Since December 2023, the Broncos’ 2022 fifth-round pick has been working his way back from a torn ACL suffered during a game against the Chargers. He finally returned to practice late last October — but wasn’t activated from injured reserve. His reward for a year and a half of tribulation? A scrap for a roster spot in a loaded secondary.

Call it like it is, as he told The Denver Post on Tuesday.

“All of us can’t stay here,” Turner-Yell said. “So, I feel like whichever, whatever happens, we’ll all go and we’ll all succeed, just because we had so deep of a camp.”

That applies well beyond the Broncos’ secondary. This is the deepest training camp roster Sean Payton’s had in his three seasons in Denver. A number of veterans could find themselves on the bubble when roster cuts come in late August, and three preseason games on the horizon will decide battles at several positions.

Here’s The Post’s first stab at a Broncos 53-man roster projection entering the week of their first preseason game against San Francisco:

OFFENSE (25)

Quarterback (2)

Locks: Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham

In the mix: Sam Ehlinger

Bubble consideration: There are tremendous vibes with this group, between Nix chasing Stidham in drills and all three throwing their hands up like Mii characters when they hit the intended pocket in net-toss drills. Ehlinger, though, might be hard-pressed for a roster spot after an uneven start to camp. The Broncos did take three quarterbacks last year, but with the amount of depth and upside at skill-position spots, they could cut back here in 2025.

The call: Nix and Stidham.

Running back/fullback (4)

Locks: J.K. Dobbins, RJ Harvey

In the mix: Jaleel McLaughlin, Michael Burton, Audric Estime, Tyler Badie, Blake Watson

Bubble consideration: Boy, where to begin? Payton has repeated throughout the offseason that nobody will know how this room shakes out until the preseason kicks off. Just look at McLaughlin, who staff thought was a nice practice-squad rookie in 2023 before he popped in the preseason. Estime seemed like he could wind up on the chopping block after the Broncos signed Dobbins, but the second-year power back has put together a run of good days. The key factor here is Burton, who didn’t crack the initial 53-man roster in 2024 but ended up playing in all 17 games with elevations from the practice squad. Here’s betting Payton plays his cards similarly this year.

The call: Dobbins, Harvey, McLaughlin, Estime.

Wide receiver (6)

Locks: Courtland Sutton, Marvin Mims Jr., Troy Franklin, Pat Bryant

In the mix: Devaughn Vele, Trent Sherfield, Michael Bandy, Joaquin Davis, Courtney Jackson, Jerjuan Newton, Kyrese Rowan, AT Perry

Bubble consideration: It’s strange to not have Vele as a lock after a 41-catch rookie season, but he hasn’t quite flashed the same as the Broncos’ young Mims-Franklin-Bryant triumvirate in camp. He’s still probably too valuable to the room and too much of a 6-foot-5 Payton ideal to cut. Sherfield has made plays throughout camp and might end up playing a large number of snaps this year as both a special-teamer and blocking receiver. That makes the choices here fairly clear-cut, even as Davis, Jackson, Newton and Rowan have all authored standout July moments.

The call: Sutton, Mims, Franklin, Bryant, Vele, Sherfield.

Tight end (4)

Locks: Evan Engram, Adam Trautman

In the mix: Nate Adkins, Lucas Krull, Caleb Lohner, Caden Prieskorn

Bubble consideration: Engram’s arrival has shaken up this group substantially, and there’s not much room for a heap of pass-catching tight ends beyond him. Adkins brings inherent value as a blocker/receiver/fullback/ST guy. From there, the battle is between Krull and the rookie Lohner. Krull led the Broncos’ tight ends in catches last year, but Lohner, for all of his football inexperience, has made more plays in camp.

The call: Engram, Trautman, Adkins, Lohner.

Offensive line (9)

Locks: Luke Wattenberg, Ben Powers, Quinn Meinerz, Garett Bolles, Mike McGlinchey, Matt Peart, Alex Palczewski

In the mix: Centers Alex Forsyth and Joe Michalski; guards Nick Garguilo, Calvin Throckmorton and Will Sherman; tackles Marques Cox, Frank Crum, and Xavier Truss

Bubble consideration: This is quite literally the same group as last year, and it’s tempting to just toss out the exact same names that kicked off the Broncos’ 53-man in 2024. Beyond the Wattenberg-Powers-Meinerz-Bolles-McGlinchey starting quintet, Peart and Palczewski have continued to establish themselves as the key next men up at tackle. Forsyth is Wattenberg’s natural backup, so he’s set for the roster again. That leaves Crum (who surprisingly made last year’s initial roster as an undrafted rookie) and Garguilo to duke it out with some youngsters. If Denver wants more guard depth, though, they’d likely lean Garguilo.

The call: Wattenberg, Powers, Meinerz, Bolles, McGlinchey, Peart, Palczewski, Forsyth, Garguilo.

DEFENSE (25)

Defensive line (6)

Locks: Zach Allen, John Franklin-Myers, D.J. Jones, Malcolm Roach

In the mix: Matt Henningsen, Sai’vion Jones, Garrett Nelson, Jordan Jackson, Eyioma Uwazurike, Kristian Williams, Jordan Miller

Bubble consideration: There is plenty of continuity on this front, too. This will likely shape up as a three-man battle for two spots between third-round rookie Jones, second-year Jackson and 2022 fourth-rounder Uwazurike. Jackson cracked the initial 53-man roster fairly easily last year and played a sizeable rotational role, but this might be a tougher proposition. Uwazurike’s had a standout camp, and Sai’vion Jones could be the eventual replacement for any of the Allen-Franklin-Myers-Roach core that the Broncos don’t extend.

