QB Scoreboard: Bo Nix cools off after tearing up 7-on-7s on Day 2 of Denver Broncos Training Camp

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Two practices down, 13 more to go until the first preseason game.

The Denver Broncos wrapped up their “acclimation period” on Thursday, paving the way for the first “training camp” practice on Friday.

The only notable difference between the acclimation period and a training camp practice is the length. Denver practiced for 75 minutes on Wednesday and an hour and a half on Thursday. They are scheduled for a few two-hour practices starting Friday before reaching two and a half hours for most of camp.

The extended practice on Tuesday added a third competitive period. The Broncos ran one segment of seven-on-sevens and two segments of full-team drills, giving the starters, backups and third-stringers about a dozen competitive snaps each over the course of the day.

Today’s notes come with a caveat: the Broncos practiced on the far field.

Instead of observing on the sideline, media watched practice from across a football field. With 55 yards and a handful of staffers between media and practice, I didn’t come away with quite as many details as I’d like.

Miss yesterday’s notes? Check out our Day 1 notes here.

Quarterback Scoreboard

Here’s the short version of how the Broncos’ quarterbacks fared…

Seven-on-sevens: Good.

Team drills: Not so good.

Bo Nix had his first chance with the starters Thursday, leaving Zach Wilson and Jarrett Stidham to work with the backups. Wilson is next up in the rotation and figures to get the starting reps on Friday, barring a change to the competition.

Each quarterback threw about seven or eight competitive passes, half of which came in seven-on-seven drills against no pass rush. That’s a very small sample size, and it’s too soon to jump to major conclusions.

Jarrett Stidham: B-

The ball didn’t hit the ground during seven-on-sevens. Stidham’s longest throw was less than 10 yards, but stacking completions is always a good thing.

Unfortunately, Stidham’s pocket was constantly collapsing during team drills.

On his first attempt, he was chased out of the pocket to his right, then stepped up and through the pocket to the right before finding Devaughn Vele for a dozen yards or more on a scramble drill. Second-year edge rusher Thomas Incoom was in pursuit, but I think Stidham would have been able to get the throw off in a game situation. The play may have been a sack, though.

Later on, Stidham rolled out of the pocket but missed Lil’Jordan Humphrey on the sideline. He was pressured by a blitz.

The rest of the day was uneventful check-downs.

I came away from the day impressed by Stidham’s mobility.

Zach Wilson: C

Like Stidham, Wilson was sharp in seven-on-sevens. The ball didn’t hit the ground. He found Lil’Jordan Humphrey crossing the middle of the field for close to 20 yards.

Wilson felt like he took longer to work through his progressions, though. I didn’t bring a stopwatch, but I thought Nix and Stidham got the ball out quicker.

The tougher part of Wilson’s grade is dealing with sacks. For the second consecutive day, Wilson was under constant duress and would have been sacked twice in a game situation. Those sacks left him with few throw attempts to grade in team drills.

Wilson hit a couple of short throws, but one pass near the sideline was broken up. Second-year safety JL Skinner flew toward the boundary to get a hand on the ball.

Bo Nix: C-

Nix, like the others, was very sharp in seven-on-sevens. The accuracy miscues of Wednesday disappeared. One of the throws was a 15-or-more-yard completion to Lucas Krull on an out route.

Nix had a chance to make the best throw of camp when Troy Franklin ran deep and gained a step on Pat Surtain II. Safety Brandon Jones was unable to help from the middle of the field.

Nix launched the ball 60 yards in the air. Unfortunately, Franklin was only 50 or 55 yards away, and the ball was nowhere near the target.

Nix also missed Lil’Jordan Humphrey on a short out route. He overthrew Tim Patrick over the middle about a dozen yards downfield. He tried to hit Josh Reynolds short over the middle, but cornerback Levi Wallace dove to break up the pass.

The best play of his day came when Nix rolled out of the pocket and hit Patrick on a comeback route 15 yards downfield. He hit a couple of short passes, too.

The batting average simply wasn’t high enough to call the day a success. Like the other quarterbacks, the seven-on-seven drills help his grade considerably.

GPAs
Average of daily grades.

Stidham: 2.5 (B-)
Wilson: 1.85 (C)
Nix: 1.5 (C-)

Court got a new deal

Courtland Sutton wanted a new deal this offseason, so he skipped voluntary workouts, and questions remained about his status for training camp.

On Thursday, Sutton got his deal.

The tweaks are minor. He gets another $1.5 million in incentives.

Sutton wanted more security going forward. He still has $0 in guaranteed money next season.

The running backs are shining

Without pads, ground game evaluations come with a grain of salt.

But the Broncos’ running backs look really good.

