Day 10 of Broncos Camp is in the books, and it was their final practice before their joint practice with the 49ers on Thursday. They were back in pads today, and it was a big day for second-year wide receiver Troy Franklin, who arguably had his best day of camp today. Rookie wide receiver Pat Bryant was also active today, and the fight for snaps in the Broncos\u2019 wide receiver room is heating up. With running back J.K. Dobbins receiving a veteran day off, rookie running back R.J. Harvey carried the load for the Broncos\u2019 offense and looked quick and explosive. We also heard from the Broncos coordinators for the first time this summer.<\/p>\n
In today\u2019s piece, we will have more on wide receivers Troy Franklin, Pat Bryant, and the wide receiver positional battle is heating up. We hear from the coordinators, injury updates, news and notes, quotes, and more!<\/p>\n
Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant are impressing<\/p>\n
The theme throughout the offseason and now training camp has been second-year wide receiver Troy Franklin making explosive plays throughout practice. That continued today and he, according to reports, had his best day yet.<\/p>\n
As DNVR\u2019s Zac Stevens notes<\/a>, Franklin had multiple touchdown receptions during today\u2019s practice. They came during 7-on-7 drills, but still, it is good to see him making plays. We didn\u2019t hear much about him during camp last season, and now, he is out there making plays each and every practice. Franklin also had the play of the day during the move the ball period when he dove to catch a 25-yard reception from quarterback Bo Nix.<\/p>\n After practice, Broncos Offensive Coordinator Joe Lombardi told reporters that Franklin is playing faster and \u201creally stood out\u201d in camp thus far. Lombardi also noted that quarterback Bo Nix and Franklin have a good feel for each other out there.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have a good feel for each other. Experience with a receiver really helps as a quarterback, knowing where they\u2019re going to be. That\u2019s really paid off. As he [WR Troy Franklin]\u2019s learned the offense, he\u2019s able to play naturally and that\u2019s what Bo\u2019s used to.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 Broncos Offensive Coordinator Joe Lombardi<\/p><\/blockquote>\n As for Pat Bryant, the rookie wide receiver may not have the explosive plays that Franklin has had, but he has been heavily targeted throughout practice by all three quarterbacks. He has showcased his route running and the ability to attack the ball in the air. Devaughn Vele seems like the favorite to be the Broncos\u2019 WR2 or WR3 this season, but if Bryant continues to improve, he will be pushing for snaps.<\/p>\n Lombardi talked about the Broncos\u2019 wide receiving depth after practice today and told reporters that the team has a lot of depth and that it is going to be interesting to see how everything plays out as camp develops.<\/p>\n \u201c[WR] Courtland [Sutton] has been having a really good camp. He looks to me even better than he did last camp. We mentioned [WR] Troy [Franklin]. [WR] Marvin [Mims Jr.] is coming along. He finished strong last year, and we expect him to keep on that upward trajectory. [WR Devaughn] Vele\u2019s been dealing with some things, but he\u2019s looking good now. I think he\u2019s had a couple of his best days the last two days. We\u2019ve added [WR Trent] Sherfield Sr. and he\u2019s been\u2026 I think we all know he\u2019s a great blocker, but the ball keeps finding him in practice. He\u2019s making a lot of catches out here. [WR Michael] Bandy is always Mr. Reliable. We have some young guys that are really playing well, some of our rookies that were free agents. It\u2019s been a really good class as far as that\u2019s concerned. Like you said, we have a lot of depth and it\u2019s going to be interesting as camp goes on and develops.<\/p>\n \u2014 Broncos offensive Coordinator Joe Lombardi<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The Broncos\u2019 wide receiver room has gone from a weakness with a ton of questions to suddenly one of the deepest parts of their team. They have four young receivers (Mims, Franklin, Vele, and Bryant) all fighting for snaps, a veteran in Courtland Sutton as your WR1, a special teamer\/blocker in Sherfield, and a number of UDFA\u2019s pushing for a roster\/practice squad spot.<\/p>\n It is going to be interesting to see how it plays out, and I am anxious to see how they all perform in the joint practices and the preseason games.<\/p>\n DC Vance Joseph on his thoughts on the defense<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cSo far pleased. It\u2019s a matter of building a system for our new players. It\u2019s a matter of trying to find our play style. Thus far, it\u2019s been good. Everyone\u2019s hustling and playing fast, we\u2019re making plenty of mistakes to correct, which is important during training camp. I have no complaints.<\/p>\n DC Vance Joseph on the next steps for the defense<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI think the next step is avoiding the awkward big plays, the awkward series. If you\u2019re going to be a top defense in this league, just consistency, building depth to do that and over a long season is important for us. I\u2019d say every defense\u2019s goal is to always be consistent, and if you\u2019re going to be dominant, that\u2019s every down, every game, every quarter. That\u2019s our goal.