What we've learned about the Broncos after two weeks of training camp (2024)

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Broncos on Monday will begin their third week of training camp practices. They will have five workouts and then a Saturday walkthrough before heading to Indianapolis for Sunday’s preseason opener against the Colts.

As that stretch begins, here are 10 things we’ve learned about the Broncos through the first two weeks of camp:

1. The QB race is down to two

Broncos coach Sean Payton hasn’t announced it officially, but Zach Wilson has fallen out of the race for the starting job. Wilson, acquired in a trade with the Jets in April, has had only one turn with the first-team offense in 10 practices. That came more than one week ago. Rookie Bo Nix and veteran holdover Jarrett Stidham took turns running the top offense in the other nine practices.

Payton said nothing in the competition “is etched in stone” at this point, but the distribution of the reps tells us all we need to know about where the race stands. This is Nix vs. Stidham.

“It’s hard to rotate three (quarterbacks) through the first group,” Payton said.

Wilson was always going to face an uphill battle to win the starting job. Stidham is the quarterback who’s familiar with the offense after playing in it last season. Nix is the quarterback in whom the Broncos just invested a first-round pick, Payton’s hand-picked signal-caller. Wilson would have needed to be flawless throughout the offseason to truly put himself in the mix, an unlikely level to reach for a quarterback who is learning a new offense while also trying to address some of the flaws that hampered him during three seasons as a starter with the Jets.

Wilson has had nice moments. He is unafraid to push the ball down the field. But the accuracy on the deep ball hasn’t been there consistently, and he still struggles to adapt to pressure. It’s possible the Broncos keep Wilson on the 53-man roster and continue to work on his development. That would give him a year to watch and learn like he was supposed to get in New York last season before Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles minutes into his Jets debut.

2. Nix is quickly gaining ground

Let’s imagine for a moment the Broncos had a playoff game tomorrow. Who would they choose to play quarterback in that must-win scenario? For much of camp, the answer to that question has been Stidham. His knowledge of the system is apparent. Stidham is comfortable with what he’s doing, knows where receivers are supposed to be, gets the ball out quickly, keeps it out of harm’s way and does have NFL experience to fall back on — even if it is only four career starts.

“He’s always been able to make the throws and everything, but he’s very tuned into, ‘Hey, this isn’t going to be here, let’s get to the next progression,'” tight end Adam Trautman said. “He looks great.”

Across the past three or four practices, though, Nix has muddied the answer to that question thanks to his clear progress. The rookie is quickly building chemistry with his receivers and had a stretch last week where he completed more than a dozen straight passes during 11-on-11 work across multiple practices. He’s demonstrated an ability to calmly work the pocket, look off coverages and make plays with his legs. He’s also kept the mistakes to a minimum and, teammates and coaches have said, rarely repeats the miscues he does make.

“When we watched (Nix’s tape), you see pretty good pocket sense,” Payton said. “He doesn’t take a lot of sacks. I think he knows when the play is over — time to go. Then, I think he can make plays when he’s going. I used to say this all the time, ‘The sack numbers are a reflection more on the quarterback than the offensive line.’ (Drew) Brees was one of those guys. He was a tough sack. The ball came out. I think Bo has traits like that.”

The starting quarterback decision won’t be made in a vacuum. It’s not a matter of which quarterback is most suited to start a hypothetical playoff game tomorrow. But the fact that Nix has made that parlor-game question more challenging to answer bodes well for his chances to earn the real starting job.

Sean Payton’s training camps are brutal. I know from experience.

Bo Nix is passing every test & I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts 👀👀

Also, Jarrett Stidham visited Drew Brees in the offseason?? pic.twitter.com/aLyoeVcsxW

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— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) August 2, 2024

3. Stidham’s value is apparent

Even if he doesn’t win the starting job, Stidham has demonstrated during this camp why the Broncos have been enamored with him since signing the 2019 fourth-round pick to a two-year deal in free agency last year. Teammates gravitate toward the veteran, who turns 28 next week. He organized a weekend of workouts and bonding in the Dallas area during the offseason for quarterbacks and wide receivers, a measure of how he’s grown comfortable in a leadership role.

He’s also grown as a quarterback. Stidham struggled at times during his first camp with the Broncos as he tried to latch onto Payton’s offense. It was a far different scheme than the one he played in while with the Raiders the previous season and with the Patriots before that.

“I’d say there’s a pretty significant iPhone to Android adjustment there,” Payton said of the learning curve Stidham had to tackle in 2023.

