Devaughn Vele steals the show with one-handed catch

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Devaughn Vele had been building to this kind of moment throughout the last three months.

From his opening steps at rookie minicamp — when he caught a flurry of passes from Bo Nix — into a strong training camp that has seen him emerge as one of the most consistent receivers on the Denver Broncos roster, the seventh-round pick stacked good days. And in particular, his effectiveness rose after the Broncos went to full-pad work last week.

But it was during a Thursday practice in shells that Devaughn Vele made the best catch of his first summer with the Broncos to this point — a leaping, one-handed touchdown grab in the back left corner of the end zone, beating safety P.J. Locke for the pass from Jarrett Stidham.

OKAY, ROOK!

Devaughn Vele with an unbelievable catch at #BroncosCamp 🤯 pic.twitter.com/PJ0NdMcM3M

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) August 8, 2024

“It was fantastic,” offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said.

The only thing preventing the play from drawing the loudest ovation of training camp was the fact that it took place on the east practice field, far away from fans gathered on the west hillside. But it spurred the longest, loudest celebration from the Broncos players themselves, who mobbed Vele in the the end zone.

Adding another layer to the play was that it saw Stidham fire under pressure from Baron Browning. Under game conditions, it’s possible that Browning would have affected Stidham’s throw.

But it’s also possible that Stidham — who threw four touchdown passes on four red-zone plays — would have gotten it away to Vele regardless.

Big plays in practice are nothing new for Vele.

Devaughn Vele made what Broncos offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi called a "fantastic" catch Thursday.

"He's making a lot of those plays all camp," Lombardi said. pic.twitter.com/xArFj4TFsG

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) August 8, 2024

“He’s making a lot of those plays all camp, so that was a little extra special,” Lombardi said. “But he’s been showing us that all camp, so it was pretty exciting.”

• The Broncos eschewed full pads Thursday, working out in shells. The practice began with a run-intensive period and included goal-to-go and red-zone work.
• The goal-to-go period was arguably the most intense of training camp — even without full pads. “It’s good competition. You want guys to have as many live reps as they can, especially in the red zone,” defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said. “That’s good stuff down there.”
• Stidham threw touchdown passes on all four of his goal-to-go attempts with the No. 1 offense. But the defense stiffened from there, allowing just one clear touchdown to the No. 2 and No. 3 offenses, led by Bo Nix and Zach Wilson, respectively.
• Defensive end Elijah Garcia had a pair of sacks of Wilson, one during the red-zone period and the other in goal-to-go.
• Running back Blake Watson had some solid runs and scored a likely touchdown during the red-zone period, getting open and under a pass from Nix near the left sideline for a 25-yard score.
• Wide receiver Tim Patrick had a touchdown pass from Wilson during the seven-on-seven red-zone period, beating Art Green for a 25-yard catch.
• Edge rusher Jonah Elliss notched what could have been a sack of Bo Nix during the goal-to-go period. He later had a rush off the edge that forced what appeared to be a Garett Bolles hold during the move-the-ball period.
• Cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine came up big during the goal-to-go period, preventing a second Devaughn Vele touchdown pass with a deflection of a Bo Nix attempt toward the end zone.
• Reserve guard Calvin Throckmorton helped spring Jaleel McLaughlin for a long run, pulling out and delivering a block on linebacker Andre Smi to set up the sweep to the left flank.
• McLaughlin had one of the most dynamic plays of camp, running for a touchdown during a team red-zone period. Working with the third unit, McLaughlin swept right and found heavy traffic. He cut back to the left, worked across the field and out-ran cornerback Tremon Smith for a touchdown.
• Kickoff returns and coverage were the points of emphasis during the special-teams periods.
• The offense struggled in the move-the-ball period at the end of practice. Given a scenario in which the offense had first-and-10 at its 41-yard line with 38 seconds left, one timeout and a tie score in the second quarter, the offense was stopped on three downs both times. Broncos coach Sean Payton then added a fourth down to each series, putting the offense behind by 6 points. Nix and the second-team offense moved the chains with a 9-yard pass to Thomas Yassmin, but a subsequent deep pass fell incomplete.

Vele’s reception is an obvious choice.

“We haven’t changed a lot from last year. I think how we’re coaching certain things obviously makes the difference.” — Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph

Some Broncos have talked about how the defensive scheme has changed in 2024, with more attacking elements. But defensive coordinator Vance Joseph differs, saying, "We haven't changed a lot from last year. I think how we're coaching certain things obviously makes the difference." pic.twitter.com/DBVEmvq83X

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) August 8, 2024

• Safety Brandon Jones and cornerback Levi Wallace remained sidelined due to hamstring injuries.

Friday, Aug. 9 at 12 p.m. MDT. The practice is closed to the public.