The call: Allen, Franklin-Myers, D.J. Jones, Roach, Sai’vion Jones, Uwazurike.

Outside linebacker (5)

Locks: Nik Bonitto, Jonathon Cooper, Jonah Elliss, Dondrea Tillman

In the mix: Andrew Farmer, Que Robinson

Bubble consideration: Pretty straightforward here. Elliss has too much upside to cut, and Tillman has been — in the words of Cooper — balling throughout camp. The Broncos took only four here on their initial 2024 53-man roster, but Robinson might force their hand. The fourth-round rookie missed the last couple of days of camp but flashed throughout offseason work. He carries special teams upside, too, which hits on two birds with one stone.

The call: Bonitto, Cooper, Elliss, Tillman, Robinson

Inside linebacker (5)

Locks: Dre Greenlaw, Alex Singleton, Levelle Bailey

In the mix: Justin Strnad, Drew Sanders, JB Brown, Karene Reid, Jordan Turner

Bubble consideration: With the Broncos’ recent rash of injuries here, this is likely the most interesting and unpredictable room on the roster. Singleton and Greenlaw have both been banged up during camp, and Sanders will be out upwards of a month. That will create some interesting gymnastics, though, as the Broncos probably wouldn’t want to slap Sanders with an IR designation. They may take five here with Strnad or Turner, the latter of whom has shone as an undrafted rookie out of Michigan State.

The call: Greenlaw, Singleton, Bailey, Sanders, Strnad

Cornerback (5)

Locks: Jahdae Barron, Ja’Quan McMillian, Riley Moss, Pat Surtain II

In the mix: Kris Abrams-Draine, Mario Goodrich, Damarri Mathis, Quinton Newsome, Joshua Pickett, Jaden Robinson, Reese Taylor

Bubble consideration: The Broncos brought in five CBs last year, but the amount of positional flexibility in this room would let them shave here. Barron and McMillian are competing for the starting nickel job, but both — particularly Barron — can play outside. Mathis, Taylor, Abrams-Draine and Newsome have all battled for second-team reps throughout camp, but Abrams-Draine carries the higher upside after a couple of standout performances in 2024.

The call: Barron, McMillian, Moss, Surtain II, Abrams-Draine

Safety (4)

Locks: Talanoa Hufanga, Brandon Jones

In the mix: Sam Franklin Jr., P.J. Locke, JL Skinner, Delarrin Turner-Yell, Devon Key, Keidron Smith

Bubble consideration: How much do the Broncos value special-teamers? Franklin is the pivot point here. He’s a free-agent signee who likely won’t contribute much in the secondary but could be a key part of Darren Rizzi’s unit. Key, Locke, Skinner and Smith all made last year’s initial roster, but as Turner-Yell himself said, they all aren’t making it here. Locke played the second-most snaps of any Broncos defender in 2024, but keep an eye on him throughout preseason. He’s in a backup role, and Denver would save over $4 million in cap by cutting him.

The call: Hufanga, Jones, Locke, Key

SPECIAL TEAMS (3)

Locks: Jeremy Crawshaw (P), Wil Lutz (K), Mitchell Fraboni (LS)

In the mix: No one

Bubble consideration: Unless there’s an injury and the Broncos bring back Matt Haack or Zach Triner from the cutting-room floor, there’s no competition here. Cut-and-dry. Man, can Crawshaw boot, by the way.

The call: Crawshaw, Lutz, Fraboni

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Did not practice: Physically Unable to Perform list — WR A.T. Perry (foot/ankle). Out — ILB Alex Singleton (thumb), ILB Drew Sanders (foot), OLB Que Robinson (unknown), Johnny Walker Jr. (unknown). Left practice — ILB Dre Greenlaw (quad)

In an alarming sight for an already-banged-up inside linebacker room, Greenlaw pulled up with a grimace after covering J.K. Dobbins on an LB-RB one-on-one pass-coverage drill. He attempted to walk it off, but eventually headed back to the locker room.

A source with knowledge of the situation told The Denver Post it was a flare-up of Greenlaw’s quad, after he’d missed all of Denver’s offseason activities with a quad strain. Payton, however, said it was a “different area” when asked after practice.

“I think he’s fine,” Payton said.

Robinson, meanwhile, missed his second straight day of camp after limping toward the end of Tuesday’s practice. Walker, an undrafted rookie from Mizzou, was placed on injured reserve. The Broncos signed former Nebraska OLB Garrett Nelson to fill his spot on the 90-man roster.

Newcomer impact

If there’s one thing Payton knows and loves, it’s big receivers. And 6-foot-4 undrafted rookie Joaquin Davis, amid a stable of undrafted wideouts all making cases for Denver’s practice squad, has stamped himself as a name to watch.

The routes aren’t completely fine-tuned yet. He never had more than 500 yards in any season at North Carolina Central. But Davis’ measurables rival anyone in Denver’s room — 4.36-second 40-yard dash and 40.5-inch vertical at his pro day — and he’s made several plays throughout camp. On Wednesday, he sprang free on a drag and motored downfield so quickly it sent veteran Courtland Sutton into a gleeful frenzy. On Thursday, he made a tough grab in the back corner of the end zone in red-zone work.

He’s a total long shot to make Denver’s initial 53-man roster. But as far as stash-and-hope investments go, Davis is in the mix.

Top Plays

A lil’ Bo-Pat: Thursday’s practice was far from a “salt day,” as Payton likes to call them. Staff anticipated players would be tired after a turned-up Wednesday bark session, and various team red-zone periods moved at about 80% intensity. Still, Nix’s legs provided one of the few true game-speed highlights of the day, as the quarterback rolled to his right on one rep and flung a ball roughly 20 yards down the right sideline to a leaping Pat Bryant. The rookie receiver has quickly developed chemistry with Nix and drawn heavy targets throughout camp.