\u201d<\/p>\n DC Vance Joseph on DL Zach Allen growth<\/strong>\u2019s<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI think [DL] Zach [Allen] has grown every single year. As he\u2019s gotten stronger and bigger as a player, he\u2019s played the run game better. He\u2019s always been a pretty good pass rusher, but the run game stuff has gotten a lot better. Obviously he\u2019s played a bunch of football. His football I.Q. is very high, so you can gameplan around Zach. He can call the games up front, third-down stuff, he calls it for us. His I.Q. and how hard he plays is his calling card, so he\u2019s always been a great player but with more strength and experience. He\u2019s truly special.\u201d<\/p>\n OC Joe Lombardi on the continuity with QB Bo Nix and the offensive system<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThings just slow down for him, and so he\u2019s able to just play a little bit faster and recognize what he\u2019s looking at a little bit more, just increases his comfort level. This is a heck of a defense we practice against every day, but he\u2019s doing a good job just able to get to the second level of things.\u201d<\/p>\n OC Joe Lombardi on the benefits of QB Bo Nix being able to adjust on the fly<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cA ton. He\u2019s got a lot of experience, not all at the pro level, but he\u2019s had a lot of reps under his belt. So the game isn\u2019t too fast for him, not too big for him. He\u2019s able to articulate what he\u2019s seeing when we\u2019re trying to make an adjustment. He gets it. I think he was exceptional with that as a rookie, and you just expected it to get better as his experience keeps going on.\u201d<\/p>\n ST\u2019s Coach Darren Rizzi on P Jeremy Crawshaw <\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cLike I\u2019ve said before with [P] Jeremy [Crawshaw], his talent level is outstanding. Like any specialist, the most important thing is the production on the field. There\u2019s talent and there\u2019s production, and so the consistency is going to be the most important thing. It\u2019s like you guys have probably heard me talk before, specialists are a lot like golfers or swingers in baseball. You could be the most talented guy, but when you get in the batter\u2019s box or the tee box, you\u2019ve got to produce. So that\u2019s the only thing we have left in this equation is getting him out there in these games, putting him in some live situations and seeing it. He\u2019s a pleasure to work with every day. I\u2019m really, really happy we have him.\u201d<\/p>\n ST\u2019s Coach Darren Rizzi on roster spots coming down to special teams, and if he likes the pressure put on him <\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s awesome. I think one of the things about [Head Coach] Sean [Payton] is that you look at the 32 head coaches around the league. I don\u2019t know if there\u2019s a Coach who has more awareness of that phase of the game, of this phase of the game than Sean. It\u2019s always been the case. You look back at his teams at the Saints, it\u2019s always been an emphasis. So that\u2019s why I love working under him. It\u2019s always an emphasis for us. He\u2019s put that back on the players on the roster right now, like, \u2018Hey, this is a way and an avenue to make this roster.\u2019 Not only for the rookies, but for the veterans as well. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever been a part of a camp\u2014this is my 17th year in the league\u2014where there\u2019s going to be as many tough decisions as we\u2019re going to have. Listen, I welcome it. I love it. It\u2019s what I do for a living. So I think the emphasis we\u2019ve put on it, you guys have watched us out here in practice. We\u2019re evaluating everything. The players know that, and competition brings out the best in everybody. So that\u2019s why I really can\u2019t wait till we are in the lights out here on Saturday, and these three preseason games are really going to tell us a lot. It\u2019s one thing to do it here in practice, but to get out there and do it in these games, it\u2019s going to be fun to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n ST\u2019s Coach Darren Rizzi on WR Trent Sherfield Sr. and what he brings to the unit<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s funny. Every time he [WR Trent Sherfield Sr.] has been a free agent, I\u2019ve evaluated him and tried to get him on my side. I joked around with him when he got here that finally we\u2019re together. I\u2019ve been sick of kind of playing against him. Listen, those offensive core skill players are very, very valuable. There\u2019s not a lot of them in the league. You look at some of the skill guys, offensively, receiver, running back, a lot of those guys don\u2019t play special teams in college, so they\u2019re kind of diamonds in the rough coming out. He\u2019s a guy who\u2019s a proven commodity. He\u2019s excellent, excellent last year in the coverage aspect. He\u2019s always been a good blocker on offense, and in the return game, he brings an added toughness. He adds an element. He\u2019s kind of exactly what you\u2019re looking for [in] that receiver, whatever number you want to put on it. Some people call it three, four, five, whatever number you want to put. As long as he\u2019s at the game, I don\u2019t care what number he\u2019s got. His veteran presence has also been great. We have a number of young receivers, not only receivers, but also the defensive backs, all the skill guys. They\u2019re kind of watching guys like him and [S] Sam Franklin Jr. and guys that have been around the league and have had production in this phase. That\u2019s fun to watch. That leadership is hard to come by, so I\u2019m really happy we got him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
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