On the final day of Broncos training camp (with fans at least), they hosted Kyler Murray, Marvin Harrison Jr., and the Arizona Cardinals for their second joint practice of camp ahead of their preseason game on Saturday. It was a solid back-and-forth practice for both teams, and the Broncos saw their franchise quarterback, Bo Nix, bounce back from some struggles and have his best practice of the summer when it mattered the most. On the defensive side, they had some issues with tight end Trey McBridge, who is one of the best tight ends in the league, who had multiple big plays against the Broncos’ defense.
After practice, Head Coach Sean Payton told reporters that neither the Broncos nor the Cardinals will play their starters in Saturday’s preseason game. That means today was essentially the preseason game for the starters and a very important joint practice for them. Thankfully for the Broncos, Bo Nix saved the best for last.
In today’s loaded camp report, we have Bo Nix dealing throughout practice, the defense having issues covering Trey McBride, lots of injury updates, loaded news and notes, tweets from camp, notable quotes, and more!
Bo Nix has his best practice
After a lackluster preseason opener and arguably his worst practice of camp on Tuesday, Broncos quarterback Bo Nix bounced back in a big way in what may have been the most important training camp practice of the summer. He was dealing all practice, made good decisions, made plays down the field, and even had a 70+ yard touchdown pass during today’s practice. On top of that, he led the Broncos offense into makeable field goal range in the final move the ball period to end practice.
He did this against an opposing defense and impressed everyone in attendance.
Nix started out hot in 7-on-7s with only one incompletion during two periods, which included a 20-yard strike to rookie wide receiver Pat Bryant. In team drills, it did start out slowly. The pass protection was not great early on and derailed the first team period. In the next team period, Bo hits Dobbins for a checkdown, followed by a jet sweep to Mims, and then Nix hits Vele for a 15-yard gain. In the third period, Nix really started to heat up and hit Mims for 15 yards and then found Vele for a 70-yard touchdown, which ended up being the play of practice. It was a missed assignment by the Cardinals’ defense, and Nix hit Vele for 40 yards, and he would run the extra 30 for a 70-yard touchdown.
Following that, he hits Krull for a short gain and then finds Franklin for 20 yards down the right sideline. In the next team period, Nix has time, steps up, and finds Mims for 25 yards, and then has a short incompletion to Sutton, who seemed hurt after the play, but was just dealing with a groin injury for a few moments. Sutton would bounce back later during a red zone period, and on a 3rd and Goal from the 7, Nix found a wide-open Sutton for a touchdown.
In a move the ball period, the Broncos started at their own 20-yard line. Nix would hit Sutton for 9 yards, Mims for 15 yards, and then Trent Sherfield for 20 yards. This was followed by the Broncos’ best run of the day by rookie R.J. Harvey, who exploded for a 20-yard gain and then a touchdown pass to Evan Engram…but a flag for OPI.
The final move the ball period, there was 1:10 left, at their own 30-yard line with no timeouts, and they’re down 3 points and looking for a field goal. Nix finds Sutton for 12 yards, Franklin for 9 yards, then Sutton for 15+ yards, and finds him again for another 10 yards. Nix would then find Michael Bandy open in the middle of the field, and the Broncos are at the 10-yard line with 6 seconds left. Bo throws a pass in the end zone, but it’s knocked down, and they would kick the game-tying field goal. (Thanks to the guys at DNVR for the play-by-play)
Defense has issues with TE Trey McBride
It wasn’t all great for the Broncos’ defense, which had trouble covering tight end Trey McBridge all practice. McBride is a top tight end in the NFL right now, and after practice, Sean Payton told reporters that he is a ‘Joker’ and played like one today. He was left open for big gains multiple times and was just difficult to cover all day for the Broncos’ defense. We all know Vance Joseph’s prior struggles with tight ends, so this was a bit of a concern to see happen today.
It wasn’t all bad for the Broncos. Jonathon Cooper and John Franklin-Myers combined for a sack, and Uwazurike batted a pass down at the line during the open team period. The Broncos’ run defense was also solid all practice, which is good to see.
