Training Camp Takes: What we learned at Day 2 of Broncos Camp

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — For the first time in 2020, the Denver Broncos took the field as a full team on a Sunday. With less than a month before they open the season against the Tennessee Titans on Monday Night Football, the Broncos held their second full-squad training camp practice on Sunday morning.

Here’s what you need to know from practice.

UNDER PRESSURE

Vic Fangio didn’t play “Under Pressure” by Queen on the loudspeakers during warmups on Sunday. But maybe he should have as that would have been the theme song for Sunday’s practice.

Drew Lock didn’t just have pressure in his face more times than not, he faced pressure from Denver’s dominant front seven nearly a whopping two-thirds of his dropbacks.

Dropback, pressure. Dropback, no pressure. Dropback, pressure. That was essentially the second-year quarterback’s day on Sunday.

As the offensive line continues to rotate players in at out, specifically at center and right tackle, the uncertainty along the offensive line was certainly evident Sunday.

Lock’s first two passes of the day were, you guessed it, under pressure. The first fell incomplete, but on the second Lock took off once the pocket collapsed and was able to buy enough time to find Courtland Sutton 10 yards downfield for a completion.

The next three passes Lock was able to complete comfortably in the pocket. However, on his next drop back, off play action, Garett Bolles allowed what would likely have been a sack in a game.

Then, the pressure was felt from the interior of the offensive line as Alexander Johnson’s blitz was successful. Lock, however, was able to get the ball out to Sutton on the left sideline for a 10-yard gain.

The practice was filled with check-down passes from Lock to Phillip Lindsay, Melvin Gordon and Noah Fant. On Friday, Lindsay said he would catch every ball that came his way. He held true to his word on Sunday while seeing many balls thrown his way with the pressure beating down on Lock.

Although Lock didn’t connect with K.J. Hamler during the team period on Sunday, he did attempt to hit the second-round speedster deep. However, with a collapsed pocket, Lock overthrew the receiver.

On the next play, Lock connected on a check-down pass to Fant, although Drew likely would have been sacked in a game before he was even able to get the ball out.

Two passes later, Von Miller pretended to speed by Elijah Wilkinson on the outside, forcing the right tackle to overcommit on his drop. The Super Bowl 50 MVP hooked inside with a straight path to Drew. The play would have either resulted in a sack or a strip-sack.

Two passes later, with pressure in his face, Lock was forced to roll to his right to find Fant for a short gain. The final pass of practice ended with a short completion to Jerry Jeudy as Lock had no time to go through his progressions.

It wasn’t just the two top-five picks wreaking havoc on the offense on Sunday. Jurrell Casey, Shelby Harris, Mike Purcell, Alexander Johnson and even Kareem Jackson got in on the action. Vic Fangio wasn’t shy bringing the heat despite the sun beating down.

When Denver’s pass rush didn’t get to Lock, they still found a way to impact the play. Bradley Chubb and, unsurprisingly, Shelby Harris each batted down a pass at the line of scrimmage.

And the pressure wasn’t limited to Denver’s first-team defense either. Dre’Mont Jones, Malik Reed and company made Jeff Driskel uncomfortable in the pocket all day long as well.

Despite all of the pressure, Lock handled himself quite well. His footwork and feel in the pocket were impressive as he was able to make the best of a bad situation more times than not. Additionally, his decision making was spot on as he was okay throwing checkdown after checkdown instead of forcing a ball into tight coverage.

On one hand, the offensive line showed they are still very much a work in progress. On the other hand, Fangio’s squad showed what the highest-paid defense in the league can look like when healthy.

JEUDY’S RISE

It took exactly one practice for Jerry Jeudy to prove his worth. On Friday, the Broncos’ first-round receiver was a star with the second team.

Just one practice later, on Sunday, Jeudy was a staple with Drew Lock and the first-team offense. Just where the Alabama receiver belongs.

The No. 15 pick in the draft lined up all across the field, showing his versatility outside and in the slot. While he didn’t have the numbers he had on Friday, largely because Lock wasn’t able to look down the field due to the pressure he faced, he still showed his incredible ability to get open, even against first-team corners.

