Two quarterbacks in the Broncos’ three-headed competition for the starting job hurried up Thursday at Dove Valley. Mark Sanchez and Trevor Siemian ran seven-on-seven drills to work through half-field, hurry-up offensive schemes.
Siemian took first crack against the Denver defense, rushing to get his unit down the field. But he over threw wide receiver Cody Latimer in an out-route to the sideline. Two plays later, he under threw on a 30-yard pass to Latimer in the end zone.
Sanchez’s turn was cleaner. Working with the first team, he connected twice to Emmanuel Sanders for first-down distance, then checked down to C.J. Anderson for a dump-off. His first incomplete pass went through Demaryius Thomas’ hands in the back of the end zone.
Rookie first-round pick Paxton Lynch did not get a turn in the hurry-up drills.
Thomas’ tough day. Thomas’ hands issue didn’t end there. He dropped another pass from Sanchez on a short crossing route, then a third near the sideline. Eventually, though, Sanchez connected with Thomas in the end zone to cap their make-believe two-minute drill drive.
Sanders fared much better. He nabbed an in-route on the left side, caught a pass from Sanchez and then sprinted untouched all the way back to the right side of the field.
Special teams. Both Broncos punters — veteran Britton Colquitt and rookie Riley Dixon — got a boost in a special teams drill when their coverage pinned balls near the goal line.
Colquitt bounced a kick inside the 5-yard-line that Lorenzo Doss dove to save from the end zone. The ball ended up at the 1. When Dixon punted one deep near the goal line, Taurean Nixon hooked it back in play, preventing it falling for a touchback. Doss and Nixon, both second-year cornerbacks, are competing for special teams spots in a crowded defensive depth chart.