Thumbs up

About this Wednesday: Speaking of salt, take any training-camp discussion of locker-room culture with a few hearty grains. But Wednesday down in Dove Valley felt like a level of intensity these Broncos hadn’t reached all offseason, emotions and bellows and yaps hinging on nearly every rep during team work.

This wasn’t simply external. Take it from tight end Adam Trautman, a longtime Payton loyalist dating back to New Orleans: He declared Wednesday’s practice the best he’d been a part of in his three years in Denver.

“That was like, ‘Oh, yes, we’re ready for this,’ all the expectations and everything,” Trautman said.

Thumbs down

Thin in the middle: Payton scoffed at any notion the Broncos’ ILB room was “injury-plagued” on Wednesday, telling reporters that Singleton would be back at practice in six days after breaking his thumb this week.

Perhaps injury-plagued isn’t the right term. Let’s go with “thin.” Greenlaw has been ramping up for most of camp after missing the offseason, and Sanders hasn’t been seen back at practice in any capacity since he was carted off Saturday. Levelle Bailey has seized the opportunity in their absence, and Justin Strnad is a trustworthy backup. But if Greenlaw’s flare-up lingers, the only rotational options left are undrafted rookies Jordan Turner, JB Brown and Karene Reid.

The Broncos brought in a few linebackers on a tryout Wednesday but didn’t elect to sign any. More reps for the kids, then.

Odds and Ends

• Malcolm Roach’s good-natured boisterousness has prompted one of the best camp mock-feuds in the NFL: Marvin Mims Jr. vs. Roach. Mims, a 180-pound man, called Roach fat at the podium Wednesday. Roach responded with a middle finger on Twitter. Mims responded he needed PR training.

It has Denver’s locker room equal parts perplexed and amused.

“I wouldn’t have picked Mims and Roach,” Payton smiled. “Like, I would’ve picked so many other combos. But when I read that one, that was surprising.”

• The Broncos’ running back competition is nowhere near sorted out, and Payton wants it that way. Second-year back Audric Estime continued to stack days Thursday across a recent run of impact reps, and the Broncos head coach said reserve back Blake Watson had “two or three exceptional runs” on Wednesday.

“When we finish playing New Orleans,” Payton said, referring to the team’s final preseason game, “we’ll have a better idea of how that’s going.”

• Eyioma Uwazurike continues to have a standout camp. The 2022 fourth-round pick was suspended in 2023 for gambling and played just four games in 2024, but he has been everywhere in his reps: stopping a run in an earlier practice with one arm and batting down a pass at the line of scrimmage Thursday. Denver has some uncomfortable roster decisions to make given its depth on the defensive line, and Uwazurike is making a compelling case for a spot on the 53-man roster.

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The riverbanks were mined for gold. The river itself was used for irrigation for farmlands. For over a century, a cycle of neglect and refurbishment has flowed through the currents. Members of the Denver City Council formed the South Platte River Committee last year, dedicated to properly review all legislation impacting a long stretch of property lining the rushing heart of the city.

The council took action, as Councilwoman Jamie Torres said, because they knew what was coming. The future of development, in Denver, lies in the ripe hundreds of acres along this snaking corridor.

“It can be revitalized,” Torres told The Denver Post, “in ways that we’ve not seen it in our own lifetime.”

In a town dominated by fandom, a mix of sports ownership groups has now planted their flag at various stops along the South Platte. Start with Coors Field, the centerpiece of LoDo. Continue a mile down the river, where Kroenke Sports & Entertainment is investing in the sprawling River Mile district and a new-look entertainment redevelopment around Ball Arena. Down I-25, owners of a new NWSL franchise plan to integrate a new soccer stadium with an entertainment complex at Santa Fe Yards. And a heap of evidence points to the Broncos’ interest in a new stadium site at Burnham Yard, with the franchise connected to a string of land purchases around the railyard in the past year.

But between plans for Ball Arena and a new NWSL team, and the possibility of Broncos redevelopment at Burnham, that’s three potential stadium districts in a constricted five-mile radius — not even including Coors in LoDo. The issue for Denver is whether enough demand exists to properly support so many sports-anchored developments in such a tight space.

“It is a boon,” Torres said. “It is also kind of blasting open the doors for everybody else’s interests as well. And that can happen — that can kind of steamroll community, in a lot of ways that makes me really worried.”

Clustering such districts, as Riverfront Park Homeowners Association president Don Cohen put it, could theoretically boost foot traffic and tax revenue in the area. But many experts are concerned that overlapping amenities could sap benefits to Denver — and inflate housing costs for surrounding communities.

“I think this is monumentally important,” said Brad Segal, president of Denver planning firm Progressive Urban Management Associates, “to the future of the city.”

•••

In the past couple of years, the Broncos’ quest for the next-best stadium fit has taken them to inspections of sports entertainment districts across the country. They’ve been to Wrigleyville, the ballpark district around Wrigley Field in Chicago. They’ve been to Hollywood Park, the KSE-owned district around the Rams’ gleaming SoFi Stadium.

Owner Greg Penner even tagged along on a trip to see The Battery Atlanta — the staple area around Atlanta’s new Truist Park.

What they’ve seen: The trend of a stadium surrounded by a “sea of asphalt surface parking,” as president Damani Leech said, is going away. Replaced, now, by the idea of a sports-anchored community.

Mike Neary, KSE’s executive VP of business operations and real estate, believes the numerous plans for stadium districts “show how bullish the market is on the future of Denver.”

“We have seen with comparable highly desirable mixed-use projects, including our own in other cities, that when these districts are anchored by pro sports venues, they create their own high demand,” Neary said.

