Broncos Training Camp Day 2 report: Pat Surtain seizes the day

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Pat Surtain II often does his best work without many noticing. That’s typical of many cornerbacks, of course. Do your job in coverage, and few passes will come your way.

But Russell Wilson will test Surtain. And vice versa. And on the last play of Thursday’s training-camp practice, Surtain got the upper hand.

It began with the offense in third-and-5.

“It’s really a competition period. The offense gets the first down, they win the competition. If we stop them, we win,” Surtain said. “So, I had to make a play.”

Wilson looked to Courtland Sutton, near the left sideline. Surtain provided tight coverage. The window was miniscule. But Sutton has made this type of catch before. He leapt — but Surtain got his hands up and on the football. And he did so without running the risk of a pass-interference call.

“That was awesome, because that was two big human beings competing for a ball, and you love to see that,” Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett said. “They’re going to make each other better, and that’s what I love.”

Double horn, done, and thanks to Surtain, the defense had the last word.

“Court, he went up and got it. Russ threw a good ball. He almost had it,” Surtain said. “But that goes to the key of finishing plays and finishing on the ball. You never know what can happen once you finish.”

What happened more often over the second half of the 2021 season was that throwing in Surtain’s direction was a ticket to struggle. So, such plays are to be expected.

But doing it against a nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback like Wilson is different than it will be on many game days. Just as cornerbacks like Chris Harris Jr. and Aqib Talib improved after enduring practice-field tests from Peyton Manning, so too should Surtain and his fellow cornerbacks get better from this work.

“You’ve got to be on point against him, or he’s going to make those tight-window throws — especially deep balls,” Surtain said. “Y’all seen it. So, we’ve just got to hone down on those technique aspects of the game.”

Based on what he’s shown early in camp, Surtain’s work appears to be paying dividends.

PLAY OF THE DAY:

Surtain wasn’t the only first-team defensive back with a dynamic pass breakup. Earlier in practice, Justin Simmons tracked a deep attempt down the left seam from Wilson to Jerry Jeudy and swatted it away, preventing a touchdown.

“”That was awesome,” Hackett said. “That one right there was pretty dramatic, because we were actually trying to pick on somebody else, and then he came over and helped out, so that was an amazing play. That was unbelievable.”

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PACE REMAINS QUICK

It won’t be news as it continues through camp. But for now, the tempo at which Wilson runs practice continues to be notable — especially given the fact that camp just began.

“The sense of urgency is the main key in our offense,” center Lloyd Cushenberry said. “Getting to the line, getting plays and catching the defense off-guard. As you probably saw today, we had a lot of plays at the line of scrimmage, code words and such, so, that’s definitely a point of emphasis.”

The pace and style is in marked contrast to previous years.

“It’s been a lot different — for the better,” Cushenberry said. “Not to say that the last few years were that bad, but you can feel the difference when you have a guy like Russell Wilson — a different level of quarterback out there.”

NOTES:

• Wilson wasted no time involving Jeudy in the attack. On the second play of the first team period — and the first pass play — Wilson ran a play-action fake to Javonte Williams and found Jeudy 20 yards downfield for a solid gain. Jeudy caught the pass a step past Surtain and would have likely had a gain of at least 30 yards with the open field in front of him after the catch.
• Tight end Eric Saubert had another big play, getting open down the right seam for a pass that would have gained at least 30 yards in game conditions. Saubert had two touchdowns in red-zone work Wednesday.
• Williams and Melvin Gordon III continued splitting first-team repetitions at running back. “We’re going to need both of those guys, too,” Hackett said. “… To me, we want to give them both the ball quite a bit, because they’re both very good football players and I love how both of those guys are coming along.”
• D.J. Jones dominated at times, consistently bursting into the backfield both against the run and in pass rush. Jones caused problems for both Meinerz and Muti at right guard.
• Rookie cornerback Jaquan McMillian has flashed at times so far. During the first team period, McMillian made a good play on the ball to prevent a quick pass in the flat from Brett Rypien to Montrell Washington.
• Defensive end Dre’Mont Jones generated consistent pressure from the interior and blew up a toss pitch to Gordon during the pracitce. He nearly got his hands on a Wilson attempt, but the QB threw it just past him, hitting Sutton near the left sideline. Defensive end Deshawn Williams also had a pressure on Williams that flushed him outside the pocket and forced an incompletion.
• Gordon had a solid run to the right side set up by tight end Eric Tomlinson, who sealed off Malik Reed to the edge, allowing Gordon to gallop inside of him.
• During the third-down move-the-chains period to end practice, Rypien and Josh Johnson each completed passes to sustain the drives. Johnson hit Damarea Crockett in the flat past Jamar Johnson, while Rypien located Kendall Hinton on a crossing route to convert a third-and-5.
• Netane Muti worked at right guard on the No. 1 offensive line, spelling Quinn Meinerz, who had all the reps Wednesday. “Right now, we’re rotating people in,” Hackett said. “Offensive line, I just truly believe, needs to work with as many different combinations as possible. Just like it’s been in the past for me, you never know what’s going to happen and you want to be sure that everyone is comfortable working together.”
• Edge rusher Baron Browning had pressure off the right edge on Josh Johnson that would have been a sack in game conditions.
• Rookie edge rusher Nik Bonitto looked better against the run Thursday. During a period near the end of practice, when his pursuit defused consecutive runs by Tyreik McAllister and Mike Boone.
• Safety P.J. Locke didn’t make any plays on the ball following his 2-PBU day Wednesday, arriving at Jeudy in the flat just as a Wilson pass arrived. In game conditions, Locke would have likely had a hit to blow up the play for no gain.
• Brandon McManus made all but one of his six placekicks during a special-teams period.

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PARTICIPATION/INJURY REPORT

• Tight end Greg Dulcich continued working on a side field after taking part in stretching. Dulcich suffered a hamstring injury during OTAs and is being brought back slowly
• Graham Glasgow got center reps with the second unit Thursday, snapping to Josh Johnson and Brett Rypien. Glasgow saw limited work at minicamp in June as he completed his recovery from a fractured ankle suffered last year at Dallas.
• Every player on the 90-man roster was in uniform for the session.
• Wide receiver KJ Hamler remains on the physically-unable-to-perform list. However, Hackett noted that the third-year receiver took his mental reps to another level. “He’s got this little board thing; he’s drawing all the plays on there,” Hackett said. “… So, I think for him, once he gets back out there, he knows where to line up and what to do.”

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WEATHER REPORT:

It was a perfect day for practice, with cloudy skies, no precipitation and temperatures rising from 63°F to 67°F during the session.

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WHAT’S NEXT:

The Broncos practice Friday at UCHealth Training Center at 10 a.m. MDT.

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