TRAINING CAMP 2024

Sean Payton on Zach Wilson: ‘I like the way he played’

Aug 14, 2024, 10:33 PM

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Zach Wilson remains No. 2 on the unofficial depth chart. He also remains rooted with the third team in terms of the snaps he receivers in practice — and, as demonstrated last Sunday in Indianapolis, preseason game play.

But that status didn’t mean that he failed to impress Sean Payton. Quite the contrary, as the Denver Broncos head coach offered his most effusive praise of Wilson so far in training cam when asked about him following Wednesday’s practice.

“I felt his reps in the game were really good,” Payton said. “… I felt like he was real comfortable again. We were in and out of the huddle. There was no clock. I mean, all of that was smooth.”

But his ability to handle pre-snap procedure was just the beginning of what Payton enjoyed about Wilson’s play.

“He’s aggressive. I like that he’s going to take shots,” Payton said.

Indeed, Wilson’s average depth of target Sunday — per the data compiled by Pro Football Focus — was 8.9 yards, greater than the 7.4-yard average of Bo Nix and the 7.7-yard average of Jarrett Stidham.

But Payton also pointed to the value of experience — which, when asked previously about Wilson, was an attribute to which he noted, saying previously that Wilson had a calmness that came from having 33 career NFL starts — 29 more than Stidham and Nix combined.

“I like the way he played and, I mean, you felt it on the sidelines. You felt experience, just poise,” Payton said. “Even in the timeout where we’re going to try to draw them offsides, I gave him a hard time, [asking], ‘Can your squeaky voice get these guys offsides?’

“I just challenge him.”

The question now is whether Wilson has challenged enough to actually push for the No. 2 spot — which appears more and more to involve pushing Stidham.

Bo Nix

The signs continue pointing toward Bo Nix receiving the snaps when Week 1 in Seattle arrives. He took the first-team repetitions Wednesday, and if the Broncos maintain their typical rotation of alternating days for Nix and Jarrett Stidham with the No. 1 offense, that would give Nix the first-team work for the joint practice Friday that will conclude training camp.

Nix had some good ball placement during the one-on-one period, particularly on a deep strike to Devaughn Vele. He completed all four of his passes in seven-on-seven and later capitalized off busted coverage to find Josh Reynolds for a 30-yard gain during a team period.

The No. 12 overall pick also led the offense to a 43-yard, game-tying Wil Lutz field goal during the move-the-ball period to conclude practice. The drive got off to a clunky start, with a pair of incompletions — one forced by a Baron Browning pressure, another a John Franklin-Myers deflection at the line of scrimmage — before he hit Josh Reynolds down the seam for 13 yards on fourth-and-7. An 18-yard pass to Courtland Sutton followed before the drive stalled with a spike and two throwaways, one induced by a blitz.

Jarrett Stidham

There were some rough moments for Jarrett Stidham, who worked with the No. 2 offense throughout the day. He completed three of four passes in the third-down, seven-on-seven period, but two were short of the line to gain. And during a team period, Stidham missed badly on an attempt to Courtland Sutton that Kris Abrams-Draine nearly intercepted.

Stidham rebounded late, leading the second-team offense to a game-tying field goal in the move-the-ball period to conclude practice. Powering the drive were two completions to Devaughn Vele of 15 and 34 yards before the series petered out in goal-to-go at the defense’s 5-yard line.

Zach Wilson

Zach Wilson had the day’s only giveaway among the quarterbacks, but it wasn’t entirely on him. His interception during the seven-on-seven period saw a pass skip off the hands of David Sills and into the grasp of safety Omar Brown. One play before that, Wilson dropped a dime down the right sideline that was dropped.

Wilson did not get a chance in the move-the-ball period, as Payton opted to go two units deep before the double horn to end practice.

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