The country is on the cusp of seeing more mid-size cities like Denver incorporate multiple mixed-use destinations. Take Oklahoma City, which has approved plans to both redevelop the land around the OKC Thunder’s current arena and build an adjacent district around a new NWSL stadium.

Between the potential for developments at Ball Arena, River Mile and Burnham Yard, though, it’s a “little unusual” for districts of that size and scale to be grouped so close to downtown business districts, Segal pointed out. And Segal, who’s worked in economic development and seen the evolution of downtown Denver for 40 years, is concerned about the potential for districts along the South Platte to redirect economic traffic away from LoDo.

“Are we cannibalizing and further weakening downtown Denver?” Segal said. “Not only with Ball Arena — but with Kroenke controlling both Ball Arena and River Mile, that is an incredible amount of development capacity.”

Community leaders touched on that concept six years earlier, when the city first approved a now-stalled proposal for a mixed-use entertainment district around the Broncos’ current stadium site at Empower Field at Mile High. The master plan suggested concurrent growth with the Central Platte Valley-Auraria District, but it was specifically confined to an area west of I-25 around Mile High.

“To ensure that we’re not taking away from downtown Denver,” explained Andrew Abrams, who served on the Denver Planning Board, “and creating a second downtown.”

Sue Powers, who served on that original plan’s steering committee, suggested the concept of cannibalization wouldn’t be a concern with any new district near downtown due to the potential to attract more crowds closer to LoDo.

Homeowners association president Cohen said Riverfront Park’s community was “very comfortable” with planned development at Ball and surrounding areas.

“If River Mile ever gets off the ground,” Cohen said, “it’s just going to be a new playground.”

Still, others noted potential issues with this anticipated concentration of entertainment districts.

Carrie Makarewicz, chair of CU Denver’s Urban and Regional Planning Department, pointed to potential traffic congestion on limited arterials and roadways, particularly I-25. The RTD’s E Line runs directly through Ball, Burnham Yard and Santa Fe Yards, which would connect development through public transit and reduce traffic. But public RTD data shows total light rail boardings have declined yearly since 2022.

Another consideration for policymakers, as former City Councilwoman Robin Kniech told The Post, is the potential for multiple tax-increment financing districts. The large NWSL stadium site by Broadway and I-25 has already been approved for TIF, and the Broncos have inquired about the process of urban-renewal TIF as connected to Burnham Yard.

That would mean two stadium districts in the span of four miles would generate tax revenue that didn’t actually go toward the city, and instead went back into project development costs.

In total, it all paints an unclear picture of how much actual economic growth several clustered stadium districts could bring to Denver.

“I do think this is a huge concern,” Kniech said, “about the viability of that much mixed-use development.”

•••

In 2010, Denver’s Department of Community Planning and Development released an 88-page document outlining a long-term vision for La Alma Lincoln Park, a culturally rich neighborhood that was forever transformed in the 1970s when families were displaced to build the Auraria campus.

The Burnham Yard site, which lies adjacent to La Alma Lincoln Park, was largely incorporated as a massive question mark.

“Redevelopment of the Burnham Yard is considered to be long-term and beyond the horizon of this Plan,” read a note on one map.

The railyard hasn’t been in active use since 2016. Still, as Torres said, zero planning guidance exists.

“Even back then, folks knew something else is going to happen here,” Torres said. “And we won’t know what that is yet.”

In September 2024, according to records obtained by The Post, Denver Urban Renewal Authority redevelopment manager Mike Guertin emailed preliminary examples around the process of creating a “Special Improvement District” to a host of constituents. One was Broncos chief financial officer Justin Webster. Another was Gus Dossett, a sports real estate specialist with the firm JLL and an expert in large-scale development projects.

“TBD on whether we request City staff to calculate the current sales tax base for the site,” Guertin wrote in an email. That “site” was specifically referring to Burnham Yard.

Leech told The Post that there was “no news to report” regarding any stadium decision-making, and that the Broncos are trying to navigate the process with “thoughtfulness and respect” to their longer-term future. He said the Broncos and the Walton-Penner ownership group are committed to understanding the surrounding area of any new stadium development.

“In some places, it’s a new development where that’s growing along with you,” Leech said. “In other places, it’s a 100-plus-year-old community that a development is being built within. And in both of those cases, it’s important to talk to the community members and understand what’s important to them.”

A wide range of Denver experts noted the importance of building out local stadium districts with “community-serving uses,” as Makarewicz said, such as rec centers or parks.

In 2024, KSE signed an extensive community-benefits agreement with a committee of local leaders that provided guarantees in the Ball Arena redevelopment for minority-owned contracted businesses, accessibility to parks and investments in local arts and culture. Notably, the committee negotiated for 18% of all connected housing units to be affordable. The NWSL stadium design at Santa Fe Yards includes plans to improve an eastern flank of Vanderbilt Park.

La Alma Lincoln Park community leader Simon Tafoya, who served as the co-chair of that Ball Arena CBA, hopes any Broncos mixed-use development at Burnham would spark discussion around affordable housing and education opportunities. And Tafoya noted there was “an immense amount of value” to any developer engaging the community as KSE did with the Ball CBA.

“We have a couple CBA groups that we can be learning from,” Torres said, in relation to development at Burnham Yard. “I’m trying to get La Alma Lincoln Park residents ready for those same conversations.”

•••

Experts see community advocacy as particularly important, given the sheer amount of real-estate power that Denver’s adopted royal families are amassing.

With KSE’s investment into River Mile and the Broncos’ nibblings at Burnham near the 36-acre Denver Water campus, the two billionaire groups — intertwined by family connections — could end up owning over 200 acres of land down the South Platte corridor.

