The Denver Broncos were back on the field on Tuesday for the sixth day of training camp and the second day overall with pads. After having a rough showing on the first day of pads, the Broncos’ offense bounced back on Tuesday with more physicality against the defense, helping them take a necessary stride forward and opening up the run game.
Denver Broncos offense has more efficient, physical showing on Tuesday
Javonte Williams, Audric Estime, Samaje Perine, and Tyler Badie each had some big runs on Tuesday afternoon as the Denver Broncos offense punched back following Monday’s practice that saw the defense smother them.
Williams opened up the Broncos first team period of the day with a big run to the right side taking advantage of a hole opened up by Quinn Meinerz and Mike McGlinchey, springing him free for a 10+ yard gain. Estime’s first touch came with the second-team offense where he maneuvered to the left side, cut in between the tackle and guard, and then found himself free up the left sideline for a gain of 10+ yards.
Quick thoughts on today’s practice
• Offense much better showing today than yesterday
• Javonte Williams continues to look great, Audric Estime showcased good looks today
• Jarrett Stidham had most productive day passing
• Bo Nix mobility once again on display
• Zach…— Cody Roark (@CodyRoarkNFL) July 30, 2024
Perine took a run straight up the middle and bounced away from a defender inside for a big gain on one of the runs he had. Badie had a great cutback inside on his run that sprung him free for a big gain, but it was overshadowed almost immediately due to some fisticuffs thrown by tight end Nate Adkins and outside linebacker Durell Nchami.
Scuffles typically happen in training camp because of the highly competitive setting, but Broncos head coach Sean Payton doesn’t want those things to happen out of frustration.
“It’s a scuffle,” Payton said. “Sometimes it doesn’t bother me. In that case I think we’ll look at the film. I think one player gets blocked pretty well and frustrated. I don’t want discipline fouls, and we’ve all seen it. We talked a little bit about it afterwards, but the guys are working hard.”
Seeing the run game and blocking hold up was a promising sign for a Broncos offense that hopes to start faster next season.
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Payton went against the grain of his normal quarterback rotation that we’ve seen since OTAs. It was perceived to be a Zach Wilson day because Jarrett Stidham and Bo Nix each received first-team reps earlier this week. Instead, Stidham received the first-team reps and Nix received all of the second-team reps.
Payton was non-committal just yet to a change in the actual rotation itself.
“No, we’re still—look we’ve got a plan,” Payton said. “Yesterday [QB] Bo [Nix] ran with the [No.] ones, [QB] Zach [Wilson] with the twos. Today, ‘Stiddy’ [QB Jarrett Stidham] was with the ones, so no news to announce there. I know you’re looking for it.”
When asked whether or not Wilson would get a chance to work with the first-team unit again, Payton didn’t budge.
“We’ll see,” Payton said. “Just like I said there’s nothing to announce.”
Injury updates
Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto missed practice on Tuesday with some back issues, but Payton expressed that they’ll see him back sooner rather than later, possibly on Wednesday.
Safety Brandon Jones (hamstring) continued to work on the team’s side field with the team’s medical staff and Beau Lowery as he tries to work his way back hopefully by joint practices with the Green Bay Packers.
Offensive guard Nick Gargiulo continued to work on the side field with an undisclosed ailment.
Safety Caden Sterns continues to make good progress as he practiced for the third consecutive day. Despite his return off the PUP list, the Broncos are approaching his return to play cautiously as he continues to acclimate to football drills in individual period.
Standout players on the day
Besides the running backs mentioned early on, there were a handful of players who had some standout performances on Tuesday.
Wide receivers Lil’Jordan Humphrey, Brandon Johnson, and David Sills each hauled in passes of 15+ yards on the day. Humphrey has had himself a quiet, under-the-radar type of camp, as has Sills. With the depth of the receiver room right now, practice is a harder place to see a large volume of big plays from the guys competing for a spot on the 53-man roster. The preseason is going to be where we see these players get more of a chance to showcase themselves further.
“I like the depth at receiver,” Payton said. “I’ve said that I think from Day 1. Like the young guys we drafted. I like the guys that we have returning. That’s going to be pretty tough competition if you guys—and you guys all do the math and look at the numbers. There’s a lot of guys out there competing for jobs, and I like the size of the position group as well.”
Inside linebacker Jonas Griffith had a few plays coming up against the run and also dropped back into coverage defensively on some looks. He and Zach Allen were two standouts on the afternoon, with Allen coming up with several passes batted down in the passing game.
Outside linebacker Jaylon Allen had what would have been a clean sack on Zach Wilson in today’s team period, beating one of the tackles around the edge for a clear path to him that led to a tag up.
The Denver Broncos will be back on the practice field on Wednesday for Day 7 of Broncos camp and the third day of pads.
