Player Attendance
Did not practice: Physically Unable to Perform list – OLB Baron Browning (knee). Non-Football Injury list – DL Mike Purcell (knee).
DL D.J. Jones and OL Yasir Durant were in attendance but didn’t participate. They did side-field conditioning work with Purcell at times.
WR Marvin Mims (hamstring) got some work but also continues to spend time doing conditioning.
LT Garett Bolles started practice but had another light workload. He’s coming back from a fractured lower leg in 2022.
Top Play
Quarterback Russell Wilson and the No. 1 offense had a nice, crisp start to the day. Wilson was sharp in a 7-on-7 drill and the highlight came when he hit tight end Greg Dulcich in the deep post for what would have been a touchdown.
The top play for the defense came at the expense of the No. 1 offense. More on that below.
Thumbs Up
No. 38 keeps popping. Rookie running back Jaleel McLaughlin ripped off another big run. When he gets a seam, he’s through it quickly. He got a big hole during 11-on-11 work with the reserves and blasted right up the middle of the field. He also got popped hard by defensive back Faion Hicks later in practice. McLaughlin’s small, so how he holds up and takes contact in preseason games will be instructive on his chances of making the roster. He’s certainly got a chance based on his explosiveness.
Clutch kick. Brett Maher and Elliott Fry struggled during a kick-off Thursday, but Maher bounced back on Friday. He trotted out at the end of a two-minute drill and drove home a 52-yarder in a trail-by-three situation.
Thumbs Down
Good, bad and ugly. Friday brought the first two-minute drills of camp, and the No. 1 offense started, well, really poorly. Trailing by six with 1:48 on the clock at their own 25, the offense had two pre-snap penalties before getting a play off, burying themselves in first-and-20 (reporters had been moved near the end of practice and couldn’t see who jumped). After one short completion, Wilson had a pass deflected by defensive lineman Jonathan Harris and intercepted by Randy Gregory, who returned it for a touchdown.
The second one, trailing by three, went better thanks to a series of short completions and Maher’s field goal.
Laundry day. Coach Sean Payton has pointed out how bad the Broncos were in procedure penalties in 2022 and committed to fixing it this fall.
It’s not fixed yet. The two to start the two-minute drill were the most egregious, but Friday featured several.
“It’s something we obviously have to improve on,” Payton said, noting he talked with the team again about it at the end of practice. “… At some point you pull the player out.”
Said wide receiver Marquez Callaway, who played for Payton in New Orleans in 2021, “Ya’ll getting to learn Sean and how he operates. Small things that can get yourself beat is what irritates him, is what I’ve picked up. He tries to instill in us that we’re not going to win and beat an opponent if we’re beating ourselves.”
Odds and Ends
• Friday featured 1-on-1s between receivers and defensive backs and also between linemen and there was plenty to sort through. Jerry Jeudy vs. Pat Surtain II is must-watch stuff and the first rep of the day featured close coverage from No. 2 on a double-move from Jeudy.
• Courtland Sutton beat Damarri Mathis and Mathis later panicked when he didn’t need to and took down Jeudy in the end zone. Brandon Johnson also drew a pass interference flag with a good route on JaQuan McMillian.
• Safeties often have a tougher time in 1-on-1s because they’re not lining up and pressing a receiver, but it was still eye-opening to see undrafted receiver Taylor Grimes shake Justin Simmons and get himself wide open. Grimes has flashed just about every day.
• Right guard Quinn Meinerz gets use out of 1-on-1 drills between the linemen, but he didn’t hold back on how they get interpreted outside the meeting room. “One-on-ones are a Twitter drill, as some people say,” Meinerz said, before explaining the drill is more about refining technique and working on moves than it is about who wins or loses each rep.
• Well, let’s do a little Twittering anyway. Randy Gregory blasted around Cam Fleming. Center Luke Wattenberg showed a nice anchor to stunt a couple of rushes. Second-year defensive lineman Matt Henningsen drew a big reaction from his side twice with powerful moves past center Kyle Fuller.
• McLaughlin and Grimes are a couple of young players to watch in preseason games. So are outside linebackers Marcus Haynes and Thomas Incoom. They each have burst. How does it look assignment-wise against somebody else in a game?
• Former New York Jets and Miami Dolphins head coach and Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase was in attendance Friday. He’s the son-in-law of Denver defensive assistant Joe Vitt.
• Outside linebacker Frank Clark came out to practice about 25 minutes late but had his pads on and did some team and individual work on the day. During the stretch lines, he had an animated conversation with vice president of player health and performance Beau Lowery and player development VP Ray Jackson that lasted quite a while.
“Nothing to report,” Payton said afterward.
Saturday schedule
The Broncos are back on the field Saturday for their sixth straight day before a Sunday off-day. Practice starts at 10 a.m. and a ticket is required for entry. The parking lot opens at 8 a.m. and the gates at 9 a.m.
Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.
