The Denver Broncos just wrapped up their 8th day of Broncos Camp, and the intensity has started to pick up. They practiced for six straight days, had the pads on for all but one day, and had their most intense and physical practices yet. During these practices, we learned a lot about the Broncos and what storylines and narratives will be surrounding them as they head towards their first preseason game of the summer.
With all that said, here are the five things we have learned about the Denver Broncos
after 8 days of training camp practices.
Broncos defensive line remains strong
There was some concern that the Broncos may have a hard time replacing veteran John Franklin-Myers. While that still could be factual down the road, currently, the Broncos are showing they have multiple players ready to step up and may even be a stronger overall unit than they were last season.
We know about Zach Allen and veteran DJ Jones, but the other players behind these two have been having excellent training camps thus far.
Malcolm Roach, who signed an extension with the team last season, has been making plays in the run game and as a pass rusher. When he signed with the team, he was known for his run-stopping ability, but he has proven he can get after the passer and just add some big-time energy to this defense.
Head Coach Sean Payton told reporters that Roach has a lot of juice and explained his importance to this team and the defense
“He’s got a lot of juice. He’s one of those compound multipliers. A lot of his traits it’s infectious. I’ve said that about [RB] J.K. [Dobbins], you hear him before you see him. They practice hard. I think all the way back to when he was undrafted out of Texas and we signed him, the improvement at his position for him has been remarkable. He’s always going to be looking at what he can do a little better, how he can play on third down relative to the rush. He’s got really good football I.Q. and I think that it kind of shows up on film even at the defensive tackle position.”
Roach isn’t the only player standing out along the Broncos defensive line. Enyi Uwazurike, the Broncos mammoth defensive lineman, has been having an excellent camp. Vance Joseph told reporters on Saturday that Uwazurike worked on his body this offseason and changed his game. He said, Enyi has always been a good run defender, but now he is a pass rusher.
A 6-6, 320-pound pass rusher who is very strong and has long arms sounds pretty difficult to block, and well, that appears to be the case in Broncos Camp. Veteran nose tackle DJ Jones told reporters that Enyi “can’t be blocked” and that “he’s scary”.
Then you have young players in rookie Tyler Onyedim and second-year player Sai’vion Jones who are also flashing a bit in camp. The Broncos defensive line is deep and talented, and we could see a pretty dominant rotation beginning to develop in the Mile High City.
A continuous rotation of talented defensive lineman will keep their legs fresh throughout the game and wear down the opposing team’s offensive line as the game progresses. On top of that, the Broncos are five or so deep on the edge as well, so the Broncos’ front 7 remains strong and could be improved if these young players continue to improve and develop
Riley Moss is having a great camp
One of the potential storylines heading into camp was Riley Moss. He is in a contract year, has a former 1st-round pick in Jahdae Barron pushing him for his job behind him, and some even speculated that he should be traded.
Well, Moss has silenced all that noise and is showing the Broncos why they should sign him to an extension.
Moss has been making plays seemingly every day of Broncos Camp. Sure, the offense has gotten the better of him a few times, but overall, Moss has been excellent. He was pretty good last year too, but his season and performance were tainted by penalties, which, if we’re being honest, weren’t very good calls. However, they happened, and Moss is looking to grow from that and turn those penalties into turnovers by simply turning his head.
“Specifically, when I get those ‘go’ balls and stuff, I’m in great position and I was in great position for the most part the entire year last year. Now it’s turning my head and trusting my ability to go and play the ball because the receiver is also playing the ball. It’s just getting out of that habit of that man-to-man instead of just going out there and looking for the ball. It’s a hard habit to break, I won’t lie to you, but that’s why we’re out here practicing. It’s been a big point of emphasis for myself.”
Despite these penalties being called on him, Moss isn’t going to change his game. He told reporters that he is going to remain aggressive this upcoming season and that he has always learned the hard way.
“My parents have always told me this, I like to learn the hard way. It actually helps me out in those situations because yes they’re going to throw the flag because I’m being too aggressive, but even ‘VJ’ (Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph) will tell me, ‘Keep going out there. Keep playing aggressive.’ It happens. I know I need to do better as a whole this season, and I have been. It’s been a big focus of this camp. I’m still going to play aggressive and not shy away from it.”
Moss will be a very important part of this Broncos defense. He gets heavily targeted due to teams shying away from CB1 in the NFL, Pat Surtain II, and if he can step up his game, even a little bit, that will make this secondary even better.
His future with the team remains up in the air right now, but through 8 days of Broncos Camp, Moss is showing the Broncos why he should get an extension from them.
Pat Bryant is ascending
One of the biggest roster battles to watch at the start of training camp was for the WR3 job. Star wide receiver Jaylen Waddle and veteran Courtland Sutton are your starters, but the battle for snaps and targets behind those two was expected to heat up during camp.
Marvin Mims is known for his big plays in key moments, his speed, and All-Pro return ability, but has yet to put it all together as a pass catcher. Troy Franklin had a productive 2025 season, but still left some plays on the field. Finally, Pat Bryant had a productive rookie year that was unfortunately derailed by injuries late in the season. You could make a strong case for all three of these players, but through 8 days of Broncos Camp, there is already a clear winner.
