Day 4 of Denver Broncos training camp is in the books!
Today was the most physical and chippy practice of camp so far, and we saw our first little camp skirmish. The defense dominated again, and All-Pro Zach Allen and the Denver Broncos front 7 and defense came away as the winners. Cornerback Riley Moss and Jonah Elliss continued to be standout players during camp and are your early contenders for the camp winners right now.
In today’s camp report, we have more on the defense dominating the day again, Jaylen Waddle being a big fan of Marvin Mims, Sean Payton excited to see who wins the LB3 job, a positive update on Nik Bonitto who left practice with an injury, more injury updates, news and notes, tweets from camp, quotes and more!
Defense, Zach Allen, Riley Moss, and Jonah Elliss stand out again
The pads were on, and the Denver Broncos defense dominated the day again. It was the most physical and chippy practice thus far, and the defense more or less repeated their performance from Monday during today’s practice.
The Denver Broncos front 7 and pass rush dominated the defense and was led by All-Pro defensive lineman Zach Allen, who channeled his inner Von Miller and kinda wrecked practice for the offense. Cornerback Riley Moss continued his strong training camp and deflected multiple passes while edge rusher Jonah Elliss had a sack and has been providing consistent pressure throughout camp.
The Broncos offense had its way with the defense early in camp, but once the pads came on, the defense has stood tall in back-to-back practices. We know this unit is good and should be among the best in the NFL, so it is promising to see these two units go back and forth so far during training camp.
Speaking of Allen, head coach Sean Payton had some high praise for the Broncos team leader and All-Pro on the defensive line. He praised his stamina and ability to play at a high level while carrying a high snap count, his intelligence and quickness off the ball.
“I think the first thing you’d say is, and some players have this, he has tremendous stamina, so play 38 looks like eight, play 60 still looks like eight. So that’s a big asset at a position where it’s hard. Then I would say his intelligence and his quickness off the ball. He’ll win usually in the first second and a half of a rush, or he’ll win early. So that’s what makes him difficult.”
Allen also spoke to the media today and was asked how this defensive line unit can improve despite being mostly the same unit from the previous years. He started off by praising DC Vance Joseph for setting such a high standard for them and then said he hopes they can get to a point where “there are less mistakes, but still have that fast and violent playstyle”.
“There are always things to improve on. That’s the really cool thing about this group is we’re just constantly trying to find new ways to get better. It all starts with ‘VJ’ (Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph). He sets such a high standard. Yes, we were good last year, but there were still a lot of things that we could have been better at and cleaned up. We want to be as consistent as we can be and play at the highest level that we can. It starts with right now taking it day-by-day. Playing with a good play style, and playing fast, and playing violent and correcting mistakes in the meeting room. Hopefully we get to the point where there are less mistakes but still have that fast, violent playstyle.”
The Broncos defense and specifically their front 7 will be key to this team’s success this season. As we know, they have led the NFL in sacks in back-to-back seasons and will need to repeat that success this season if they want to make it to the Super Bowl. That all starts upfront with Zach Allen, but they’ll need players like rookie Tyler Onyedim, Sai’vion Jones, Eyioma Uwazurike, and others to step up, and so far, it sounds like those players are doing well. On top of that, you have Jonah Elliss and Riley Moss being standout players, which makes this defense even better and deeper, which is bad news for the NFL.
Jaylen Waddle is a big fan of Marvin Mims
Broncos explosive wide receiver Jaylen Waddle has been making plays all camp, even against top cornerback Pat Surtain II, and is looking as advertised. However, today after practice when he met with the media, he told the reporters that he is a “big fan” of another explosive wide receiver on the team.
Waddle told reporters that he is a big fan of Marvin Mims and said that, “He is very explosive, and I love watching him work”. He added that he loves picking his brain and that you have to respect that speed.
