Training Camp Takes: Denver's defense dominates stadium practice

DENVER — For the first time, the 2020 Denver Broncos played football on their home field. On Saturday, the Broncos took training camp to Empower Field at Mile High.

But despite it being a practice, it was as game-like as possible. The Broncos went through pregame warmups, had an opening kickoff and even took a break for halftime.

And while the stadium was empty, much like it will be during Week 1 against the Tennessee Titans on Sept. 14, the pumped-in crowd noise, which will also be present in Week 1, was blaring. How weird it was.

Here’s everything that went down during Saturday’s scrimmage at the eerily empty stadium.

OFF-ense

As Vic Fangio put it after practice, defensive coaches and players loved the way the scrimmage went. On the flip side, offensive players and coaches did not.

During Saturday’s scrimmage, the Broncos’ first-team offense had eight series against the first-team defense. The offense failed to punch the ball into the end zone the entire day.

The very first play of the scrimmage summed up the rest of practice well. Drew Lock took a shot deep down the right sideline to Courtland Sutton but overthrew him by five yards. The timing was just off. And that’s how the rest of practice unfolded for the offense.

Another incomplete pass to Sutton, broken up by Isaac Yiadom, and a sack on a beautiful stunt move by Von Miller rounded out the first series as the offense punted after picking up one first down.

Lock started off the second series with an easy 22-yard completion to Sutton off play action with Bryce Callahan in coverage. But the offense couldn’t continue that momentum as the next play was an incompletion with Alexander Johnson in tight coverage.

Entering the red zone, Lock made his worst play of the day. After practice, Lock told the media “pump” was called in the huddle. However, “Mr. Lock didn’t throw the pump. He threw the normal curl,” he said. That led to Sutton running deep as the ball floated right into the hands of Devontae Harris for an easy interception. Fangio had the drive resume, but the offense had to settle for a field goal.

The offense got a break on their third series, starting on the defense’s 30-yard line. Lock attempted a deep shot to Jerry Jeudy, but overthrew him by 10 yards. Sutton then made a leaping catch in the middle of the field for a gain of nine. After a would-be sack by Von Miller flying off the right side of the offensive line, Lock connected with Jeudy on 4th down, but well short of the first down marker. Turnover on downs.

Fangio made the call to continue the drive, but again, the offense had to settle for a field goal after Nick Vannett dropped a ball at the 5-yard line and threw a pass to Jeudy when he wasn’t even looking the Q’s way. Brandon McManus nailed another field goal.

The fourth series opened up with a would-be sack by Dre’Mont Jones who exploded through the center of the offensive line. The next play, however, was even worse for the offense.

Justin Simmons picked off Lock 10 yards downfield in between the hashes as it appeared Noah Fant turned the opposite direction than Drew was expecting. Simmons read Lock’s eyes the entire way and made a nice play on the ball.

Fangio again attempted to help the offense by giving them another mulligan.

On 3rd-and-5, Jeudy made a beautiful bobbling catch 15 yards downfield in tight coverage from Callahan. The offense was in field goal range.

But again, the offense wasn’t able to do anything. Lock and Sutton were off on first down, Kareem Jackson flew through the offensive line for a sack on second down and A.J. Bouye broke up what would have been a 30-yard completion to Tyrie Cleveland on third down. With halftime approaching, the offense went for it and came up just short.

The results didn’t change after the 10-minute halftime.

The first play out of the gate was another Von Miller sack as he beat Elijah Wilkinson off the line. In a game, Miller could have easily had a strip-sack. After a four-yard run by Phillip Lindsay, Lock connected with Sutton for 20 yards on 3rd-and-long.

Lock followed up an overthrow by dropping the ball into Royce Freeman’s lap on a wheel route 20 yards down the left sideline on 3rd-and-10. Just as the offense was picking up some steam, Fangio forced them to punt.

The following two series, the Broncos’ offense started at the defense’s 13-yard line. Despite beginning in the red zone, the offense wasn’t able to make it into the end zone on either possession. Lock went 1-for-4, including a Shelby Harris pass breakup at the line of scrimmage. McManus nailed two chip shots.

The final drive of practice started at midfield. With the ball at the 50, Lock hit Fant on a screen for three yards. Sutton then had a ball bounce right off his hands with Harris in tight coverage. On third down, Justin Simmons batted the pass at the line of scrimmage off a safety blitz.

“I’d rather us struggle right now and be great once the season comes around,” Lock said after the offense’s tough practice, adding it’s the small components that will help the passing game click. “I’ve always been the guy to learn more from mistakes.”

Despite constantly being in the backfield, Von said the Broncos’ offense has “too many weapons” to not succeed once the regular season begins on Sept. 14.

“I’ve got all the faith in the offense. We’ve got too many weapons,” Miller stated.

INJURY SCARES

Last year, the Broncos lost Bryce Callahan for the year during their training camp practice at the stadium. On Saturday, there were a couple of scares.

Early in practice, Graham Glasgow limped off the field and into the locker room. He did not return to practice. Fangio stated Denver’s right guard “tweaked his ankle,” but was not sure the severity of the injury. Austin Schlottman, who has been battling for the starting center position, filled in for Glasgow at right guard the rest of practice as Lloyd Cushenberry was at center.

Later, it was Bradley Chubb who went straight to the bench to get looked at by trainers after coming off the field. The trainers removed the brace on his left knee, which he has after tearing his ACL last season, and looked at his knee. After a few minutes, Chubb was walking around on the sideline with ice on the knee.

Fangio said Chubb’s knee “just didn’t feel right” so the Broncos took him out for the remainder of practice, but appears to be okay.