“I mean, where in the United States of America do you have one frickin’ family controlling half of a center city’s land development?” said Segal. “It’s wild.”

A mixed-use district at Burnham Yard and a mixed-use district at Ball Arena could overlap in consumer demographics. Makarewicz suggested it’d make sense, if the Broncos settled at Burnham, for KSE and the Walton-Penner Group to sign a memorandum of understanding around separate community-serving uses for their respective districts.

KSE and the Walton-Penner group, of course, are linked: Stan Kroenke is married to Ann Walton Kroenke, the cousin of longtime former Walmart chairman Rob Walton.

“Whether they coordinate that because they have family connections, or they coordinate that because they’re somewhat market-driven … it’ll happen,” Powers said.

“I mean, they’re watching each other every day, and they know what the other one’s doing.”

Each project along this I-25 stretch faces its own issues. The NWSL franchise’s stadium plan at Santa Fe Yards is contingent on public investment. The Ball Arena redevelopment will require solving floodplain issues, which Powers said could be a “huge undertaking.” And the Broncos would have several hoops to jump through with Denver Water and environmental issues around Burnham if they settle there.

But a swell in mixed-use stadium districts looms on the Rocky Mountain horizon. And redevelopment promises to transform communities up and down the South Platte, for boom or for bust.

“Cautiously optimistic,” Tafoya said, describing his attitude to the expected growth. “With a healthy dose of skepticism.”

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Did not practice: Physically Unable to Perform list — WR A.T. Perry (foot/ankle). Out — ILB Alex Singleton (thumb), ILB Drew Sanders (foot), OLB Que Robinson (unknown), WR Devaughn Vele (unknown).

Robinson was a somewhat expected absence after he was seen limping toward the end of Tuesday’s practice. Vele, though, was surprisingly missing from action Wednesday. The second-year receiver previously missed all of Denver’s minicamp with injury.

Newcomer impact

Yesterday was rookie RJ Harvey’s day, shining amid a new-look Broncos running back room. Wednesday was J.K. Dobbins’.

On easily the chippiest day of camp yet, the Broncos’ defensive front — as has been the case for months — dominated the first team period. They hooted. They hollered. They locked arms in glee. At the heart of it all was emotional ringleader Malcolm Roach, who devoured Dobbins on an early run in 9-on-7 work (defense had nine) and let him know about it.

Dobbins, though, is no shy presence himself. In subsequent 11-on-11 work, he took a draw, registered split-second that Denver’s front had overloaded on the right, and jump-cut two gaps to burst through a clean hole in the middle of the formation.

And after trotting out the rest of his run, Dobbins came back off the field barking warning shots at Roach and the Broncos’ defense.

“It’s the sheer speed, power,” Dobbins’ high school coach Matt Kates said last month, “but the ability to make somebody miss in a phone booth is something that even great backs don’t have.”

Between Dobbins and Harvey putting plenty of shifty cuts on practice tape in recent days, Denver’s RB room has shown explosiveness in camp. Both have gotten their fair share of reps, but Dobbins has taken early pole position as the Broncos’ likely leading man.

Top Plays

Estime goes bowling: Speaking of Denver’s backfield … In one single rep, second-year back Audric Estime showed more pep than he’s had all training camp — and put forth his best play of the preseason. As undrafted rookie Jordan Turner filled a gap on an Estime carry, the linebacker took 230 pounds of accelerated force straight to the chest. Estime knocked him on his backside so hard, in fact, that it sent the offense and defense alike into a frenzy, Evan Engram bellowing in support and Roach verbally tipping the cap.

Courtland Sutton head-tap: The man certainly isn’t resting on his golden laurels. On a simple 5-yard out toward the end of 11-on-11, Sutton took flight to high-point a toss from Sam Ehlinger and pin it to his helmet, somehow maintaining control as he crashed to the grass on top of a defensive back. It’s the type of grab he’s paid $92 million to make.

Thumbs Up

Trash talk: Dove Valley was ablaze with chatter Wednesday. Dobbins, a veteran wholly unafraid to make his presence known, led the Broncos’ offense. Fellow veteran free-agent signee Engram joined him. Offensive lineman Quinn Meinerz yapped, too. None of them, though, could hold a candle to defensive tackle Roach, who ripped off his helmet and bellowed to anyone in earshot after a stop in early 9-on-7 run work.

“I mean, sitting next to him in the locker room, guy doesn’t shut up,” receiver Marvin Mims Jr. cracked after practice. “He’s talking crap to receivers. It’s like, you’re a fat guy.”

Roughly a half hour later, Roach retaliated with a rather choice finger on Twitter. Mims replied he needed PR training and literally tagged a Broncos PR staffer. The games continue.

Thumbs Down

Ehlinger wayward: Jarrett Stidham was re-signed to a two-year deal this offseason to serve as Bo Nix’s unequivocal backup, meaning free-agent import Sam Ehlinger can’t afford many stumbles if he wants to force Denver to carry three quarterbacks on its initial roster. On Wednesday, he looked a beat slow in going through progressions, tossed a deep ball out-of-bounds when Jerjuan Newton had a step, and fired too high to an open Joaquin Davis toward the end of team work. Ehlinger had some solid moments this offseason and appears to have a great rapport in Denver’s quarterback room, but it wasn’t his finest day.

Odds and Ends

• The Levelle Bailey agenda is taking shape. Bailey’s been the biggest beneficiary of increased reps at ILB in Singleton and Sanders’ absences. After the offseason and camp he’s had, it’ll be extremely hard for anyone to play him out of a role. The second-year Fresno State product stood up Estime on an early run and filled gaps beautifully on a pitch to Jaleel McLaughlin and handoff to Harvey.