“Man, Marvin, I am a big fan of Marvin Mims; I am not going to lie. He is very explosive, and I love watching him work. I love going out and being in meetings and picking his. Marvin is a big play waiting to happen. You have to respect that speed, man, and it’s great just seeing him”
We have seen Mims make big plays as a wide receiver and returner throughout his career, and you have to respect that speed. He is an electric deep threat, dangerous in space, and is an All-Pro return man. Pairing his playmaking ability with Jaylen Waddle, who is one of the more explosive playmakers in the NFL, and the Denver Broncos have the potential to be a productive big-play offense this upcoming season.
Mims has had a strong start to camp and is pushing for more snaps and targets in this offense. He is competing with Pat Bryant, who is also having a strong camp, and Troy Franklin for that WR3 job, or at least snaps and targets in this offense. He will also continue being a dangerous return man who can take it for a touchdown whenever he touches the ball.
He is in the final year of his contract, which has made some speculate about him being a trade candidate, but unless you’re getting a high pick in return, his value to this team with Super Bowl hopes is much higher than whatever draft picks you will get in return.
Payton is excited to see how LB3 shakes out
The Denver Broncos LB3 competition is one of the more interesting camp battles that fans were excited to see play out. Well, according to Head Coach Sean Payton, we can add him to the list of people excited to see who emerges as the Broncos LB3 coming out of training camp.
Payton was asked if he is concerned about the amount of inexperience the team has at their backup positions, and he said he is excited to see who those other two players are to make the team behind veterans Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad.
“No, I’m kind of excited to see who kind of… Both from [Special Teams Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach Darren] Rizzi’s perspective and then from a defensive perspective, who are those other two players?”
The Broncos do have a lot of inexperience at the backup linebacker position. Jordan Turner, who is currently on the NFI, was a UDFA last season, as was Karene Reid, who cracked the 53-man roster last season. Then you have Levelle Bailey, who has been on the team for a while, followed by rookies Red Murdock and Taurean York. Lots of inexperience, but also lots of youth and untapped potential. Like Payton, I am excited to see who makes it from this group.
He added Darren Rizzi into the conversation because special teams ability will of course factor into this. So, not only do they need to impress on defense, they need to make a name for themselves on special teams as well.
- OL Nick Gargiulo remained on the PUP due to a knee injury he suffered last season and is expected to stay there through the start of the season
- LB Jordan Turner remained on the NFI for undisclosed reasons
- Starting center Luke Wattenberg did not practice after leaving Monday’s practice with the training staff, but he was working on the side, which is a good sign – Head Coach Sean Payton told reporters yesterday that he believes Wattenberg should be fine
- Veteran wide receiver Courtland Sutton did not practice – likely a veteran rest day
- Cornerback Jaden Robinson did not practice
- Edge rusher Dondrea Tillman returned to practice after sitting out yesterday’s practice with a minor hamstring injury – He did individual work, but worked on the side during the team drills
- Tight end Caleb Lohner continued to miss practice after undergoing offseason knee surgery
- Edge rusher Nik Bonitto was seen limping off the field with the trainers – Head Coach Sean Payton told reporters after practice that Bonitto “Will be fine, and no further update,” but he was reportedly limping pretty good, so we’ll see
- It was the most physical and chippy practice of camp thus far – Evan Engram and Ja’Quan McMillian got into a little bit of a scuffle, and the two units were jawing back and forth
- QB Sam Ehlinger probably had the best offensive play of practice when he hit RB Jaleel McLaughlin for a TD
- Rookie IDL Tyler Onyedim, Sai’vion Jones, and Eyioma Uwazurike all received first-team reps today
- EDGE Jonah Elliss had a sack today and has been producing consistent pressure throughout camp – breakout incoming?
- WR Hakeen Butler had a rough day and was shut down by UDFA CB Brent Austin, who might be a sneaky name to watch
- CB Riley Moss continues to make plays and is having a strong camp thus far
- Defense dominated the 9-on-7 run drill – JK Dobbins did have one good run
- Jaylen Waddle vs. Pat Surtain II happened throughout practice
Head Coach Sean Payton on how the coaching staff evaluates how the units are performing during practice
“I think there’s an overriding goal of… I think we can start faster in general. If you looked at last season, we played better, I think, in the second half of a lot of games than maybe the first. The reality of it is, when a series starts, the first first down is a big play for the offense. Now you’re in a drive. You can’t call it a drive if you don’t get your first first down. So just having those short point of emphasis periods, and it does teach us things too. We have this little skirmish on the sidelines, which is silly. You have to get on to the next play.”
