The Denver Broncos have wrapped up mandatory minicamp a bit early after head coach Sean Payton announced that Wednesday’s practice was the final one of the offseason program. Players and coaches are now headed away from a break before the ramp-up begins for training camp in July.
Denver Broncos offense not as flashy in final day of minicamp
The Denver Broncos offense has been steady and consistent throughout the offseason program for Bo Nix and Jarrett Stidham as the team’s QB competition goes on pause before training camp.
Wednesday’s final minicamp practice didn’t see as much sharpness from the offense. It was Bo Nix’s turn to get reps with the first team unit.
In Denver’s 7-on-7 period, Nix started off with three straight completions to Lucas Krull, Nate Adkins, and Jaleel McLaughlin. His final pass attempt to Michael Bandy was tipped up into the air by veteran cornerback Levi Wallace, who then corralled it for an interception.
#BroncosCountry Minicamp is officially over after the team wrapped it up on Wednesday.
My report from Wednesday’s practice. @MileHighSports pic.twitter.com/r5TV8Zy6hA
— Cody Roark (@CodyRoarkNFL) June 12, 2024
Wallace’s length to play the hip of Bandy and extend his arm to fight for the football was technically sound despite Nix’s placement being inside where it needed to be.
Nix’s first pass attempt of the team period was a nice throw to Tim Patrick, who bobbled it up into the air, regaining possession of the ball, but he stepped out of bounds.
His next two throws went to Bandy and Samaje Perine before his final pass attempt to Tyler Badie fell incomplete.
Zach Wilson ran with the second team unit on the afternoon, where his real highlight throw of the entire offseason period came with him connecting with David Sills V for a high-point, tip-toe catch with Riley Moss in coverage. Outside of that throw, there was nothing drastic from Wilson in comparison to Nix or Jarrett Stidham.
Stidham ran with the third unit on the day where his best work came in the team’s final team period in red zone. He found Troy Franklin and undrafted rookie free agent rusher Blake Watson for touchdowns.
Notable Broncos who did not practice
Caden Sterns, Adam Trautman, Greg Dulcich, Josh Reynolds and Audric Estime were notable names who did not practice on Wednesday.
The Broncos are being smart with Trautman after he had what Sean Payton called a core muscle strain that didn’t require surgery. Dulcich is still recovering from offseason foot surgery, and the anticipated timeline for his return is the start of training camp.
Reynolds came up with a muscle strain yesterday during practice and Payton wanted to be smart not to push anything and decided to hold him out of practice today. Estime continues to make progress after having a knee scope procedure two weeks ago.
He was in a jersey and was walking around during various periods, joining his teammates while plays were occurring. It appears that Estime is expected to be ready for the start of training camp.
Notable standouts from Wednesday’s practice
Cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian continued his hot streak of good performance during the team’s offseason program. He had a key pass breakup during the red zone period, knocking away one of Bo Nix’s pass attempts in the endzone to Brandon Johnson.
Jaleel McLaughlin continues to look like the best running back at practice, showcasing great vision and burst.
Some under-the-radar names that have been consistent throughout training camp have been David Sills V, Michael Bandy, Phillip Dorsett, and Art Green.
Sills and Bandy have caught a handful of passes from various quarterbacks throughout OTAs and minicamp, while Dorsett has turned it on the last two weeks.
Green has had an impressive offseason program from our observation, having several pass breakups in coverage or having tightly contested coverage on various receivers.
These will be some early names to keep an eye on as the Denver Broncos now prepare for training camp.