Throughout ten days of Denver Broncos training camp practices, Jerry Jeudy has stood out as a massive contributor on offense.
How might Jeudy impact the Broncos’ offense this upcoming season with what he’s done early on?
Jerry Jeudy shines for Denver Broncos offense on Day 10
During Saturday’s practice at the UCHealth Training Center, Jerry Jeudy demonstrated glimpses of what he can fully do within the Broncos offense if he gets unleashed.
During the team period, Jeudy shook off defensive back Essang Bassey in coverage, allowing him to get behind the Broncos defense for a deep touchdown reception.
IT’S BEAUTIFUL 🤩#BroncosCamp x @jerryjeudy pic.twitter.com/9f4IGiQcI4
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) August 6, 2022
Jeudy’s connection with Russell Wilson has been on display since the start of training camp and it continued on Sunday.
If the Broncos’ offense wants to take the next step this season, Jeudy will be one of the most important contributors to making that happen.
Brandon Johnson impresses in two-minute drill
Towards the end of Day 10’s practice, the Broncos’ offense had to move the ball in a two-minute drill simulating a situation before halftime.
With 1:42 on the clock and zero timeouts, the Denver offense led by Russell Wilson connected twice with undrafted rookie free agent Brandon Johnson.
One of Johnson’s catches came early against Ronald Darby in coverage.
Johnson stutter-stepped and got behind Darby leading to a big gain down the field to put the Broncos offense into field goal territory.
Just two plays later, Wilson found Johnson once again near the sideline which would allow the clock to stop.
Brandon McManus came onto the field and booted in a field goal attempt that would have given the Broncos a 3-0 lead going into halftime.
As the Broncos try to spread out production amongst various wide receivers after Tim Patrick’s injury, Johnson has continued to make plays consistently in training camp.
Johnson will be a player to watch in next Saturday’s preseason opener against the Dallas Cowboys on Aug. 13.
Denver Broncos Injury Updates
The Broncos received some good news on the injury front at the safety position with Caden Sterns’ return on Saturday.
Sterns missed the previous two days and received a hip injection that allowed him to participate in front of a crowd of 4,705 fans.
Wide receiver Kendall Hinton returned to practice after sitting out the previous two days dealing with a knee injury that was bothering him. He caught several passes on the day, including a crucial one during the two-minute drill from Josh Johnson.
Offensive guard Netane Muti did not participate in practice today as Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett disclosed they’re being precautionary with his knee.
Key off-season free agent acquisition D.J. Jones did not participate either on Saturday as he continues to deal with a back issue.
Tyrie Cleveland, however, continues to recover from a throat injury he sustained earlier in the week at practice. Cleveland is expected to be out 4-6 weeks according to 9News’ Mike Klis.
Outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper was not present on Saturday as he continues to be limited after having off-season finger surgery.
Notable Camp Observations
Despite being unable to hit the quarterback during practice, the Broncos’ group of edge rushers continue to play at a high level.
Consistently throughout the team period, Baron Browning, Bradley Chubb, and Nik Bonitto pressured Russell Wilson and the offense.
More notably, those three players also play the edge of the line of scrimmage with discipline, making it hard for the Broncos’ offense to run the ball to the outside.
Day 10 of Denver Broncos training camp saw WR @_bj7_ continue to make plays on the offensive end. @CodyRoarkNFL explains why @jerryjeudy could have a breakout year, and is even joined by former Bronco great @BMarshall #broncos #jerryjeudy #brandonmarshall #BroncosCamp pic.twitter.com/9MAQG4CizQ
— Mile High Sports (@MileHighSports) August 6, 2022
Rookie cornerback Damarri Mathis once again stacked another day of production in coverage, tightly closing off receivers at the hip and contesting passes.
Mathis has grown a lot from rookie minicamp to training camp according to Nathaniel Hackett.
“When they first got out here, they didn’t know what was going on,” Hackett said of the rookie cornerback after Friday’s practice. “He played a lot of press, so we kind of had to transition him to playing off coverage and learning those techniques. He’s really picked those up really well. He made an awesome interception yesterday, cutting across the field. It wasn’t just the technique, but that extra effort to continue to trust himself and run underneath the ball. That was great to see. He’s picking it up. It’s a little different for him because of how he’s played in the past, but he’s picking it up well.”
If Mathis continues to excel in his on-field role in the preseason, he could become a player to watch during the regular season if he cracks the rotation.
The Broncos will be off on Sunday and will be back on the field Monday for the final week of Training Camp at the UCHealth Training Center.