Pat Bryant is ascending.
Vance Joseph called Bryant the “complete package” after yesterday’s practice, and offensive coordinator and play-caller Davis Webb had high praise for him as well. Webb told reporters that “Patty Ice has had some really, really good practices,” called him “very, very savvy,” and said it’s really cool to see him take another jump this early in year two.
Bryant is going to have a role in this offense, and it could be a significant one. He can play inside or out, can block, has strong hands, and is underrated after the catch. As Sean Payton said, “It’ll be easy creating his role”.
“I think his weight’s at a good spot. He has some of the better hands in traffic with his feet on the ground, he’s really good [at] run after the catch. I said this to you guys a year ago, he’s real smart. So he’s someone that can move from ‘X’ to the slot. It’ll be easy creating his role.”
It’s still early in the process, but Bryant is running away with the job right now. Marvin Mims has been good and will have a role in this offense (likely similar to what he has had in the past), but Bryant can do more and is the complete package, as Vance Joseph said. We saw this happening late last season, and now it’s carrying over into year two with added development and growth.
I am excited to see how Bryant does in year two, but I have high expectations.
Injuries and load management
Unfortunately, injuries have been one of the main storylines of training camp. Players like Jaylen Waddle, Nik Bonitto, Luke Wattenberg, Marvin Mims, and others have left practice with a trainer and ended up sitting out multiple practices.
Then you have players like Caleb Lohner and Jordan Turner who were expected to push for a 53-man roster spot that have yet to practice at all this summer. The clock is ticking for both players if they want to make the team.
Thankfully, most of the injuries have been minor up until this point, except for Matt Henningsen, who had some very unfortunate luck. He suffered a torn Achilles last summer on August 7th. One year later, after all the hard work and rehab, he suffered another torn Achilles on…August 7th. A devastating season-ending injury for him that simply makes you feel bad for him.
Then you have Courtland Sutton, who is going through “load management”, even though both he and Sean Payton hate that term. Sutton had back-to-back vet days and seems to be being brought along slowly, but according to Sutton, he isn’t hurt and is just being a “good soldier”
Sutton told reporters that he was run into the ground late last season and the team wants to keep him fresh for their hopefully long postseason run. While he seems a little frustrated with the process, which should be expected from a competitor, he is going along with it and is doing what is best for the team.
“I feel like ‘load management’ is like that basketball term. That’s what they talk about with basketball and everyone is like… I wouldn’t [call it] that, I think it’s just being a good teammate and being a good player in terms of player-coach relationship. I try to do the best that I possibly can to put myself in the best position. If they come to me and say that’s what they need from me, whether it’s… You guys have been around it for a long time. I’ve been able to talk to you guys for a long time and I love to work. Whenever I get the opportunity to, I do. If they come to me and say, ‘Hey look, based on what we’ve seen in terms of the numbers that you’ve put out on catapult, we need you to do this,’ I’ll say, ‘Alright, let’s do that.’ That’s what you guys ask of me and that’s what I’m going to do. I appreciate them being transparent with me in what they see because I don’t go in there and say, ‘What are my numbers looking like?’ And then try to have these meetings. They come to me and we’ve have that conversation and I try to do what’s best for the team and work to do what’s best for the team.”
Sutton did return to practice and practiced the past few days fully, but I would anticipate this process continuing throughout the remainder of camp and into the preseason. I would be surprised if we see Sutton play much during the preseason.
Jonah Elliss continues to stand out
One of the more exciting bright spots coming out of Broncos Camp has been the play of third-year edge rusher Jonah Elliss. Like Moss, he is someone making plays each practice and has flashed real pass rush upside throughout these first 8 days of training camp.
Still, he is expected to start the year as a reserve behind Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper (who knows if he’ll be suspended or not), but defensive coordinator Vance Joseph told reporters they are going to find ways to get him on the field because he’s “too good to be on the sidelines”.
Cooper’s legal issues and potential suspension are the elephant in the room, but even if he were to miss time, it appears the Broncos have a more than capable option ready to go in Jonah Elliss.
Early in camp, Sean Payton was asked about the talk of Elliss moving to linebacker, and he shot down those talks and told reporters that Elliss is ascending at edge rusher.
“All the cut-up tape, his production, his ball disruption, it just, for me, felt like, ‘Man, we’re taking a position that’s harder to find, and moving him to a position that we think might be a little bit easier to replace.’ That’s not to say that we can’t package a few things, but I think we felt like he’s really ascending as an edge player, and we didn’t want to disrupt that.”
It does sound like we will see him moved around the defense a little bit at times this season, but his home will be on the edge where he has been flashing all of camp. He and second-year edge rusher Que Robinson give the Broncos two explosive edge rushers off the bench who could both push for bigger roles on defense as the season progresses. If Cooper is to miss time, Elliss and/or Robinson could run away with the job and not look back.
