The Denver Broncos wrapped up their first of two acclimation practices to start training camp on Wednesday. With the team back on the field, tight end Greg Dulcich made his return and was a standout on the afternoon alongside Javonte Williams.
Denver Broncos wrap up Day 1 of training camp
Wednesday was the first practice of training camp for the Denver Broncos as they acclimate to what is anticipated to be an intense and long buildup to the regular season. The biggest story of the day was the return of Greg Dulcich, which head coach Sean Payton expected when he talked with media on Monday.
Dulcich looked good in his first reps back on the field with a helmet, hauling in a couple of receptions during 7-on-7 and one catch during Denver’s limited team period on Wednesday morning. He looked good in space and picked up yards after the catch during his one reception in the team period. His route looked crisp in 7-on-7, leaving him wide open without a defender in sight on the outside.
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It was a good first day for Dulcich, and now the goal is to get him to day two without any flareups.
Javonte Williams was the other standout who received praise from Payton. Williams was the team’s primary back in Wednesday’s practice and looked sharp in between the tackles and showed some burst on some inside runs. Payton referenced a discussion he had with Javonte during the offseason, going back to watching his college tape which led to Williams wanting to be at his previous weight he was in 2020 and 2021.
It sure looked a little bit like the old Javonte today.
Denver Broncos QB battle begins
As Payton mentioned earlier in the week, he continued to mix up the QB rep rotation the way he did during OTAs. Wednesday’s practice saw Jarrett Stidham go first, Bo Nix second, and Zach Wilson third. The amount of overall reps on Wednesday weren’t as high as they expect to be when the team ramps things up for Friday’s practice, where there will be more than one team period.
In 7-on-7, Stidham connected with Adam Trautman, Jaleel McLaughlin, and Tim Patrick for short gains. Nix found Dulcich for a big downfield gain and Nate Adkins on a short route, but had his pass attempts to Marvin Mims and Trautman fall incomplete. Wilson connected with David Sills V and Devaughn Vele for big downfield gains, and had another completion to Sills down the sideline, but Sills pushed off against the DB in what would have been called offensive pass interference.
Stidham connected with Dulcich in Denver’s only team period of the day on a route where the tight end did some damage with yards after the catch. Nix had two pass attempts that fell incomplete, which were the only passing reps he received on the day during the team period. Wilson’s team period reps didn’t see much success in the passing game, with Durell Nchami likely sacking him on the first play. His final pass attempt of the day saw linebacker Andre Smith and defensive lineman Elijah Garcia swarm him for what would have been another sack.
There wasn’t much to read about the QB competition on the first day of practice because it was an acclimation period, and the pads haven’t come on yet.
The team will be back on the field on Thursday for their second acclimation-based practice.