In the final move the ball period, Surtain had a PBU, but the Cardinals would hit Harrison Jr. for small gains. Later, rookie CB Jahdae Barron is coming off the edge for a blitz and jumps up high, with his arms extended to make a potentially touchdown-saving PBU. On 3rd and 2, three Broncos combine for a sack, and on 4th down, after a false start and… Murray throws the ball out of bounds, and the Broncos defense finishes strong. (Again, thanks to the guys at DNVR for the play-by-play)
While it was not the dominating performance that we hoped to see from this unit, they bounced back and outside of not being able to stop McBride, did a decent job against the Cardinals offense.
Injury Report
- LB Drew Sanders will be sidelined through the start of the season due to undergoing foot surgery
- Sean Payton told reporters that TE Nate Adkins will miss the start of the season after undergoing ankle surgery – Source
- EDGE Nik Bonitto had a bone spur removed from his foot, according to Sean Payton, and should be back next week – Source
- OT Garett Bolles was seen in pain and was loaded in the back of an ambulance, but is going to be fine, according to Sean Payton. Bolles was dealing with asthma-related symptoms – Source
- LB Dre Greenlaw was in pads for today’s practice but was held out of team drills. He is expected to practice more next week. Payton did tell reporters that Greenlaw is dealing with some scar tissue – Source
- LB Alex Singleton was in full pads today and participated in team drills
- FB Michael Burton was back at practice but left early due to a hamstring, according to Payton – Source
- Recently signed CB Gregory Junior also left practice early due to a hamstring injury, per Payton – Source
- WR A.T. Perry was seen in pads but did not participate in today’s practice and is likely being eased back into action
- After leaving yesterday’s practice early, CB Damarri Mathis was back at practice – Source
News and Notes
- In 7-on-7s, Bo Nix hit rookie WR Pat Bryant for a 20+ yard gain – Source
- CB Ja’Quan McMillian was beaten by Marvin Harrison Jr. but would bounce back and get an INT of QB Kyler Murray during 7-on-7s – Source
- IDL John Franklin-Myers had a sack on QB Kyler Murray while IDL Eyioma Uwazurike batted a ball down at the line – Source
- QB Bo Nix hit WR Devaughn Vele for a big gain on a slant route during team period – Source
- CB Ja’Quan McMillian had a PBU vs. Marvin Harrison Jr. during team drills – Source
- QB Bo Nix hit WR Marvin Mims Jr. on a comeback route for 12+ yards – Source
- QB Bo Nix completed a 50-70+ yard touchdown pass in stride to Devaughn Vele – Source
- Nix followed that play up with a 15-20 yard pass to WR Troy Franklin – Source
- QB Bo Nix displayed good pocket presence and hit WR Marvin Mims for a 25-yard gain – Source
- QB Sam Ehlinger hit rookie WR Jerjuan Newton for a 50-yard reception – Source
- On the next play, he hit WR Michael Bandy for a 30-yard gain – Source
- RB R.J. Harvey was able to run up the middle of the defense for a TD – Source
- On a 3rd and Goal from the 7-yard line, Nix hit WR Courtland Sutton for a TD – Source
- Rookie WR Joaquin Davis caught a TD in the back of the end zone from QB Sam Ehlinger – Source
- Rookie CB Jahdae Barron made a potential touchdown-saving PBU while blitzing off the edge – Source
- No starters from either team will play during Saturday’s preseason game vs. the Cardinals – Source
Tweets from Camp
Notable Quotes
HC Sean Payton on the biggest key to getting more consistent in the run game
“Here’s the thing. You haven’t seen it yet because in every drill there’s an early whistle. We stay up on the backs. You saw a little last week. When it’s tackled, you’ll see more. I would say we’re much further along just in the looks. So it’s hard to appreciate when you’re working a thud up, touch up tempo. What’s really hard is being the coach of the drill, saying second-and-7, it’s hard to kind of spot the ball when it’s not tackled. I think you’ll see it. We’ve seen it.”
