Training Camp Takes: Essang Bassey makes an impressive last-minute case for himself

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — There was a quick moment of Wednesday’s practice where it appeared the 2019 defense was on the field. With No. 34 lined up in the slot as the nickel cornerback, it was as if Will Parks never left for the Philadelphia Eagles in the offseason.

But, of course, it wasn’t Parks occupying the nickel cornerback spot. It was undrafted rookie cornerback Essang Bassey.

Despite not being in the mix for the third cornerback spot all camp, Bassey was thrown into the fire on the third-to-last practice of training camp on Wednesday.

“I just decided today—actually last night but didn’t tell him—as soon as we started the teamwork and first drills for him to take the reps with the first nickel [defense] as the nickel,” Vic Fangio said, explaining his decision to put the 5-foot-10, 190-pound cornerback out with the starters. “It was more of a test for him. It wasn’t a move or anything just to see how he reacted and how he would do in there.”

While it wasn’t necessarily an indication that Bassey is moving up the depth chart, according to Fangio, it can’t go overlooked that the undrafted cornerback was taking valuable reps with the first-team defense just 12 days before the season opener.

Fangio has constantly harped on how valuable every practice and snap is, especially with no preseason games. So the fact that Bassey was given this opportunity roughly 72 hours before final roster cuts are made on Saturday indicates good news for the young corner.

After practice, Fangio stated a reason to wait until the last second to tell Bassey of his opportunity was to simulate a game scenario.

“That’s how it could happen in a game. You could be going five, six, seven weeks as a backup and you’re ready to go but you never get in there. Then it just happens that fast, so you have to be ready to go. That’s part of it,” Fangio explained. “[Another reason] is to give him a chance to work with the ones, put him in there, let him feel it, let the other players feel him in there. I just wanted to see how it would go and whether he would pee his pants or go out there and be like he’s been.”

And the final verdict, Coach?

“I thought he did pretty damn well,” Fangio, the man who doesn’t give out unearned praise, stated.

The Broncos have had an undrafted rookie make the final 53-man roster in 15 of the past 16 years. With Wednesday’s impressive performance in a pressure-packed situation, Bassey put himself in the conversation to be 2020’s candidate for that honor.

“For him to be able to have made an impression so early on and to be doing it so well, doing good in things at camp is just a testament to the type of person he is, the type of player he is to take every day, learn every day and be able to be better in the following days,” Malik Reed, an undrafted rookie in 2019, said on Wednesday. “I feel like that’s something that Coach Fangio has seen. I feel like that’s something that is a testament to the person and player he is.”

INJURY AND AVAILABILITY NOTES

• Von Miller did not practice on Wednesday as he received a day off. “Von just had basically a vet day,” Fangio said after practice. That didn’t keep Von from hooting and hollering during practice to pump up his teammates as he was the loudest player on the field for a portion of Wednesday’s practice.
• Bradley Chubb received another day off from practice on Wednesday. After leaving Saturday’s scrimmage early, Fangio said the team is going to be “conservative” with him this week and give him days off to rest his knee. Chubb is coming off ACL surgery last year. Fangio is optimistic Chubb will be “playing well” come Week 1. On Wednesday, Fangio added Chubb is “getting better” and will “be back out there soon.”
• Graham Glasgow’s sprained ankle kept him out of Wednesday’s practice after suffering the injury during Saturday’s scrimmage. After practice, Fangio said he thinks Denver’s right guard will be “out there” next week. Glasgow was walking on the practice field without a noticeable limp.
• Troy Fumagalli did not practice on Wednesday after undergoing a procedure on Monday, according to Fangio. Fumagalli will be back in a “week or so” and will be 100 percent once he’s back. He was in attendance at practice for the first time in many days.
• Todd Davis (calf) and K.J. Hamler (hamstring) worked with trainers on a side field in pads during practice. On Friday, Fangio said he expects to see Davis practicing “sooner rather than later. Sooner doesn’t mean tomorrow, but I think he’s getting better.”
• Juwann Winfree returned to practice after missing many days with a groin injury.
• Michael Ojemudia (quad) and Alijah Holder (soft tissue injury) returned to practice in a limited fashion on Wednesday. Fangio said, “It’s kind of the natural progression, see how they did today and evaluate it for tomorrow and Friday.”
• Austin Fort will be out a total of four-to-eight weeks after having an arthroscopic procedure on his knee.
• Justin Strnad was placed on the injured reserve and will miss the rest of the season with wrist surgery.

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

• The Broncos will have their second practice of training camp at Empower Field at Mile High on Friday. Kickoff for the team’s last practice of camp will be at 7:30 p.m.
  • “It will be a similar format to what we did last week, give our guys a chance to get down there, see the lights with our first game being under the lights especially for some of these receivers and guys that haven’t been there just to get a feel for that and another good feel for the stadium,” Fangio explained.
• Fangio said now is the time when the offense will begin honing in on the Week 1 playbook. The coaches will talk to Drew Lock and tailor the gameplan to what he’s comfortable with.
  • “At the same point with him pushing through stuff that we think is important that maybe he doesn’t feel as comfortable with now,” the head coach added.
• The expectations for Bradley Chubb in Week 1 were again tempered on Wednesday. Fangio stated the third-year player “may not be able to take the full load right off the bat.”
  • “We need both [Jerry Attaochu] and Malik Reed and everybody else at that position to chip in,” Fangio added. “Jerry’s a very important player for us.”