• Speaking of those increased ILB reps, undrafted rookie Jordan Turner caught some eyeballs on Wednesday, drawing verbal coaching praise after staying square and meeting McLaughlin on one run. Veteran Justin Strnad hasn’t popped much in recent days, and the room could see a notable reshuffling amid injury.

• Trent Sherfield was largely viewed as a special-teams add in free agency, but he has shown plenty of upside as a receiver in camp. He made two standout grabs Wednesday, catching a deep corner route from Bo Nix and strong-arming another ball over the middle. Head coach Sean Payton loves receivers who can block, and Sherfield fits the mold. He could be a sneaky-big factor in Denver’s wideout room this year.

“We’ve always had a handful of receivers that can run and stretch the field, and when you get one that can do that and then block also, you can set up play-action, marries well to the run game,” Payton said of him Saturday.

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Early November. Week of Broncos-Chiefs. Sean Payton, the man who has tinkered behind two decades of NFL offensive evolution, came to Mims: “We’re going to put you at running back.”

It was “crazy,” as Mims remembered last week, grinning after one Denver practice.

“I was probably, like, 180 (pounds) at the time,” Mims said. “I was like, ‘There’s no way.'”

There was. From Week 10 on, the Pro Bowl returner looked the part of a Pro Bowl offensive weapon, racking up 472 total yards and six touchdowns in his final eight regular-season games. Mims spun out on routes out of the backfield, took more reps in the slot, and became a legitimate playmaker for quarterback Bo Nix on go-get-it balls. The Broncos’ offense leapt from averaging 21 points a game to 30.

“That opened up everything for us,” Mims said. “I mean, I feel like whenever we started hitting with those things — offensively, we just took off last year. And started doing a lot of RPOs, and Bo just looked as comfortable as ever.”

Entering Year 3 in Denver, the 23-year-old lightning bolt is all grown up. The confidence has flipped, ever since Payton’s grand experiment. The route tree has expanded, from go-balls and posts to deep drags and comebacks.

Is he now officially a guy, then, that the Broncos have to find ways to get the ball?

“Listen, we’re trying to get a number of those guys the ball,” head coach Payton said last week. “He’s certainly good with it in his hands.”

Therein lies a first-world NFL problem with projecting a Mims leap: The Broncos have a number of those guys at wideout who are growing up, too. Payton said during OTAs that Mims was one of a few young players “competing for touches” — Troy Franklin, Devaughn Vele and Pat Bryant are others — and that battle has yet to clear up a week and a half into training camp.

Courtland Sutton was just promised $92 million over four years to build upon an 81-catch season in 2024. Tight end Evan Engram was given $23 million over two years to be the Joker to Bo Nix’s freewheeling Harley Quinn. New running backs J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey will draw a heap of dump-offs and screens between them. The available target pool for the young wideouts has shrunk, even as individual games have visibly expanded.

That will force Payton to get creative, just as he did with Mims.

“When something like that happens,” Payton said of Mims’ breakout, “then you’re constantly thinking — ‘Am I, are we collectively in that offensive staff room or defensively, are we doing things that suit each player?’ ”

Mims, now an elder statesman in the room despite lingering hints of a baby face, is the presumptive starter at Z-receiver. Second-year wideout Troy Franklin is nibbling at his heels, though, operating in his second training camp with a hair more muscle and a growing heap of explosive plays in practice.

“You’re seeing him play faster,” Payton said of Franklin in minicamp, “with a much greater awareness within each play.”

The 6-foot-5 Vele will command another large chunk of reps from the slot, too, limiting the number of alignments where Mims and Franklin could reasonably share the field. Rookie Pat Bryant has built notably quick chemistry with Nix, too, as a malleable and steady-handed target from both the slot and outside.

“It helps to be consistent … somebody you can trust,” rookie cornerback Jahdae Barron said of Bryant during minicamp. “And that’s him.”

Mims, for his part, is a Swiss Army Knife with 4.3 speed. He wants to make plays every game — however that looks. In the Broncos’ loss to the Bengals last year, Mims racked up eight catches for 103 yards and had no punt returns. In another win over Indianapolis, Mims had 20 receiving yards but 97 on punts. Either is fine with him.

“It’s not really returner, receiver, none of that,” Mims said. “But just like, if I’m out there, I want to try and make a difference in the game.”

He needs the ball to do that, though. And he’s one of more than a few.

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Smooth. Cool. And quiet. Trainer Javon Gopie loudly bellowed Bonitto’s dubbed nickname in public settings. Gopie loved it. Bonitto hated it.

On Monday, Bonitto was lounging an arm over a bench when the news of the day was broken to him. Teammate Courtland Sutton, the Denver lifer, had agreed to terms on a four-year extension. The first in a logjam of Broncos who need new deals, including Bonitto himself, just got one.

And in that moment, “Mr. Steal Your Girl” turned from introvert to extrovert, his mouth moving faster than his brain. Or maybe vice versa.

“He signed that (expletive) just now?” Bonitto asked, catching himself for cursing. “Oh. My bad.”

It was as if he’d just seen sunshine for the first time. His teeth beamed. His voice peaked. His eyes gleamed, without a single speck of jealousy.

“What?” Bonitto grinned when told the terms: four years, $92 million. “I’ll talk to him. That’s tough. Alright, yeah. I gotta talk to him. But nah, that’s tough.”

Of course, it’s the exact position Bonitto himself would like to be in. The 2022 second-round pick is on the final year of his rookie deal and teetering on the edge of a massive payday. The outside linebacker was a second-team All-Pro in 2025. He also wasn’t even a starter until Week 3 and didn’t even land on ESPN’s executive-and-coach-sourced rankings of the top 10 players at his position.

