Starting jobs aren’t won in June, but thatap when the battle begins to heat up.
While the quarterback competition is drawing the majority of the headlines at Broncos’ workouts, Vance Walker and Jared Crick are embarking on a battle for the open defensive end spot opposite Derek Wolfe.
Walker is a veteran who played well last season in a reserve role, most notably as a pass rusher. Crick, the newcomer who chose to reunite with coach Gary Kubiak, defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, and defensive line coach Bill Kollar, for whom he played with the Texans, is known more for stuffing the run.
The Broncos are counting on both to play a big role on a line searching for a replacement for Malik Jackson, who left for Jacksonville in free agency.
“Having the opportunity that I have, itap definitely going to be a lights out year,” said Walker who had 33 tackles and two sacks in 15 games (4 starts) last season. “Nobody is going to give it to you. Itap not even about replacing (Malik). I’m ready to make some plays.”
In the grind of a mini-camp in early June, the workouts are focused primarily on assignments and learning schemes. As veterans, both players have enough experience to fill comfortable there. But once the Broncos officially return for training camp in late July, it’ll be time to go all out.
“Thatap where guys earn jobs. Thatap where you make the team or you don’t,” Crick said. “Thatap where you see what you’re made of.”
Crick, who had 48 tackles and two sacks starting all 16 games in Houston last season, is entering his fifth training camp. For Walker, it’ll be round eight. Once that time comes, they’ll likely welcome a highly touted prospect to the battle, second-round pick defensive end Adam Gotsis, who has been rehabbing from a torn left anterior cruciate ligament he sustained last fall. The Broncos expect Gotsis to be a full-go by the start of camp but he likely will be playing catch up in August. Walker said Gotsis is quiet, but teammates help him out with questions he asks.
There will be no shortage of opportunities for the linemen. The Broncos plan on rotating six defensive linemen on game days, like they did last season.
“We’ve got enough guys,” Wolfe said. “As far as replacing Malik, we’ve got a lot of great guys. Vance Walker is a great player that filled in and did a great job for us last year… everything is going to be fine.”
The veteran competition brings certainty and consistency to the line, where every player is getting repetitions at each technique, on the outside and inside. Versatility is a skill.
In June, camp is calm. By August, competition will reach its peak.
“Every day, every rep is being graded,” Crick said. “If I win it, great, it means I earned it.”
Starting jobs aren’t won in June, but thatap when the battle begins to heat up.