Stidham now is pushing the right buttons. He has been Steady Stiddy, avoiding costly mistakes while generally demonstrating efficiency. The Broncos have had fewer missteps with their operation on offense — relaying play calls, quickly exiting the huddle, etc. — than they did at this time last year. It’s a credit to how Stidham has operated.

“He’s so decisive,” Trautman said. “He understands coverages well and he has great control of the huddle. There’s a confidence that goes into that as an offense when you step in the huddle with someone who’s like, ‘Hey, this is what we’re doing, listen up.’ Someone who’s really in control of it.”

4. Javonte Williams’ camp offering hope

The Broncos drafted Audric Estimé in the fifth round out of Notre Dame. They also signed Blake Watson out of Memphis as an undrafted free agent. But the biggest change to the running back room may be from a player who has already spent three years inside of it.

Javonte Williams is healthy and he has shown during training camp how dynamic that can allow him to be.

“He looks like a completely different player,” Payton said. “He’s fully healthy now, and you can see it in his play.”

Williams started last season less than one year removed from a significant knee injury he suffered in October 2022. He showed flashes of the player who earned all-rookie honors and gained more than 1,200 yards of total offense in 2021, but he didn’t have the same juice consistently. The injury and the grueling rehab needed to recover from it are now behind Williams. He looks like a player once again capable of being the high-volume, high-efficiency back the Broncos need as they aim to create a better support system for their quarterback.

There are still benchmarks ahead. There is no tackling in training camp. The Broncos still need to see how Williams holds up after a 15- or 18-carry game. But all the signs in camp — from his conditioning to his vision in the run game — have been encouraging.

“I’m making a lot of progress. I’m starting to feel like my old self again,” Williams said. “This is probably the best I’ve felt.”

5. Estimé’s sneaky attribute

Last week, a clip of Estimé lowering his shoulder and knocking back safety Omar Brown went semi-viral. On Saturday, he knocked edge rusher Thomas Incoom to the ground as he finished a run near the sideline. Those are the kinds of punishing clips the Broncos expected out of Estimé when they drafted the 5-foot-11, 227-pound running back. He was described by Pat McAfee as “hilariously jacked” and Broncos offensive lineman Mike McGlinchey said recently that Estimé “has the biggest arms for a running back I think I’ve ever seen.” Plowing through defenders for Estimé is like tying his shoes.

The surprise from Estimé — at least a mild one, anyway — has come in what he’s shown as a receiver. He’s been sure-handed in the flat, but he’s also demonstrated an ability to run routes and make catches in traffic, such as he did on a tight slant route during Saturday’s practice. Receiving wasn’t a big part of Estimé’s game at Notre Dame. He caught only 26 passes in three college seasons, so evaluating his potential in that aspect of the game at the NFL level took some projecting for Denver’s staff.

“We saw potential in it, but we couldn’t say that was the reason why we’re drafting him,” Payton said. “A little bit with (Alvin) Kamara, we had a receiver vision until he ran the ball for 52 yards against Arizona, and then very quickly we had a runner vision, too. So I think with Audric, we’ll see how that expands. He’s smart, he’s tough and I like his size.”

The Broncos have yet to see Estimé in an NFL game. He may not ever become a high-volume pass catcher. Still, his performance in that area has been a nice bonus from a player the Broncos believe can be a big part of the offense this season and beyond.

6. Tough wide receiver choices ahead

Courtland Sutton, Josh Reynolds and Marvin Mims Jr. will be on Denver’s roster at wide receiver. Rookie Troy Franklin has not been the team’s fourth-best receiver in camp, but the Broncos traded up in the fourth round to get him and believe the former Oregon wide receiver will develop into a key part of the offense over time. He’ll also be on the 53-man roster.

Beyond those four, the Broncos will have some difficult decisions to make when it comes to the wide receiver room. Payton has waxed poetic during camp about the size at the position. Tim Patrick (6-4), Brandon Johnson (6-2), Lil’Jordan Humphrey (6-4) and rookie seventh-round pick DeVaughn Vele (6-5) all bring that element. All of those players have had nice moments in camp. But the Broncos can’t keep all four.

The preseason, beginning with Sunday’s exhibition opener at Indianapolis, will be critical for this group. The biggest question on the back end of this group is Patrick. His path back has been inspiring. He brings leadership to the room, a major part of the reason the Broncos brought him back this offseason. But he’ll need production in the preseason to earn his spot.