Is an extension in the back of his head? Obviously, Bonitto affirmed. Does he see the league is not fully sold on him yet? Definitely. But the 25-year-old needs no bulletin-board material or external kindling to stoke the fire.

Some, as Gopie says, play football to feed their families. Some play for a “gold jacket,” Gopie added, referencing the mark of admission in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Bonitto, Gopie said, “Wants to put on a gold jacket.”

“I know I have a great agent, and I know he’ll take care of that,” Bonitto said, referencing agent Tory Dandy. “I have 100% trust in him. And I know the Broncos want me to be here as well. So at the end of the day, I have no worries that they’ll figure out whatever they need to figure out.”

Bonitto’s battle is not for a contract. The battle is with himself, a battle he’s been fighting since he was a four-star recruit coming out of Florida in need of a few lessons in football maturation and more than a few pounds in the weight room.

The QB pressures and hurries rose every year for Bonitto at Oklahoma. They’ve risen every year since he’s been a Bronco, too. Slowly, a game predicated on an elite speed-rush has expanded, as Bonitto’s gone from a 200-pound high school recruit to a shade under 250 pounds this offseason in Denver. It’s the biggest Gopie’s ever seen him.

“There was a trajectory,” said former Oklahoma defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, “that was coming.”

Bonitto expects to stay on that road after a 13.5-sack season in 2024. He dissected his film from last season and felt he missed out on a few more sacks. His teammates expect that from him, as fellow edge starter Jonathon Cooper said he “isn’t satisfied.” His coaches expect it, too. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph is convinced he’s going to take “another huge jump.”

“Nik’s humble,” Joseph said during minicamp. “Nik’s a worker, man. If you ask Nik if he’s a great player yet, he would tell you no. And that’s what I want from young players. I mean, he knows that there’s a lot more in there that he can give us as a rusher.”

He now sits in an interesting space, a Pro Bowler who he himself and others view as an unfinished product. But Bonitto isn’t trying to hoard snaps in order to get paid. Quite the opposite.

He revealed a couple of weeks ago that he felt his body started to “break down” near the end of last season, and head coach Sean Payton already mentioned this offseason that the Broncos had to be careful of Bonitto’s snap count. Bonitto said he hadn’t had those specific conversations, but that he was with Payton “100%.”

“Especially with the guys that we have behind us, they’re just as good to go in there and make plays as well,” Bonitto said, referencing depth that includes Dondrea Tillman, Jonah Elliss and Que Robinson.

“And if I can take just a little bit of toll off my body, then I’m willing to do it. Just because, like I said, I want to protect my body.”

The man is running his own race. Sutton got an extension. Zach Allen is up for one. So is John Franklin-Myers.

Bonitto isn’t particularly miffed to still be dangling.

“My job is to come out here, do what I got to do,” Bonitto said. “Show them why.”

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“It just changes the short-term,” Payton said, asked how Sanders’ injury affected his thoughts on Denver’s ILB room. “And I’m saying, four to six, seven to eight weeks. And so, we’ll look at that position closely and understand the reps how we have to approach it.”

They’ll have to look even closer, this week.

Presumptive starting inside linebacker Alex Singleton broke his thumb at Denver’s practice Monday, a source confirmed to The Denver Post. It’ll be a quick recovery, as Singleton’s set to undergo a procedure Tuesday and is slated to be back in pads next week.

Still, it’ll put a heap of reps on the plates of youngsters in the room across the next week. Sanders, who would’ve been one of the first in line for more time with any injury to Singleton, will be out “north” of four to six weeks, according to Payton.

Justin Strnad, who Denver brought back on a one-year deal after filling in as a starter for a long stretch of 2024, will likely receive heavy time with the 1s and 2s across the next week in Singleton’s absence. Undrafted rookies JB Brown, Jordan Turner and Karene Reid will also get long looks. The biggest potential beneficiary of increased reps, though, is second-year reserve Levelle Bailey, who’s already turned Payton’s head as a ballhawk in camp.

“A couple days ago, he had a real good practice,” Payton said. “He’s doing well.”

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Did not practice: Physically Unable to Perform list — WR A.T. Perry (foot/ankle). Out — ILB Drew Sanders (foot). Left practice — ILB Alex Singleton (hand).

The good news on Sanders, at least as head coach Sean Payton called it, is that he tore a ligament in his foot at Saturday’s practice, not a tendon as previously reported. As Payton explained it, ligament repair is much easier than tendon repair, and Sanders is evaluating whether he’ll need surgery.

The downside: Sanders will still be out “north of” four to six weeks, Payton said. The other downside: Singleton broke his thumb Monday. The starting ILB will be back next week, but it’ll leave plenty of reps for young depth the next few days.

Newcomer impact

Call him the Iron Law.

A couple of days after Payton labeled free-agent signee Dre Greenlaw as a breed of player who “express themselves in the full gear,” Broncos Country got its first look at the hulking linebacker in full pads. He’s been on a pitch count throughout offseason rehab, and Greenlaw was seen breathing hard after a few 7-on-7 reps. But he also knocked chests with fullback Michael Burton — in a walkthrough.

The 49er-turned-Bronco plays linebacker in a way that one “can’t help but notice it on film,” Payton said. And the sideline-to-sideline aggressiveness showed up on grass.

“He plays like Mike Tyson,” Payton said. “He’s tough, he’s physical, he’s built that way. There’s not a lot of leaky yardage. Some guys, he’s a knock-back tackler. They stop where he hits them.”