HC Sean Payton on how much playing time the first team will get on Saturday
“Fair question. I probably was going to get to this. I haven’t done this before. I haven’t had two joint practices before. So neither [Cardinals Head Coach] Jonathan Gannon or myself are going to play the ones. There’ll be a few, there are five, six players that are on an eight-play pitch count that we consider ones, but maybe lack of reps or for whatever reason. So we’re going to feature really two phases. The twos, and when I say the twos don’t read into, basically there’s going to be a group in the first half and a group in the second half. Your frontline, O-line, D-line, quarterback, corner, I’m going to sit those guys only because of the uniqueness of two of these in a week’s timeframe. And then next week I’m going to play those guys eight to 10 plays and get them out. So I kind of have a plan as to how they’ll play in New Orleans, but that’s what you can expect going into this game.”
HC Sean Payton on the depth at wide receiver
“I like it. There’ll be some tough decisions. There’s a chance a receiver that might be out here today might be on a 53 [-man roster] somewhere else. So it’s a good thing. And we’re deep at running back. We’re just further along. We’re so much further along as a roster, and that elevates quite naturally the play of everyone.”
HC Sean Payton on RB Tyler Badie
“Let’s just talk specifically about him [RB Tyler Badie]. He’s someone who has really good football I.Q. He’s a little bit more experienced. He’s been here, but that doesn’t equate to anything. He’s good in the protections. When the fronts move around, he’s a good receiver. So you start looking at Badie, and then you start looking at [RB] Blake [Watson] and then [RB] Jaleel [McLaughlin], [RB] Audric [Estime]. You guys can do the math. Hopefully day after tomorrow we’re getting a ton more exposure. That’s one of those position groups of like, ‘Let’s find the argument for Tyler. Let’s find the argument for Audric, let’s find it for Jaleel.’ You’re rooting for all of them. You’re seeing some of the things that he does well. He can play in the two-minute, and we activated him late in the year at a playoff game. There’s some savviness to his game. Before he got hurt, before we got here, he had a little bit of success. So I like the player. I like coaching him.”
HC Sean Payton on the importance of blocking in the run game
“No, I think this with the running game: it’s going to be different. When we went through the cutups and watched the offensive line, we just felt like there are other teams where that player is the spaghetti sauce, sometimes there’s a safety that’s down in the box. So we’ve immediately upgraded that position. We brought in leadership with [RB] J.K. [Dobbins], and we drafted [RB RJ] Harvey early. So you’re going to see a difference and hopefully a markedly different running game. It’s not always going to be perfect, but that’s the magic of the good back. There’s been a lot of great runs where maybe the looks weren’t as clean, and it was the ability. When we watch tapes, sometimes we say the play or we say the player. So as coaches, we’re trying to give them as many plays like good, clean, and yet there are times where it’s the player. I think that we’re going to be further along there.”
IDL Zach Allen on experimenting with techniques in joint practices
“That’s the thing about—not just even joint practice but training camp. I’m a big believer about trying new stuff. To you guys or whoever’s watching, they might be [thinking], ‘Oh he’s terrible.’ We encourage guys, ‘Seriously try new stuff, and see what works for you and what doesn’t because you’re never going to get these many reps of just practice.’ When we get in season, every rep is so valuable that it’s all about gameplan, gameplan, gameplan. So right now, guys are just trying new things. If it doesn’t work, you take it back to the drawing board. We try to tell guys to not get discouraged and don’t listen to all the ‘BS’, just maintain your process. If it works, great.”
TE Evan Engram on the team practicing with elevated expectations and aspirations
“It’s just our mindset. It’s a championship mindset. We’re not really listening or worried about what’s said outside, that’s just our standard every day. That’s something that we have to earn. It’s not going to be handed to us, and it’s not just going to fall in our lap. How we attack every single day is going to push us in that direction. It’s just our mindset. We’re in control of that; we can’t really control things that are said around us or outside the building. We can only control the things that we’re in control of, and that’s how we attack every single day.”
TE Evan Engram on the joint practice with Arizona compared to with San Francisco
“Today presented challenges. We’re deep into camp, we’re feeling the long camp days, but we have high standards for ourselves so even when we’re not feeling the best—even when the fatigue is high—we have to come out here and compete. We played a great defense today. They were flying around, made a bunch of plays and gave us great work.”