Head Coach Sean Payton on RB RJ Harvey watching film of former players
“Well, it would be… So if we installed something, and then those guys will come up to my room, and it’s just 810 touchdowns. I’ll go to that choice route, or screen route or [I] just have a whole library of perfect plays, whether it was [former NFL RB Reggie] Bush, [former NFL RB Darren] Sproles, [Saints RB Alvin] Kamara. It’s pretty cool when you can just show him five choices, and by the way, they’re all touchdowns. I think when they can see plays like that stacked, regardless of who the player is, we’ll even cut out someone else’s. If we see a nice snap, it’s like a learning piece for anyone, so it’s a good resource.”
Head Coach Sean Payton on RB RJ Harvey’s development in footwork and instincts
“I would say if you just measured his first year, he had a bigger impact in the passing game with some of the routes he was running than maybe in the run game because of the rotation. He has some good stuff on tape already as a rookie, so I’m encouraged because he has some natural hands. I think, you recall the play at Kansas City, it was a scramble and he was in the end zone. He kind of slid one way and slid back and just caught like a broken play. For a rookie, it was a pretty instinctive play, and you would’ve guessed it would’ve been a receiver. He happened to be in the back of the end zone. So he’s quiet, but he’s really smart.”
Head Coach Sean Payton on the reasons why he watches his file of touchdown cut-ups
“For ideas. Something will come up maybe in a meeting, and it’s a reference to maybe a formation. They’re all organized by three-step [drop], five-step, seven-step, red zone, goal line. There are like 14 categories, but it’s a pretty interesting study sometimes when you see something perfectly executed. Now there are a few plays on there that are touchdowns and there’s a lot wrong, but it still was a touchdown, but it’s a good resource.”
IDL Zach Allen on how nice it is to get pads on for practice
“[Practicing in] pads is huge, especially for linemen. When you get the OTAs speed and even in [shells], it’s just tough because if something works for you or the [offensive] linemen, there is always that doubt in your head of, ‘Oh, was it because it was just [in] T-shirts,’ or whatever it is. But here, if it works it works. Definitely love pads and that’s what’s cool about here is that [Head Coach] Sean [Payton] loves them, too. You have a lot of guys who understand, but a lot of teams might shy away from it. Here, we get a lot of good work in and guys value it. You are really able to work your craft with them. Definitely, the padded days are so valuable because they are so limited now with the new rules and everything like that. You can’t waste days like that.”
WR Jaylen Waddle on practicing against the defense at practice every day
“Our defense is definitely top in the league. Just having that back and forth with them, front to the back end, to the linebackers. It just makes us play true. We try to go out there, give them good looks [and] compete real hard against them. Our defense is hard to get a yard on, I can tell you that.”
WR Jaylen Waddle on playing in front of Broncos Country at training camp
“The Broncos fans are great. Just coming out here and just taking time out the middle of the day during a work week to come out here and just see us compete against each other is great. It’s packed every day. It’s great. They’re very loud, and we can hear them and they give us energy.”
WR Jaylen Waddle on working with QB Bo Nix
“[QB] Bo [Nix] is great. Last week he saw me thinking about the plays, and he kind of just walked up to me and said, ‘Hey brother, don’t think, just play. I got you,’ and he’s been having me. I love Bo.”
WR Jaylen Waddle on immediately fitting into the Broncos’ culture
“For one, it’s just the team. They welcomed me with open arms since Day 1. I kind of grew to [know] not just [CB] Pat [Surtain II], but my receiver group, and the defense and everyone. It’s like a big family here. It just makes it easy to come to work. It makes it easy to come to work, go out there and compete in front of the fans on days like this. These are the dog days of camp.”
