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What we learned at Broncos camp today: What looked like a light practice was actually a test from Nathaniel Hackett

July 29, 2022

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — For a second-straight day, Russell Wilson got Jerry Jeudy going early in practice.

On Friday, Russ found No. 10 just as he crossed the right hash tracking to the end zone. Jeudy caught the pass and easily made his way to the promise land.

It was almost as if the play was too easy against Denver’s stingy defense.

It’s because it was.

Who won the day: Report Cards

Jeudy trotted into the end zone without competition because Friday’s practice was a light jog through.

“That was kind of a test for me because in order to get through the entire season, you’ve got to be able to learn how to practice with that jog-through mentality,” Nathaniel Hackett explained after practice. “We went a little bit more than our typical walks at night. So this was truly a test.”

Fortunately, the players passed the test with flying colors.

“We’ve never done that before with the helmets on. Everybody was nervous about tempo violators. We had a little incident with DJ (Jones) early—he tried to bat the ball down and stuff—but I’m unbelievably impressed with how locked in they were,” Hackett said like a proud father. “We didn’t have many mental errors at all and the guys were able to communicate and talk, which is what you’re trying to create in that environment.”

Despite the NFL setting many rules that teams must follow during training camp, Friday’s lighter practice was not mandated by the league. It’s an idea Hackett brought with him from his previous stop up North.

“My philosophy has always been—I learned this while I was at Green Bay and I thought it was awesome—it’s always about that three day thing. Day three is where all kinds of bad stuff happens,” Hackett explained. “I’ve acknowledged that after all of my years and then all of a sudden you see those things happen, so you want to make sure you can get them fresh so you can go back real hard on that fourth day.”

Hackett’s philosophy got the stamp of approval from everyone in the Broncos organization as well. His idea was to scientifically figure out the best way to keep players healthy and not suffer any setbacks.

“Because in the end it’s about availability. You want the whole year. You want all the guys that we need,” Hackett added. “I want to be sure they’re doing everything the right way. And learning how to take care of their bodies. That’s always a big thing when young guys come in, some veterans, they need to learn everyday how to take care of their bodies.”

The three-day rule will stay in effect moving forward too.

“We’ll make sure we go nice and hard for a couple of days then always have a kind of little refresher to get their legs back,” the head coach added.

Outside of just letting players rejuvenate their bodies, the other benefit is the team was able to run “way more” plays, despite the 60-70 percent tempo.

“The last period, that’s probably the most reps we’ve gotten since we’ve been out here,” Hackett said. “There’s so many things you want to cover and this game is so mental—everybody talks about the physical attributes people have and the amazing plays they’ve make, but nobody talks about their amazing intelligence. This is the ability to just grow that more and more so that’s why we love to do that.”

With their minds ready and their bodies rested, Saturday’s practice will be a big one. And Hackett let the team know.

“You just spell it out for the guys. You say, ‘hey, we’re going to try and keep ourselves fresh, get our minds right, get our legs back a little bit and then know tomorrow, it’s go time,'” Hackett said. “We’re still going to be protecting the team and doing the right stuff, but we’re going to get a good one tomorrow.”

The team’s first weekend practice of training camp, Hackett wanted to make sure the players are ready to “rock and roll.”

Play of the day

With no plays to actually take anything from, Friday’s moment of the day came from Derek Wolfe, who broke down the team’s huddle after practice with a strong message.

“You guys finally got the piece that we’ve been missing,” Wolfe stated. “That’s Russell Wilson. So follow his lead, he knows what he’s doing.”

Pads — Hackett won’t waste any time putting pads on. The Broncos will throw on the pads for the first time on Tuesday, the first day they are allowed to by NFL rules.

Derek Wolfe — On Friday morning, the Super Bowl 50 Champ announced his retirement from the NFL. He then spent the morning at Broncos training camp following his 10-year career, where he spent eight seasons in Denver.