“That position group has looked pretty good,” Payton said. “I think we have good competition there. We have good skill sets and guys that can do different things there. Historically speaking for me, I’ve always believed that depth is important because there’s a lot of wear and tear in 17 weeks to play with just one runner.”

Yesterday, I wrote about Javonte Williams, who cut 11 pounds this offseason and is now down to 220. Today, he spoke to reporters.

“Last year’s offseason was pretty much just rehabbing (from a torn ACL) and trying to regain strength,” he said. “Even trying to learn how to run again and things like that. This offseason, just being able to get away and focus strictly on football, drills, moving, and things like that was a huge benefit.”

Williams looks faster, but he isn’t the only one.

I noted yesterday that rookie Audric Estime didn’t have the juice I expected from him on a carry in team drills. Today, he looked fast.

He had a few really good runs—despite only having a few carries—and I had two of them going for at least 10 yards. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were closer to 25.

On one of them, Estime hit the gas after the play was over and showed off his top speed.

“The vision was pretty clear (for Estime),” head coach Sean Payton said. “This was a guy when we did all the studies on him; we took 15-yard runs or more—first in his class. Minus runs—sometimes running backs have plays where they don’t—first in his class. Really good vision in the hole. Rarely did you see the player lose yards. He had good feet for someone who is 220 pounds. So I saw runner first and value on where we took him. He was one of those guys that I really… When the draft starts, every once in a while, there’s a player you could say, ‘When this thing is all over with, I’d love to have this player.’ Fortunately, we were able to get this player.”

The competition is tense. The Broncos have more backs than roster spots. And it’s going to get deeper when undrafted rookie Blake Watson gets back from a leg tweak, which Payton said will be “sooner than later.”

I’ll throw in a shoutout to Tyler Badie, too. He’s made a couple of solid plays over the past two days, including when he bounced a run to the outside on Thursday for a good gain. His path to the roster is covered in roadblocks, but another season on the practice squad could be on the way.

For more on the Broncos’ running backs, click here.

A competition is brewing at OLB

While competition for a starting outside linebacker job is tense, a couple of second-year, undrafted rushers are making a case to make the team.

Durell Nchami, out of Maryland, followed up a disruptive Wednesday with a sack on Thursday. The 24-year-old has the prototypical size and athleticism for the position, but injuries slowed him down in college.

Thomas Incoom, who was born in Ghana and had 11.5 sacks in his final season at Central Michigan, was in on a sack on Thursday and chased Stidham all over the field on a play on Thursday.

The top four spots at outside linebacker are locked up, but there’s room for one or two more on the roster. Nchami and Incoom have begun to make their cases.

Of course, the pass-rushing success comes with some bad news for the offensive line. The second- and third-string big boys have struggled to keep defenders out of the pocket. That’s a storyline to keep an eye on.

Notes

• Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto spent part of Thursday’s practice on the side field. That’s typically a sign of an injury.
  

• The Broncos will hold their first personnel meeting on Thursday. Coaches will evaluate players’ performances from the past two days and decide on any tweaks that need to be made to the “depth chart” for the next few days. Has anybody impressed enough to earn some trial reps with the starters? Has anybody proven unworthy of their snaps with the starters? This is the first re-evaluation of where the position battles stand. The big name to watch is Zach Wilson, who should be the starter for Friday’s practice. Payton was noncommital to that plan, though, which could mean the quarterback competition will be whittled to two players tonight.
  
  
• Payton said on Thursday that the Broncos’ first practice in full pads will be on Monday.
  
  
• Friday’s practice will be the first with fans in attendance. Zach Allen: “It definitely brings a lot of energy, which is nice. Right now, everyone is excited because camp just started, but when we get to Week 3, 4, 5, it can be tough to get up, but we’re all professionals. When they bring the energy, it obviously always helps, so definitely excited to see them.”
  
  
• Safety Caden Sterns tore his patellar tendon in September. He is currently on the PUP list. Sean Payton said he has a “road in front of him” before he returns, but added: “He is pushing hard in his recovery. He’s getting closer.”
  

• No news has broken on the Eyioma Uwazurike front. The third-year defensive tackle was suspended for the entire 2023 season for breaking the NFL’s gambling policy. He was eligible to apply for reinstatement on Wednesday. Payton said the Broncos want him back if he’s allowed to play.
  
  
• Rookie seventh-round offensive lineman Nick Gargiulo was the only player who wasn’t in attendance on Thursday. He left Wednesday’s practice with an injury. Even the PUP and NFI list guys were at practice, although they didn’t participate, of course. The only one I didn’t lay eyes on was safety Delarrin Turner-Yell.
  
  
• Lucas Krull led the way on a second good day for the Broncos’ tight ends.
  
  
• DJ Jones looked explosive and was the top defensive linemen on Thursday, at least to the naked eye.
  
  

Miss yesterday’s notes? Check out our Day 1 notes here.