Greenlaw is an important upgrade for Denver and widely viewed as one of the better weak-side linebackers in the league despite an Achilles tear that knocked him out for most of 2024. Enough of an upgrade to prompt Payton to fist-pump in his car — as he told reporters — when the Broncos held off San Francisco to ink him in free agency.

Once a kid caught in the foster system and eventually adopted by his high school defensive coordinator, loyalty has always run at the linebacker’s core. And Greenlaw told reporters Monday that Payton and the Broncos’ conviction sold him on heading east.

“Throughout the whole time I was talking to Sean, it was never no ‘ifs, ands, buts, maybe,’ this and that,” Greenlaw said. “It was like, ‘Man, we want you to be here.’

“… It’s not a lot of times that people just wanted me, you know what I’m saying?” he continued. “So, it just made me feel special.”

Top Plays

Harvey lights the burners: On a run-heavy first day of pads, Broncos’ second-round rookie running back RJ Harvey drew the most eyeballs. A few reps into the first 11-on-11 period, the UCF product took a handoff and exploded gap-to-gap for a nasty jump-cut, showcasing the kind of quick feet that have Payton and company so high on him.

Thumbs Up

Not in Jacksonville anymore: A few months into his time in Denver, new tight end Evan Engram gave a sermon on how much he’s enjoyed the locker-room culture in Denver. He might’ve taken a bit of a potshot at Jacksonville, too, after his previous employer went 4-13 in 2024.

“I tell people, all my family, like, it’s hard to be the first one in the building,” Engram said. “Used to be the first one in Jacksonville, I was always the first one … here, it’s kinda tough.”

Not that tough, evidently. Engram has been the first Bronco out on the grass each of Denver’s last two days of training camp. And he’s continued to ramp up action as the pads have come on, showcasing soft hands and catching one pretty play-action deep throw from a rolling Bo Nix.

Thumbs Down

Not much time for Estime: A fairly clear hierarchy has emerged early in camp with the Broncos’ running backs. Free-agent signee J.K. Dobbins and Harvey have taken a lion’s share of 11-on-11 reps, with the rest split between a quad unit of Jaleel McLaughlin, Tyler Badie, Blake Watson and Audric Estime. It’s a tough spot for Estime, in particular, as the second-year back desperately needs an impressive camp to reaffirm his place in Denver’s backfield. He’s come in looking like a tank with muscles and caught a nice dump-off in team action Monday, but he hasn’t popped much on his carries.

Odds and Ends

• After missing a couple of days for unknown reasons, Nix’s blind-side guardian Mike McGlinchey was back at practice in full pads Monday. A good sign, as the Broncos continue to build upon a well-established rapport on their starting front. In his brief absence, third-year tackle Alex Palczewski continued to build goodwill after he had three spot starts in 2024.

• Rookie tight end Caleb Lohner saw heavy action throughout 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 team work Monday, showcasing secure hands on a couple of grabs. Jimmy Graham dreams are a way off: Lohner’s simply trying to crack Denver’s roster. He’s looked plenty solid so far for a guy who’s caught a total of four passes since eighth-grade football.

• Malcolm Roach, ever the 290-pound Energizer Bunny, bellowed some encouraging words at undrafted linebacker Karene Reid during one team period. Denver’s ILB corps has been temporarily thinned by injuries to Singleton and Sanders, meaning Reid will get the reps to continue impressing.

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Just about an hour after he said the Broncos and top receiver Courtland Sutton were “real close” to a contract extension, the deal is done.

The sides agreed Monday to a four-year extension, the team announced Monday evening. Multiple sources told The Post the deal is worth $92 million.

The deal tacks four years onto the final year of Sutton’s 2021 extension, meaning he’s now tied to the Broncos through the 2029 season. It comes with $41 million in guaranteed money, sources told The Post. That includes the $14 million Sutton was set to make in 2025 plus $27 million in new money guarantees.

The extension averages $23 million per season, which puts Sutton tied for 18th in the NFL in terms of average annual value. The $92 million in new money mirrors in some ways a deal done in 2024 between Tennessee and Calvin Ridley. Ridley got $50 million in guarantees, but the terms are relatively similar for players who were taken in the same 2018 draft class and have put up similar career totals since.

Over the Broncos’ practices Saturday and Monday, Sutton participated in individual work and early practice walk-throughs but did not take any repetitions in full-speed, 11-on-11 work.

That, it turns out, is not because he’s holding out or protesting his contract status.

“Courtland is real smart. Here’s the deal, he’s been participating in all the individual, all the 1-on-1s,” Payton said Monday while describing the sides as “real close” to an agreement. “He’s done 7-on-7, he’s gotten team reps. He’s just being smart. So it’d be different if you felt like he was missing improvement or not being out here or being out here but just riding the bike or something.

“I know that player well enough to feel real good enough about where he’s at and his mindset both mentally and physically.”

Since Sutton took some team reps on Friday, his representatives and the Broncos had been moving toward the finish line of an agreement.

Sutton had expressed confidence he’d get a contract extension since the spring. Back in April, he said he thought the conversations were headed in a positive direction. That alone represented a tone shift from a year ago, when Sutton skipped the voluntary portion of the Broncos’ offseason schedule and eventually settled for adding $1.7 million in earnable incentives to his 2024 deal.

Sutton cashed in $1.5 million of those incentives by putting together perhaps his best season as a professional. The 2018 second-round draft pick quickly became the go-to target for then-rookie quarterback Bo Nix.

He caught 81 passes on 135 targets for 1,081 yards and eight touchdowns and helped the Broncos to their first playoff berth of his tenure here.

Sutton is the second-longest tenured Broncos player, trailing only 2017 first-round draft pick Garett Bolles. Bolles received a four-year, $82 million extension in December 2024.

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