The Denver Broncos were back on the field on Wednesday for Day 7 of training camp, where the pads were on once again, and it was their longest practice to date. Bo Nix and the Broncos’ offense struggled to get anything consistently moving against Denver’s aggressive defensive front, but not having Courtland Sutton or Jaylen Waddle today made things a little more difficult.

Denver Broncos offense without Courtland Sutton and Jaylen Waddle on Wednesday

Courtland Sutton had another load management day today, which meant Bo Nix was without his top receiving target for two consecutive days of padded practices. Nix was also without his perceived next top option, Jaylen Waddle.

Waddle went into the training room with Vince Garcia prior to any of Denver’s team drills and didn’t look like he was in any pain or discomfort, but he did not return for the remainder of practice. Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton told us after practice that there were no updates on Waddle except that he should be fine and that he was dealing with muscle tightness.

For the Broncos, there have been three consecutive days that they’ve had to manage without a starter due to some blips on the health side. Center Luke Wattenberg exited Monday’s practice early, outside linebacker Nik Bonitto left practice on Tuesday pretty early, and Waddle today.

Thankfully, they’ll all be fine. Wattenberg continued to work on the side field today, while Bonitto was out at practice observing in a jersey and cleats. We’ll see if Waddle is out on the field on Thursday.

Now, to practice.

Malcolm Roach, Eyioma Uwazurike, and Matt Henningsen had some impactful moments today on defense. Roach and Uwazurike not only generated pressure on Bo Nix and quarterbacks today, but they both had several big run stuffs in group run and in the team periods.

In Denver’s final team period, Roach had a sack of Nix, a run stuff in the backfield for a loss against J.K. Dobbins, and then Roach and Uwazurike combined for what would have been a sack on a 3rd and 12.

It wasn’t all bad for the Broncos offense, though the defense ‘won the day’ for those of us keeping track. In Denver’s first period, Nix fired a shot to Troy Franklin with a clean pocket, and Franklin created separation from Riley Moss with a great route that caused Moss to fall on the ground. On the next play, Nix ripped a shot to Pat Bryant, who had nothing but green grass around him on what appeared to be a busted coverage.

Roach and Uwazurike had a combo pressure and sack on the next play.

For the Broncos’ second-team period, Nix found Bryant for a quick short pass, and he was able to get up the sideline for a big gain because of a block set up by Lil’Jordan Humphrey. Humphrey also continued his streak of stacking days and hauled in several passes on the day from Nix, Stidham, and Ehlinger.

Other Broncos Camp standouts from Wednesday

Defensive lineman Matt Henningsen is flying under the radar in camp, having a tremendous start after coming off of Achilles surgery last season. There were several instances in group run and in Denver’s team periods where he was stout against the run, anchoring down and not being pushed back easily.

RJ Harvey had a few springy runs during Wednesday’s practice, and he had a massive catch and run, but it was called back due to an illegal block by Lucas Krull. Payton and the Broncos had officials on the field for today’s practice. In Denver’s third team period, Harvey had a nice catch and run up the sideline, set up by a great block from Marvin Mims on Riley Moss, which helped spring Harvey free.

Wide receiver Michael Bandy had himself a standout day, hauling in several big passes from Jarrett Stidham, who received the last set of reps at quarterback today.

Running back Jaleel McLaughlin also showcased several nice runs throughout the day.

Outside linebacker Johnny Walker Jr. had some moments where he was in the backfield against the run, but had one play on the day where he recovered a loose ball. He then came off the edge on the second-to-last play of the third team period, where he would have had a clean sack on Stidham. Walker Jr. then followed it up with what would have been another sack in the ensuing team period.

The Broncos will be back on the field Thursday morning for Day 8 of training camp.