Locked connected with Jeudy in the middle of the field for a 15-yard gain after the rookie shook his defender coming out of his break.

Despite significant playing time alongside Sutton, Fant and Tim Patrick, Jeudy still received reps with Jeff Driskel and Brett Rypien. It appears while the first-round pick quickly climbs the depth chart, he’ll continue to receive as many reps as possible regardless of what quarterback is throwing him the ball.

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• Devontae Harris: Not only did the third-round corner get first-team reps and go up against the Broncos’ No. 1 receiver on Sunday, but he also made multiple plays. Lined up against Courtland Sutton, Harris had not one, but two PBUs on the Pro Bowl receiver. He also had Jeudy completely covered during a play during 7-on-7. With Denver’s third cornerback job wide open, Harris made some key plays on Sunday.
• Jerry Jeudy: Even though everyone knew he was going to be working with the first team early in camp, the fact it only took the rookie one practice to prove it is incredibly impressive. Expect to see him get more and more work with Lock as camp rolls on.
• LeVante Bellamy: After a rough first training camp practice, the undrafted rookie running back bounced back nicely on Sunday. Bellamy became the go-to option for Driskel and Rypien out of the backfield when they faced pressure. Much like Lindsay, Bellamy was a reliable target.

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• Juwann Winfree: After flashing his talent in training camp last year, Winfree struggled to earn playing time his rookie season before being placed on the injured reserve to end the season. After investing their two top draft picks in receivers, Winfree has to prove his worth in order to make the team in 2020. Unfortunately, he can’t do that when he’s working on the side (see below).
• Jeff Driskel: Sunday was not the backup quarterback’s day. Driskel not only looked frazzled by the pressure, but he was also off the mark on numerous throws. Denver’s new backup quarterback was picked off by DeVante Bausby after staring Jeudy down on the left sideline. Bausby easily jumped the route and was off to the end zone. Driskel was off the mark throughout practice, consistently throwing behind his receivers.
• Offensive line: As detailed above, Lock was under constant pressure throughout the entire practice. To be fair to the group, the starting offensive line is still undecided and they are going up against what should be one of the top pass rushes in the NFL. However, Sunday wasn’t a great showing.

INJURY AND AVAILABILITY NOTES

• K.J. Hamler is “fine” after leaving practice roughly 10 minutes early, a source told DNVR. Hamler slowly walked off the practice field accompanied by a trainer during the final special team’s period of practice.
• Austin Fort did not practice for a second-straight day to open camp. He’s expected to miss at least a couple weeks after having an arthroscopic procedure on his knee.
• Juwann Winfree spent practice working with a trainer on the side. According to Ryan O’Halloran, Winfree is dealing with a hamstring injury.
• Andrew Beck was at practice for a second straight day but was again not practicing as he continues to progress from being diagnosed with COVID-19. He is expected to be activated off the reserve/COVID-19 list and back to practice on Monday, according to Mike Klis.

PLAY OF THE DAY

In the final team period on Sunday, Drew Lock had enough with checkdowns. After quickly planting his backfoot, Lock unleashed a bomb down the right sideline.

The pass found itself float 50 yards right over Courtland Sutton’s shoulder and into his hands as Sutton’s momentum carried him into the end zone. Sutton had A.J. Bouye beat by a step.

Touchdown. A 50-yard strike from Lock to Sutton.

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

• Sunday was Patrick Morris’s day to work with Drew Lock and the first-team offense. As detailed above, the entire offensive line has room to improve.
• Unlike center, cornerback was a fluid rotation throughout practice. Bausby and Harris received a majority of the work alongside Bryce Callahan and Bouye. Both took advantage of their opportunities.
• DaeSean Hamilton let a deep touchdown pass slip right through his hands on Driskel’s best throw of the day.
• Second-year linebacker Josh Watson had an impressive diving interception after the ball bounced off Albert Okwuegbunam’s hands.
• Pat Shurmur showed a lot of pre-snap creativity on Sunday, from formations to motions. Unfortunately, due to the pressure, most of the creativity was unable to come to fruition.
• The Broncos’ first padded practice is on Monday.