ENGLEWOOD, Colo.—My 12th stop in beautiful Colorado, with what should be a really, really good Broncos team …
• We’re getting pretty close to this being the full-fledged Denver version of what Sean Payton built in New Orleans—a confident team that’s ready to contend year-in and year-out—if we’re not there already. The Broncos had what amounted to a controlled scrimmage on Saturday, and finished it with gassers, so this had all the marks I saw over Payton’s first two summers running the show here, with old-school elements like 9-on-7 drills and stacked padded practices that callous his players (and actually drove the team’s injury rate way down the last two years). At this point, there’s a rhythm and pace to all of it that shows a team moving in lockstep. And a belief, as I see it, that they’re going to be really good.
• Perhaps the biggest jump on the roster should come at the skill positions. Some of it should be internal—Troy Franklin is one guy who the team expects a leap from. Bo Nix’s college teammate came back bigger (though he’s never going to be a “big” receiver), stronger, a better route-runner and more confident. New tight end Evan Engram should give the Broncos an element they haven’t had over Payton’s first two years. Third-round pick Pat Bryant is a bigger target who could evolve into a Marques Colston type of role in the offense. And the new running back room is intriguing. J.K. Dobbins looks healthy and capable of bringing an edge to the run game, like Mark Ingram once did in New Orleans, and rookie R.J. Harvey will be an interesting chess piece for Payton to deploy. He’s developing fast in the passing game, both in protection and running routes, and has breakaway ability that the Broncos haven’t had at the position in a while.
• That brings us to Nix, who’s in position, as I see it anyway, to take his game to another level with the command he has over Payton’s offense going into Year 2. Nix was doubted before the 2024 draft as a low-ceiling/high-floor guy. A lot of those who doubted him then chalked up the way he played as a rookie to “system fit.” And I can just tell you that the Broncos don’t see him that way at all. Yes, the system’s a good fit for him, but they see him as bigger, stronger, more athletic and just a flat-out better quarterback than many perceive. I’m not saying he’ll be MVP of the league this year. But the expectation within that team is that quarterback will be a team strength in 2025, and that Nix’s ownership of everything around him will show.
• Defensively, new acquisitions Talanoa Hufanga and Dre Greenlaw are already making their presence felt. The questions on both have recently involved health, but there are defined roles for them in Vance Joseph’s defense. Greenlaw’s fast-playing style should add an element to the middle of the unit that wasn’t there previously And Hufanga’s having a really strong camp all the way around—he came up with a pick on Friday that people were still buzzing about Saturday, and his ability to lead and communicate with the young guys on the back end should give Joseph more flexibility in how he calls his hyper-aggressive scheme.
• Another thing that should help in the secondary, and in dialing up the rush with guys like Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper up front? The team is really, really good at corner. Patrick Surtain II is the best in football at the position. Riley Moss, when healthy, has evolved into a high-end No. 2. Ja’Quan McMillian is a solid veteran nickel. And where some teams saw first-round Jahdae Barron as just a nickel coming out, the Broncos’ belief that he can be moved all over and play different spots in an NFL secondary like he did at Texas is apparent in how he’s practiced thus far. This group is also indicative of how solid the Broncos are at a lot of spots going into the season. Their main questions in camp are things like who the third tailback or eighth and ninth linemen will be. Most it is concerning depth, which, of course, underscores how far this operation has come under Payton and GM George Paton.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Broncos Training Camp 2025: Sean Payton Has Denver Looking Like a Contender.
