Attendance
Physically Unable to Perform list — OL Nick Gargiulo. Non-football injury list — ILB Jordan Turner. Did not practice — OLB Drew Sanders, TE Caleb Lohner and WR Joseph Manjack IV.
Lohner drew strong praise from head coach Sean Payton after the team’s rookie minicamp, but the second-year man then missed all of OTAs and mandatory minicamp with an unknown injury. He has not yet been seen on the side field.
Sanders has played in only four games over the past two seasons due to foot and Achilles injuries, but Payton indicated he didn’t have a high level of concern about either Sanders or Lohner. He declined to give a return timeline for either.
Jaylen Waddle makes an early impression
This might be picking the low-hanging fruit on the first official day of training camp, but there’s no denying the impact Jaylen Waddle should have on Denver’s offense even from this early date on the calendar.
Broncos cornerbacks generally and Riley Moss specifically are going to be thrilled when camp ends and Waddle lines up against somebody else. Waddle has game-tilting speed and the ability to take the top off a defense, but his impact should go well beyond that. He consistently creates space for himself in the middle of the field and on underneath routes. Just as important, he creates space for other players.
On Friday, he worked in the middle of the field and drew the attention of safeties and linebackers enough to create space for other pass-catchers working in behind or in another part of the field. Waddle is the kind of player who can raise the ceiling of an entire unit.
Top Plays
Each of Denver’s three quarterbacks made big plays with the ball on Friday, but top billing goes to Nix. He threw a perfect, deep rainbow down the left sideline to Marvin Mims, Jr. for a touchdown over Moss.
“He’s got that top-end speed,” Payton said, “but his strength is locating the ball when itap down the field 40 yards or 50 yards. He does that really well.”
Jarrett Stidham threw a beauty of a deep ball down the middle of the field to tight end Evan Engram for what might well have been a touchdown. Sam Ehlinger threw a couple of balls into tight windows, too.
It wasn’t all offensive firepower Friday, though. Moss at one point logged back-to-back break-ups in 11-on-11 against Nix.
Thumbs Up
Is that a Joker? It may no longer be the Year of the Joker, but Evan Engram’s second Broncos training camp is off to a strong start. The veteran tight end ultimately put up decent numbers last year, but the overall impact he made felt underwhelming. Engram made a series of big plays and was heavily involved across the board Friday.
One day in July doesn’t mean a massive season is imminent, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. Engram, of course, began his career with the New York Giants and had now-Denver OC Davis Webb as a teammate. He credits Webb as one of the foremost reasons he came to Denver over the Los Angeles Chargers last spring. Whether a Webb-called offense can find better spots and play more to Engram’s strengths is one of the interesting questions of the summer.
“(Webb) is trying to find different ways where you might have a matchup and thatap a good thing,” Payton said. “Now I think itap executing and ball security, catching, landmarks and some of the nuances. He’s one other piece where you’re trying to spread the ball around.”
Thumbs Down
Stickier fingers needed. A couple of big plays that were not to be offensively. Thumbs up, to be sure, if you’re a defender. Two-time UFL offensive player of the year Hakeem Butler had a perfect back-shoulder throw on his hands from Stidham, but he wasn’t able to finish the catch because corner Kris Abrams-Draine ripped his hands through and knocked the ball away. Then Michael Bandy made a catch in the flat but fumbled when linebacker Karene Reid knocked the ball away. Reid, the second-year man competing for a spot in the inside linebacker room, tracked the ball down and may have run it back for a touchdown in a live setting.
Odds and Ends
* One more sign that quarterback Bo Nix is feeling good as training camp gets rolling: He’s not been at all hesitant about getting outside the pocket. He flushed out multiple times Friday and made a couple of plays, though he also forced a throw back across his body for Pat Bryant that was nearly intercepted by Moss. Thatap an area, though, where Nix is dangerous and he’s wasted little time getting back to feeling out extended plays after a pair of offseason ankle operations.
* Left guard Ben Powers took a substantial pay cut recently in exchange for guaranteed money. Powers had a base salary of $12.49 million, but it was not guaranteed, meaning the Broncos could have traded or cut him during camp without paying any of it. Now Powers is set to make $6 million this year, according to NFLPA data and multiple sources. That comes in the form of a $4.65 million base salary, a $500,000 signing bonus and up to $850,000 in per-game roster bonuses. He can earn up to $2 million more in incentives, which sources told The Post are based on the number of games Powers plays.
“He’s doing fantastic and we certainly see him as a starter,” Payton said.
* The first time through 7-on-7, all three quarterbacks were sharp. Only one pass in 12 total reps hit the ground. The one incompletion was perhaps not a surprise. It came when All-Pro Pat Surtain II calmly batted a ball down on a pass from Nix to Mims.
* Payton said Thursday that he’s restructured the order of Denver’s installations some. During the team’s two ramp-up practices Wednesday and Thursday, the Broncos spent a ton of time installing red zone concepts. Friday featured a heavy emphasis on two-minute and third down.
* Payton had typically high praise for left tackle Garett Bolles on Friday but also got a little jab in at the nature of the veteran’s offseason.
“He’s playing well, he’s been consistent,” Payton said. “He got the ‘I’m Available’ award for his offseason with the media. Itap a little gold microphone. I had it after the (USA Today) interview two or three years ago and I presented it to Garret. I think he did a piece with pretty much everyone.”
* After Friday’s practice, nearly every Broncos player went to the temporary bleachers on the north end of the practice fields and signed autographs. That, a source said, was an instruction from Payton in his end-of-practice address. Nobody skips.
* The head coach noted that Saturday would likely mark the first day that some veteran players would see some reduction in the amount of practice work they get.
Next up: 10 a.m. Open training camp practice. Parking lots open at 8 a.m. and doors open at 9 a.m.
