Attendance
Did not practice: Physically Unable to Perform list — WR A.T. Perry (foot/ankle). Out — RT Mike McGlinchey. Left practice — ILB Drew Sanders.
McGlinchey was walking around out on the field with the offensive linemen before practice, but did not participate. He had a sleeve over his right leg.
Sanders was injured midway through practice and had to be helped to the locker room entrance by cart. He put no weight on his right leg as trainers helped him into the team’s facility.
Newcomer impact
There’s no guarantee he’ll make the 53-man roster — he might even be considered a long shot at this point — but undrafted rookie wide receiver Kyrese Rowan makes plays just about every single day. On Saturday, he made a leaping catch in the back corner of the end zone during a red zone 7-on-7 drill over cornerback Quinton Newsome. The former Utah State receiver isn’t the biggest or the fastest in the group, but he just finds ways to be open and available. Head coach Sean Payton loves to say that it doesn’t matter how players arrive in the program. Once they’re in the building, they have a chance. Well, Rowan not only wasn’t drafted, but he wasn’t signed right away either. He showed up as a tryout guy at rookie minicamp and forced his way onto the 90-man roster. Can he take it even further over the next few weeks?
Top Plays
You got Moss’d: Second-year corner Riley Moss had a terrific Saturday. He was sticky in coverage and broke up several passes. Among them: An athletic, contested battle along the end zone sideline to knock away a well-placed red zone throw from quarterback Bo Nix to rookie Pat Bryant. Moss later gave Marvin Mims Jr. no space on a shallow throw in team. Moss dealt with a knee injury that cost him three games late in the 2024 season, but he looks healthy, fast and confident so far in camp.
Thumbs Up
Bulls on parade: The pads come on Monday and we’ll be able to see this kind of thing for real, but Saturday featured a couple of really nice pass-rush moves from what should be a disruptive defensive front. John Franklin-Myers bulled right through Alex Palczewski at one point in a red zone drill. Then shortly after, rookie Sai’Vion Jones unleashed a slick swim move to get pressure, too.
Fan presence: The Broncos did right by their fans to ensure that at least some can see practices this camp despite the construction. Those who have been in attendance the first two open days have made their presence felt despite the capacity only being around 800. Good stuff all around.
Thumbs Down
Close, but… Rookie receiver Pat Bryant came very close to making highlight-reel grabs on three different occasions Saturday. Of course, close does not count when it comes to catching the football. One he definitely should have had in the back corner of the end zone against Kris Abrams-Draine, but he brought the ball down too low as he came back to the ground and allowed Abrams-Draine to swipe it away.
Butterfingers: Abrams-Draine, the second-year corner out of Mizzou, had his own regrettable moment, though. He dropped a surefire interception thrown right at him by Bo Nix in a team red zone drill. Nix and Devaughn Vele weren’t on the same page and Abrams-Draine had the throw right in the breadbasket. He’ll hear about that one.
Odds and Ends
• Broncos No. 1 receiver Courtland Sutton continues to have an interesting workload in camp. On Saturday he did individual drills but did not take a rep in 11-on-11. Payton said some veteran players will have lighter and heavier workload days. Sutton, of course, is entering the final year of his contract and said earlier this spring he thought extension talks were headed in the right direction. He’ll be an interesting player to track next week.
• College rivalries never stop. In a funny moment, receiver Marvin Mims Jr., a former Oklahoma standout, was jogging past rookie cornerback and former Texas Longhorn Jahdae Barron. Barron, naturally, flashed the horns at Mims. The Broncos have four former Sooners and five former Longhorns on their roster, so the Red River rivalry is alive and well on the Front Range.
• Practice never got to full chippy status, but it came close on one red zone sequence. Veteran linebacker Dre Greenlaw kind of tackled Mims on a throw over the middle, prompting the typical coaches’ calls to “stay up.” One snap later, rookie running back RJ Harvey got loose up the right side and lowered his shoulder into safety Brandon Jones on his way into the end zone. Competitiveness is good. It teetered toward unproductive for a moment there.
• Payton had one of the better quotes of the offseason so far when talking about Greenlaw. The coach said the linebacker is off to a good start and acknowledged he’s still on something of a pitch count due to his veteran status and an offseason quad injury, but the first day in full pads on Monday will put Greenlaw in his element.
“There are certain players that really express themselves in full gear. He’ll be one of them,” Payton said.
• Some positions are difficult to evaluate. Running back? Not one of them, according to Payton.
“It’s an easy position to evaluate. Some aren’t so easy,” he said. “Once the pads come on and you get into the games and practice with other teams, I think it’s a position you guys will see as quickly as I will,” he said. “They all have different strengths, and I’m anxious to see. We’ve kind of seen (J.K.) Dobbins on film in the pro game, but a lot of these guys are limited to small resumes. I’m anxious to see how they perform.”
• Receiver Trent Sherfield’s calling card is special teams, but he’ll push to get some time on offense, too. He’s caught at least one touchdown each of the past four seasons in Minnesota, Buffalo, Miami and San Francisco. In 2022, he had 30 grabs for 417 yards and two touchdowns for the Dolphins.
“He’s tough and he can run,” Payton said. “The other thing he can do is block. So we’ve always had a handful of receivers that can run and stretch the field. When you get one that can do that and then block also, you can set up play action (and) it marries well to the run game. He’s pretty competitive.”
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