7. Defensive line additions standing out

No position group got better on paper this offseason for the Broncos than their defensive line. John Franklin-Myers, Malcolm Roach and Angelo Blackson represented upgrades for a unit that too often got pushed around in 2023. Denver gave up a league-worst five yards per rush and failed to consistently generate interior pass-rush pressure. Offenses were able to deploy additional resources on Zach Allen and D.J. Jones as a result. The Broncos knew they needed more balance.

The vision has popped off the paper in training camp. Roach and Blackson have been mainstays in the defensive backfield. Franklin-Myers missed a couple days of practice following a death in his family, but he returned Saturday and wreaked havoc during portions of team drills. The group has batted passes, stuffed runs and generally set the tone in camp.

“I’m loving who they brought in,” Jones said. “JFM (is) experienced. Roach (is) experienced. Just the scheme and the ability to attack I think gives us a different perspective of the game. … If we can’t stop the run, we can’t win as a team. It’s on us to stop the run and I think we’ve done a valiant effort so far in camp.”

8. Intriguing battles on the edge

The bulk of the outside linebacker room is easy to outline. Jonathon Cooper and Baron Browning have run with the first-team defense in practice. Nik Bonitto has missed some time in camp with a back injury, but he’ll be a key part of the mix. Jonah Elliss, the third-round pick out of Utah, will also be in the room and has made strides since the start of the offseason program. He showed off his athleticism in coverage during a red-zone play last week, when he ran stride for stride with Greg Dulcich and knocked away a pass intended for the tight end.

“I feel like it took him a little bit to get acclimated and just feel comfortable with this new system and stuff like that, but he’s doing good,” Cooper said of Elliss. “Definitely just impressed with him. He definitely handles it like a pro. He’s going about his meetings like a pro. I’m happy to see him progress and can’t wait to see what he does.”

The Broncos could keep five outside linebackers, and the competition for that final spot has been one of the best battles in camp the past week. On Saturday, it was Incoom, who made the team as undrafted rookie last season, who flashed. During a two-play sequence, he zoomed into the backfield to make a tackle for loss and then applied pressure that probably would have resulted in a sack if he were permitted to hit the quarterback.

Durrell Nchami, Ronnie Perkins and undrafted rookie Jaylon Allen have also had their moments. It’s been a deep room in camp and the preseason offers a chance for one of those four players to make a real run for the roster.

9. There are still questions in the secondary

Depth is being tested in Denver’s secondary with safety Brandon Jones and veteran cornerback Levi Wallace suffering hamstring injuries in camp.

Wallace is in a battle for the starting cornerback job opposite Pat Surtain II and was playing well before suffering his injury Saturday. He intercepted Nix during the first week of camp and also picked off the rookie during OTAs. He brings experience as a seventh-year player and has been a sounding board for young players such as Riley Moss, Damarri Mathis and rookie Kris Abrams-Draine.

“I’ve been playing for a long time and doing it at a high level, so they see the work that I put in and how I’m jumping routes and playing balls, and they’ll say, ‘How do you know to do that?'” Wallace said. “I’m like, ‘Man, it comes from experience but also just trusting yourself.’ I try to help develop guys faster. Like, ‘Man, I wish I would have known this when I was your age.’ Later on, you realize you’re probably right if you just go. I’m trying to get them to learn that.”

It’s unclear how much time Wallace will miss, but any absence means more time for Moss, Mathis and Abrams-Draine, who should all get critical reps in the preseason. Meanwhile, JL Skinner, the second-year player out of Boise State, has seen more work in the absence of Jones and safety Caden Sterns, who has been cleared for action but is still in a ramp-up period as he returns to full-time action.

“You can just tell he is just so much more confident,” veteran P.J. Locke said of Skinner. “He’s trusting himself. It’s his second year in (Vance Joseph’s) system, and that’s normally when things start to click. You can just tell. The communication on his part, he’s seeing things before they happen. So I’m excited for JL because he can play.”

10. Ready for high-stakes punting action?

The Broncos created a punting battle this offseason when they signed former Bears punter Trenton Gill to compete with incumbent Riley Dixon.

Dixon’s numbers were solid last season as he returned to Denver, but Payton said the Broncos sought to add “healthy” competition across the roster this offseason. Gill had two productive years with Chicago, but he was released after the team drafted Iowa’s Tory Taylor in the fourth round of April’s draft.

My rudimentary read of the competition: Dixon has been the more consistent of the two in practices, but Gill has demonstrated a bigger leg. The preseason evaluation, though, will be everything in this competition.

(Top photo of Bo Nix: David Zalubowski / Associated Press)