On Day 5, it was Hamler’s return, Jewell’s steadiness and Bonitto’s rise

The Denver Broncos were in shoulder pads for the first time this offseason on Monday. Sure, they were in shells on Saturday, but in shoulder pads things just look different.

After a spirited practice on Saturday, the competition was ramped up another level on Monday. It was arguably the best day of practice we’ve seen from the Broncos this year.

Here are some of my notes from day five of training camp.

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Wilson Takes Shots

Russell Wilson is a superstar quarterback who still has plenty left in the tank. We’ve seen him look to the middle of the field quite often in training camp, and he certainly finds those outlet receivers (usually running backs) as well. While deep shots were the hallmark of his game, we have yet to see him take many of those – until Monday.

It was so much fun to see Wilson air things out on Monday’s padded practice. The plays had varying results, but it’s these “jump ball” situations that can bring the best out of the players on the field. Wilson was throwing plenty of touchdowns, at one point I believe he was 4-of-5 passing with all four completed passes going for a score during red zone team drills near the end of practice.

It wasn’t only when the team was in the high red zone that Wilson threw it up and let his receivers try to make a play. During move-the-ball drills, Wilson was attacking the Broncos defense deep. I like the way he was featuring the size of guys like Courtland Sutton and Tim Patrick on such plays. I look forward to seeing more of these type of plays in the practices to come.

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Another Level for Williams

I have always appreciated the skill we see from Javonte Williams. He was my No. 1 running back in last year’s class, and I was over the moon when the Broncos moved up in the second round to select him. Williams is a powerful runner, and he led the league in yards after contact and broken tackles as a rookie – all while splitting carries evenly with Melvin Gordon.

This year, Williams could take his game to a different level. When I first heard shoulder pads were on Monday, I knew Williams would want to pop some defenders. He did that (of course), but Williams also showed the ability to make tacklers miss in space.

The wide zone system is perfect for Williams because of his power, but also because of his vision and intelligence. He is timed up well with the offensive line, and Williams picks just the right moment to bend, bang, or bounce when he hits the entry point of the play. Expect plenty of power with Williams again this year, but expect him to leave defenders grasping for air with timing and cutback moves as well.

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Hamler’s Return

It was good to see K.J. Hamler back on the practice field on Monday. He’s started training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, but that was mostly a procedural move used by the team to protect themselves if they believe Hamler needs more time to heal at the start of the regular season. Hamler was lightly working with the team during mandatory minicamp, and he was back to doing the same thing on the fifth day of training camp.

Hamler is still wearing a knee brace, but just watching his speed you couldn’t tell. He told me earlier this offseason that he’s been clocking in even faster than he was before his knee injury. A faster Hamler is a more dangerous Hamler to be sure. When healthy, I expect the team to have a package of plays for Hamler where his deep speed can be featured to take the top off the defense.

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New Year, New Jewell

Josey Jewell looks like a great fit for the Ejiro Evero defense. I like what I’ve seen from that side of the ball because Evero is more dialed into what the modern player thinks like. Couple that with a smart player like Jewell, and good things can happen.

The questions about Jewell mainly revolve around his ability in coverage. Seeing him in practice over the last several days, it looks like he’s better in that department. Part of that is his high intelligence, but the other part is the Evero defense.

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Put it on Repeat

A great thing about watching practice every day is that I get to see which players are consistently performing each time out. This is a good sign of things to come for these players, as Quinn Meinerz said on The Fan “success leaves clues.” So, here’s some players who are leaving clues – some in a big way – for the Broncos.

I want to write about Nik Bonitto every day. In fact, of the four previous practice reports, I’ve written about the rookie pass-rusher twice. Once again on Monday, Bonitto was out there making play after play – against the second and third team offense – for the Broncos defense.

It seems like when the pads came on, Bonitto’s game got even better. There are plenty of questions about Bonitto when it comes to coverage ability or the ability to keep contain against the run. However, when it comes to rushing the quarterback, the rookie is looking as advertised (I had a late first/early second round grade on him).

Eric Saubert continues to come through for Wilson. We’ve seen other tight ends get utilized by Wilson, with even blocking tight end Eric Tomlinson getting into the mix, but Saubert does not let the ball hit the ground. He may not be the starter for the Broncos, but Saubert is making this team and he’s certainly continuing to strengthen Wilson’s trust in him.

Patrick Surtain may be the best cornerback in the league. There is no question the second-year cornerback has the skill of at least a top-five player at his position. The Broncos defense is perfectly constructed for a player like Surtain to stand out – and he’s doing that every day. I think it’s boring to write about Surtain left and right – the kid is a star right now and a superstar in the making. Every day he reinforces my high opinion of his game.

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