Von added he doesn’t believe Chubb is injured, before jokingly comparing the two to Ferraris.

“We Ferrari’s,” Von stated. “Sometimes, Ferraris, the check engine light comes on. That doesn’t mean the car is broken.”

Finally, Drew Lock hobbled off the field after getting stepped on by the pass rush. He shook it off on the sidelines and returned to practice on the next series, not missing a single play.

THE RED ZONE MONSTER

While the first-team offense didn’t get into the end zone a single time on Saturday, rookie Albert Okwuegbunam should have been paying rent for how often he was there.

The rookie tight end became the favorite target of the backup quarterbacks on Saturday, specifically in the red zone. Off a bootleg, Jeff Driskel found Albert O. for a two-yard touchdown on the right side of the end zone.

Later, Denver’s fourth-round pick caught a forward pitch in the middle of the offensive line on a read-pass option from Driskel. Okwuegbunam easily strolled in the end zone for six.

Brett Rypien also connected with Okwuegbunam in the red zone, as he found the rookie for a first down near the goal line.

Despite it being a rough practice for Lock, when asked about his former college teammate, Drew shook his head as his smile grew.

“The guy’s a monster. He’s got a great feel,” Lock said, before adding how much he’s grown up since their time together in 2018 at Missouri. “I’ve been very impressed with Albert.”

Despite being 6-foot-5 and 258 pounds, Lock added Albert O. is “slippery” and “just sneaky fast” in the red zone.

In two years together at Missouri, Lock and Okwuegbunam connected for 17 touchdowns. Albert O. certainly displayed that ability on Saturday.

DNVR STOCK REPORT

Trending Up

• Albert Okwuegbunam: For every reason mentioned above, the rookie continues to prove how much of a threat he can be in the passing game. He’s had an impressive week.
• Devontae Harris: On top of picking off Lock, Fangio had high praise of Harris after practice. The head coach said Harris’ impressive play extends beyond Saturday’s practice and that he actually told other coaches earlier in the week how impressed with Harris he has been. Fangio’s comments will go a long way as Harris is in a tight battle for the third cornerback spot.
• Von Miller: Despite not having Bradley Chubb opposite him for part of practice, the Super Bowl MVP had no problem getting after the quarterback. Going up against Elijah Wilkinson, Von was constantly in creating pressure on Lock. He’s had a fantastic training camp beyond just Saturday’s scrimmage.

Trending Down

• Drew Lock: Multiple interceptions and not a single touchdown certainly won’t get it done. Lock took full responsibility for the poor practice and said he gets better by learning from his mistakes. There will plenty of learning opportunities for Lock from the scrimmage.
• Elijah Wilkinson: On Friday, Fangio stated, “As long as Elijah’s playing the way we think he’s capable of playing, he’ll be the right tackle.” One day later, Wilkinson struggled. To be fair, Wilkinson was lining up against Miller for most of the practice, but Von was constantly in the backfield.

INJURY AND AVAILABILITY NOTES

• Melvin Gordon did not participate in the team periods during the scrimmage as he’s dealing with a rib injury. Fangio stated the team “needs him” and believes he’ll be a full participant in practice sooner rather than later.
• Troy Fumagalli was not at Saturday’s practice. Fangio said he has a “medical issue” and at this point, it’s “not very serious.” Fangio thinks the tight end will be back next week.
• Alijah Holder did not practice for a fourth straight day with a soft tissue injury.
• Todd Davis missed practice due to a calf injury. On Friday, Fangio said, “I think we’ll see him out there sooner rather than later. Sooner doesn’t mean tomorrow, but I think he’s getting better.”
• Juwann Winfree did not practice with a lingering groin injury.
• Michale Ojemudia missed another practice with a quad injury. On Tuesday, Fangio alluded that the rookie cornerback will be out a “while,” but Friday, the head coach added, “he’s getting better.”
• K.J. Hamler continues to be sidelined by a hamstring injury. He’ll miss several more weeks.
• Austin Fort will be out a total of four-to-eight weeks after having an arthroscopic procedure on his knee.
• Justin Strnad did not practice and will miss the rest of the season with wrist surgery.

PLAY OF THE DAY

On top of being the offensive player of the day, Albert Okwuegbunam made the catch of the day.

As Albert O. was juggling a pass in the right flat, the 258-pound receiving weapon was drilled by a defender. As he went flying to the ground, so did the ball. However, a second after he landed, the ball fell right into his hands and he secured it for a completion.

It was all for a gain of one yard.

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

• Lloyd Cushenberry got the shot at center again. It appears he is on his way to winning the starting job as he has been with the first-team unit for much of this week.
• Jerry Jeudy had a fantastic leaping catch in tight coverage for a 48-yard completion on a pass from Driskel.
• Trey Marshall also caught a pass from Driskel, but his was an interception. Albert O. was open near the right sideline when Marshall came out of nowhere to steal the ball.
• Dre’Mont Jones was on the field often with the first team playing alongside Jurrell Casey at defensive end.
• Brandon McManus was perfect on the day, including drilling a 60-yard field goal with room to spare.
• Diontae Spencer was the Broncos’ starting punt and kick returner.
• Saturday was the Broncos’ first practice at Empower Field at Mile High. After practice, Fangio stated the team could have another practice at the stadium. If so, it would be a night practice to prepare for their opening game on Monday Night Football.
• Denver Mayor Michael Hancock addressed the team after practice. He thanked them for their work in the community and pledged he would help them in any way he could. Hancock was invited to practice by the players and the organization.
• The Broncos will have Sunday off before returning on Monday for the final week of training camp.