The Denver Broncos third day in pads proved to be one of the most physically competitive practices in the last year with the core nucleus of guys Sean Payton has built this team with. New additions have transitioned into the Broncos culture seamlessly and that dynamic was on display.
Denver Broncos ramp up physicality during third padded practice
Usually, the first couple of practices with pads are designed to gradually ramp things up, and that was the story for the first and second day of pads, but Wednesday’s practice was a tone setter for a culture that has this young Broncos team eager to do more in 2025.
Dre Greenlaw and Malcolm Roach were the two players who set the tone for the day. In Denver’s competitive 9-on-7 period, which is a drill that focuses on the run game with the backs, the offensive line, defensive line, and linebackers all trying to create lanes and get stops.
The Denver Broncos defense was swarming on Wednesday and set the tone, but the offense and Bo Nix also fired back.
Some notes from today’s practice @MileHighSports pic.twitter.com/a8jjax99XP
— Cody Roark (@CodyRoarkNFL) July 30, 2025
Greenlaw made his presence known on the first play, delivering a hard stick on J.K. Dobbins. From that point on, the defense was on fire. Roach burst through the line of scrimmage on two consecutive plays to stop Dobbins behind the line of scrimmage and at the line.
This led to banter between the defense and offense throughout the rest of the period — raising the bar for what would be a highly competitive day in Dove Valley.
Broncos focus on third-down efficiency
In two separate team periods, the Broncos focus on offense and defense was third down. One period consisted of a series of third and short scenarios, and the final period focused on third and long.
Denver’s defense was dominant and smothering during the third and short period, but Bo Nix and the offense counterpunched when they were facing third and long.
Nix saw four plays during this final series, and he moved the chains twice on a 3rd and 13 and 3rd and 10, finding Courtland Sutton in a tight window and Trent Sherfield, going 2-of-4 (50%) on third and long conversions.
Despite the new additions of Talanoa Hufanga and Dre Greenlaw and the already established players on defense like Patrick Surtain II, Riley Moss, Brandon Jones, Nik Bonitto, Zach Allen, Jonathon Cooper, and John Franklin-Myers, Nix has been smart with the football, but hasn’t been afraid to challenge them.
There’s a famous saying that ‘iron sharpens iron,’ and the early observations note that to be true. Even if the defense dominates a large portion of the day, the offense and Nix are finding ways to do something about it, pressing when he needs to, but not being reckless with the ball.
Denver Broncos news and notes
- Wide receiver Devaughn Vele was not spotted at practice on Wednesday. Neither was outside linebacker Que Robinson. We’ll see if we receive an update on them from Sean Payton on Thursday.
- Quote of the day: “As long as I’m across from DPOY, it’s going to be like that, and I love the challenge. It makes it fun. It makes it fun to come in to work knowing it’s on me. I’m going to be on an island, and what can I do? That’s what I think makes this game so beautiful and why I love the position that I’m in.” – Riley Moss on the challenge of playing opposite of Patrick Surtain II.
- Play of the day: Dre Greenlaw’s stick on J.K. Dobbins during 9-on-7.
- Key Standouts: Levelle Bailey, Malcolm Roach, Troy Franklin, Trent Sherfield, Blake Watson, Kris Abrams-Draine.
Bailey continued to impress, stacking another strong performance at linebacker next to Greenlaw. Roach had a strong day against the run. Franklin made two toughly contested catches during 1-on-1s and is showing that he can do more offensively than just get behind opposing defenses.
Sherfield hauled in two big passes on the day on third down, while Watson had several explosive runs that make the conversation surrounding the receiver and running back room a little more interesting. Abrams-Draine had two strong performances in back-to-back practices, making several plays against the ball in the air and blowing up a short pass attempt to Evan Engram.
Denver will be back on the practice field on Thursday at 10:00 a.m.
