said. “I want them to practice every rep just like it was a game. Instinctually I don’t want to force the throw. Now we get to the start of the season, and we have a scout team and let’s say we’re in 7-on-7. We might tell the quarterback, ‘Hey, get rid of it here,’ but I want them to treat it just like it was a game rep. So we flush, it’s a scramble drill. We keep, receivers turn and find your block. That happens a lot. It’s actually something we had a meeting on. We have a scramble drill meeting, and then a period, and then we have a red zone scramble drill and a meeting. There are so many plays like that in our game now. So in 7-on-7 we would treat it the same way.”

Jarrett Stidham: A-

Jarrett Stidham‘s two-minute drill didn’t last as long as Nix’s, but he found the same result.

Stidham hit Brandon Johnson for five yards on an out route. Then Johnson beat Damarri Mathis on a deep corner for a 31-yard gain, which got the Broncos to the edge of field-goal range.

With 1:28 on the clock, Stidham hit Tyler Badie out of the backfield for a one-yard loss. Then he threw a high ball for Johnson on a comeback, but Kris Abrams-Draine was in position and forced the incompletion.

On 3rd & 11, Stidham chose to scramble for eight yards to get into field-goal range, which ended the drill with about a minute left on the clock.

Zach Wilson: C

Unfortunately for Zach Wilson, the third-teamers didn’t get a shot at the two-minute drill. That left very little to grade.

Wilson hit Franklin late over the middle fo the field in seven-on-sevens. He found Greg Dulcich 15 yards downfield on a deep out. Like Nix, Wilson scrambled on one of his reps;

In team drills, the most notable throw was when he found Jalen Virgil for six yards from a collasping pocket, and I wouldn’t call the throw all that notable.

GPAs
Average of daily grades.

Jarrett Stidham: 2.71 (B-)
Bo Nix: 2.46 (C+)
Zach Wilson: 1.93 (C)

Nine days into camp feels like a good time to look at the trends.

Here’s what the GPAs look like, if you throw out the first three practices…

Nix: 3.017 (B)
Stidham: 3.017 (B)
Wilson: 2.017 (C)

And here’s what they look like, if you only look at the past three practices…

Nix: 3.57 (A-)
Stidham: 2.80 (B-)
Wilson: 2.00 (C)

What stands out? The two veterans have held steady throughout camp. Meanwhile, the rookie’s numbers have consistently improved.

Run Period

Since the final period was dedicated to short-clock drills, the earlier portions had a run focus.

Here are the highlights:

Baron Browning stuffed a run.
John Franklin-Myers and Thomas Incoom combined to stop a quarterback run in the backfield. Franklin-Myers combined with Riley Moss to stuff another run.
Mike McGlinchey had a great block against Jonathon Cooper to seal the edge, setting up a run of at least a dozen yards for Jaleel McLaughlin. Later on, Angelo Blackson wrapped McLaughlin up in the backfield for a loss.
Javonte Williams had a good run to the outside. He found a crease in the middle of the field for a double-digit gain on another. Garett Bolles and Michael Burton made key blocks on a toss that could have gone for a big gain.
Samaje Perine had a pair of very solid runs up the middle. One might’ve been a double-digit gain. Durell Nchami got him at the line of scrimmage on another run.
Troy Franklin got the edge on a jet sweep but slipped as he tried to turn upfield.
Tyler Badie had a pair of good runs, with Adam Trautman making the key block on one of them. Jonas Griffith got him in the backield on another.
Levelle Bailey strung a run out toward the sideline for no gain.

Sacks

A handful of Broncos had sack on Friday.

Here’s the list:

Levelle Bailey.
Jaylon Allen.
Baron Browning. Mike McGlinchey won initially, but Bo Nix couldn’t find a receiver and Browning eventually got to him.
Elijah Garcia.
Thomas Incoom.

Heavy Coaching

With a scrimmage tomorrow that will play a major part in deciding where players stand going into next week, Payton wanted his staff to coach a little harder on Friday.

“[We] really wanted to harp on all the details today,” Payton said. “Even as a staff, I just met with them and I said, ‘I want to—I’m not going to use the word—but I want to be on their [butts] about everything.’

That meant pushing players’ buttons a little harder, which was noticable throughout practice.

“Today was that like stone in the shoe day coaching, and it’s part of the discipline of playing,” he said. “If we’re to find the right 53 [players], it’s not just physically the talent. It’s the mental toughness, the fortitude, all those other things. Can you be challenged, can you be coached hard, how do you react? That was part of today.”

For example, Payton was hard on Tim Patrick after he made a mental mistake.

“There was something he did, and I said, ‘Does the ultrasound affect brain function?’ because he’s had a lot of treatments,” Payton said, laughing. “I said, ‘Are there studies?’ and he looked at me, and he wasn’t real happy.”

Payton paused practice time after time to give more information. That was especially true during two-minute drills, when he explained to the team at various points how the situation was changing and what to watch for.

“Tomorrow we’ll finish [more scenarios] and there will be different scenarios,” Payton said. “It’ll be end of game, need three [points]. It’s just understanding when to be aggressive when we’re in the advantage position or maybe when we’re not. Today it was more of the mechanics, so it’s good film for us.”

Notes

Friday was the first of a handful of vet days. The Broncos’ coaching staff looked at factors such as age and injury history to place players into various tiers. Some tiers require more time off. Low tiers might just be a couple of days. On Friday, Zach Allen, Caden Sterns, Audric Estime and Nik Bonitto were among the players who had a vet day. Justin Strnad had a groin tweak, so the Broncos held him out, too.
The Broncos signed tight end Hunter Kampmoyer and waived defensive tackle Brandon Matterson on Friday. Kampmoyer is a solid blocker who spent the past three years with the Los Angeles Chargers after going undrafted out of Oregon.
Defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers returned to practice on Friday after missing two days due to a death in his family.