Training Camp Takes: Welcome to Slant City

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos took the field for their sixth practice of Training Camp on Thursday afternoon underneath the scorching hot Colorado sun, and the heat in the air translated to heat on the field.

In the midst of the fiery practice, there were big plays on both sides of the ball and plenty of trash talk to go with it. If it weren’t for the unfortunate slew of injuries, which we’ll get to later, it may have been a perfect practice.

But as an optimist, I prefer to start with the good news.

SLANT CITY

My friends, I hope you’re like me in that you enjoy a well-executed slant route because the Broncos are going to feast on slants this season, and that was evident on the field on Thursday.

On the very first throw of practice, from the 12-yard line, Drew Lock hit his back foot and unleashed a rocket into the endzone, where Courtland Sutton had run a sharp slant to get open. Touchdown.

Just a few plays later, from a few yards closer, Lock once again hit his back foot, avoided some pressure and uncorked a laser. This time, it was to Jerry Jeudy, who had worked himself wide open in the endzone. Touchdown.

Get used to it.

The combination of Jeudy’s precision route-running, Sutton’s ability to use his big body, and the sniper rifle that’s attached to Drew Lock’s right shoulder, this Broncos offense is primed to gauge defenses with the slant route until they commit to taking it away. And as soon as they do that, the rest of the field is going to open up.

Now, why do I (and why should you) love a good slant so much? Well, for starters, a well-executed slant can result in some of the easiest yards on a football field.  When it’s open, it’s not a difficult throw for a quarterback with an arm, and—obviously—the receiver’s momentum is carrying them away from the line of scrimmage, which helps to get a few extra yards even when it’s covered well.

Additionally, against the right coverage, if the receiver can get separation from their defender, the slant can turn into a big gainer.

In the end, the slant is a receiver’s route, it’s up to them to beat their defender off the line and get open quickly, and when they do, it’s a great chain-mover on any down. The Broncos have the horses to really get the slant working this year, and I fully expect them to do just that.

THE BAD NEWS

Welp. It was a late arrival, but the injury bug finally showed up at training camp on Thursday.

It started with K.J. Hamler not being at practice. It was later revealed that Hamler will miss “at least a couple weeks” with a hamstring injury. In my opinion, the Broncos need to be extremely cautious with this one. They may have to sacrifice a bit of the now for the future.

This is not the first time Hamler has dealt with this injury as he may not have even been in Denver had a hamstring issue not prevented him from running the 40 at the NFL Scouting Combine. And for a guy whose greatest asset involved his legs, Denver needs to make sure they have this thing under control before unleashing him again.

The injury issues continued as the practice went on when both Von Miller and Melvin Gordon were pulled from practice early. After the session, head coach Vic Fangio said Miller “tweaked his elbow,” and Gordon “tweaked his ribs” but that he was still unsure of the severity.

All of those injuries, though, seemed less severe than the final blow in practice when Todd Davis made a play on a Phillip Lindsay run only to crumble to the ground in pain seconds later. As trainers helped him to the sideline, Davis put almost no pressure on his left leg, and he was eventually carted to the locker room with his head in his hands.

It has since been reported by KOA’s Brandon Krisztal that an MRI revealed a left calf strain. You may remember last season when a calf injury held Davis out of all of training camp and the beginning of the season, and while it was on the same left leg this time, last years injury was a partial calf tear, so—as BK reported—the expectation is that this recovery will be shorter.

That would be huge news for the Broncos, who lack depth at the inside linebacker position. If Davis were to miss significant time, it would likely be Josey Jewell, who would take his place on the defense.

DNVR STOCK REPORT

Trending up

A.J. Bouye: Bouye had an interception for the second day in a row and seems to be getting more comfortable in the Vic Fangio defense every day.

Justin Strnad: After Vic Fangio praised Strnad on Wednesday, the rookie linebacker looked great on Thursday, making multiple plays, including a loud hit on LeVante Bellamy in the hole. Look for Strnad to get a lot more opportunities in Davis’ absence.

Lloyd Cushenberry III: Cushenberry continues to get more reps with the first-team offense as camp goes on. Thursday, he split reps with Patrick Morris with the ones and looked to have the better day from our vantage point.

OTHER INJURY AND AVAILABILITY NOTES

• WR Juwann Winfree worked on the side as he continues to nurse a hamstring injury.
• TE Nick Vannett remains in concussion protocol.

PLAY OF THE DAY

The second to last play of the day looked to be a lock for these honors as backup QB Jeff Driskel heaved a prayer into the air with eight seconds left on the clock and rookie tight end Albert Okwuegbunam skied above multiple defenders to bring in a game-winning touchdown, but it was unseated just one play later.

Working with 26 seconds left on the clock from the 26-yard line, down four with one timeout remaining, Drew Lock decided to waste no time.

On the first play of the period, Jerry Jeudy beat Bryce Callahan off the line with a beautiful release, got a step, and worked his way towards the endzone, where Lock dropped an absolute dime onto his outstretched hands for the “game-winning score.”

While the first play had more drama, that one was just too beautiful to pass up for this honor.

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

• Jerry Attaochu, Shelby Harris and A.J. Johnson all had sacks on the day.
• McTelvin Agim does not look like a rookie on the field. He already has the strength to move offensive linemen around.
• Albert Okwuegbunam looks to be getting more comfortable every day, on top of the late hail mary, he had another nice TD catch early in practice.
• Drew Lock has a really great feel for when he should scramble to buy time and when he just needs to take off.  Had a nice touchdown run on a broken play early.
• De’Vante Bausby continues to have a good camp with two big PBUs on Thursday.
• Lock hit a big play to Jerry Jeudy on a play-action pass mid-practice. It seemed from our vantage point that Jeudy fooled Justin Simmons with his eyes while the ball was in the air to get Simmons to turn his head the wrong way and make the catch.
• Training camp has a totally different energy with Lock running things as compared to any of the post-Manning quarterbacks before him. There’s just a different confidence coming from the offense, which is causing for a lot more competition on both sides.