Penalties and punt-return woes have become issues for the Broncos

The Denver Broncos are a week away from their first preseason game. Before you know it, the regular season will be here for Sean Payton’s team.

However, they still have work to do in training camp. The pads were back on Friday, and QB Russell Wilson perhaps had his best day of practice under Payton.

Here are three observations from Friday’s practice.

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Blocking Matters

I had a chance to catch up with Broncos tight end Adam Trautman after practice on Friday. When he came out of Dayton in 2020, I had a chance to watch him at the Reese’s Senior Bowl and came away impressed. He was one of my favorite sleepers at the tight end position that year, and Payton loved him so much that he moved up by trading away four picks to acquire him in the third round.

During his time in college, Trautman was a receiving weapon – and he was a touchdown hog. In his final season at Dayton, Trautman caught a whopping 14 touchdowns, and he looked like a player who could be a mismatch problem at the pro level. That hasn’t quite happened yet because Trautman has become such a good blocker.

I asked him about the importance of blocking, and Trautman said it was paramount at the position. If you’re not a good blocker, defenses will have a “tell” about the play and whether it’s a run or pass. A good blocking tight end doesn’t tip off the defense as to what type of play is coming from the offense.

“It’s huge. To be a blocker…it’s good to be dynamic as a tight end, and that’s what I believe my skill set is. Blocking, that’s what makes you last in this league. If you can do that, you can play as long as you want,” Trautman said.

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Penalties Abound

Now that referees are in attendance for training camp, we’re seeing more plays blown dead before the ball is snapped. Before the officials showed up, you’d see some questionable instances where a penalty could have been called. These type of offsides plays or false starts could mess up the timing and mean fewer plays in practice. So, instead of stopping a play they’ll usually continue to let the rep continue even if it gives the offense or defense an advantage.

The flags were flying on Friday, and it’s going to take some time in practice before we see fewer instances of plays that were stopped before they get started. It’s practice, so I’ve got a ton of grace when I see these plays. The Broncos are learning, and they’re getting back into the rhythm of playing football. I’m not expecting them to be perfect, but I am expecting them to cut down on the penalties as we get closer to the regular season.
Payton talked about the proliferation of pre-snap penalties.

“I just finished talking about it. We had too many fouls there with the officials here. Before you ever really get going, you put yourself in a hole. It’s something we have to improve on,” Payton said.

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Punt Returner Problems

While WR Montrell Washington has had two good days of impressing on offense, he continues to have struggles in his primary role – as the team’s punt returner. It looks like Washington has a better shot to make the 53-man roster than he did a week ago, but only if he cleans up his play on special teams.
On Friday, Washington was misjudging the punts coming his way. One time, Washington caught – but bobbled – a punt he had to re-secure three times before advancing down the field. Washington has done this before in camp, but he’s gone a few days with clean plays. On Friday, some of the problems that plagued him earlier in camp (muffed punts) were back.

Washington is not the only punt returner struggling. Rookie WR Marvin Mims Jr doesn’t yet look comfortable as a return man. Like Washington, he was muffing and bobbling punts on the practice field. It was WR Kendal Hinton who was the best returner on Friday, but he lacks the explosion and long speed of Washington or Mims.

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