Broncos defense outshined the offense during first day in pads
Aug 1, 2023, 6:45 AM
The pads came on for the first time at Denver Broncos training camp this year, and it was not a memorable day. Instead of both sides making plays in a back-and-forth on the practice field, the defense dominated, and the offense seemed to be off.
So, what can Broncos HC Sean Payton do to get his offense on track? We saw some clues as to how they could do that and more on Monday.
Here are three observations from Monday’s practice.
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Passing Game Was Off
Broncos QB Russell Wilson had his worst day of camp on Monday. It’s practice, and we’re not even a week into training camp, so I’m not too worried about his performance on one day. We’ve seen good football from Wilson, but following his best day on Saturday, I was surprised things looked off on Monday.
Of course, the offense had to overcome the season-ending Achilles’ injury WR Tim Patrick suffered early in practice. They never really recovered after that, and the defense was able to have their way when the Broncos went to the air. The wide receivers could not match the physicality they were facing, and the defense seemed to be amped up with pads on for the first time.
I’d like to see the receivers have more fight going forward. Perhaps they will, and I suspect they will, but on Monday they just seemed out of it. The tight ends (like Chris Manhertz and Adam Trautman) had more to do with moving the ball than WR Jerry Jeudy or WR Courtland Sutton. Patrick was known for having plenty of “dog” to his game, and he would never back down from a physical challenge. Without Patrick, the Broncos need to find someone else with that hard-nosed mentality.
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Thank God for the RBs
While the passing game struggled, the rushing attack was on point. It started early in team drills with a big run from RB Javonte Williams on his first carry. Williams was able to follow the right side of his line to gash the Broncos’ defense through a huge hole. It was the type of physicality on the ground I expect we’ll see early and often for the Broncos in 2023.
The interior offensive line play has been outstanding so far in training camp, and that’s a good sign for a team that’s going to be as run-heavy as the Broncos are in 2023. Williams was able to follow RG Quinn Meinerz through more than a few holes on Monday. On the other side, LG Ben Powers looks like everything he’s cracked up to be as a mauling run-blocker. Samaje Perine was able to showcase power and speed when running to the left side.
Speaking of speed, undrafted rookie RB Jaleel McLaughlin looked fantastic on the first day of padded practice. He’s a lightning bolt with the football, and McLaughlin had about a 70-yard touchdown run to the right side where he was able to “get skinny” through the hole then turn on the jets so he could outrun defenders in pursuit. McLaughlin is so fast; he can outrun angles just to give you an idea of the type of speed he’s capable of hitting. The receivers struggled on Monday, but Williams, Perine, and McLaughlin provided a deadly 1-2-3 combination.
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Should’ve Been a Penalty
Perhaps part of the reason the passing game was off had to do with the fact that pass interference penalties were not called in practice. There was a pass from Wilson that All-Pro S Justin Simmons picked off easily, and after the play he celebrated with his teammates and threw the football into the crowd of fans. That was a great play, but he essentially pushed Jeudy out of the way to make the play. Jeudy complained about the play, but nothing was called. I have a feeling that in the regular season, such an occurrence would result in a penalty.
I have seen second-year CB JaQuan McMillian make a ton of plays this offseason. In fact, I think he could push Damarri Mathis for the starting job opposite of superstar Pat Surtain. McMillian is a smaller corner, but he’s feisty and he is always in the back pocket of the receivers he’s tasked with covering. What he lacks in length, he makes up for in recovery speed, but I saw him get to the play just a bit early on more than one occasion. McMillian was celebrating after knocking these passes away, but I believe in a game he would’ve been called for pass interference.
It wasn’t a penalty, but it looked like one on a play where CB Essang Bassey blew up a short pass to WR Montrell Washington. Bassey is competing with McMillian, and he hasn’t been making as many plays as his competition, but this play stood out in a big way. Bassey showed his physicality and nose for the ball when he sniffed out the play and then knifed through any potential blockers to blow up the play with authority.
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