DENVER — After bringing in a new offensive coordinator and a slew of explosive weapons, the central question around the Broncos as the 2020 season nears is no longer what will the team do to improve its offense. It's simply this: What will Denver's offense look like?
When offensive lineman Elijah Wilkinson is asked that, he needs only one word: exciting.
"That's the only word that I have in my mind when I hear, 'What's it going to look like? What's it going to be?'" Wilkinson said Tuesday. "Exciting. KJ Hamler, [Jeudy] Jeudy, [Courtland] Sutton, [Noah] Fant, the other guy from Mizzou [Albert Okwuegbunam] … there's plenty of people, plenty of weapons — [Phillip] Lindsay, [Melvin] Gordon, you've got Royce [Freeman] back there too — there's plenty of people that can make this offense go and be very exciting.
"It's something we haven't had much of the last few years, that exciting pop, 60- [or] 70-yard plays, that type of thing. So we're really excited to get back to that type of thing and playing Broncos football."
The first steps to installing the new scheme under Offensive Coordinator Pat Shurmur came during the virtual voluntary offseason program, which was implemented in place of the usual in-person offseason workout program due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through video conferencing, Shurmur and his offensive staff did their best to get players up to speed from afar as they prepare to work together when training camp begins at the end of July.
"It went well, honestly," Lindsay said. "I think it went as good as it's going to be. We have a new offensive coordinator, so it took some time to get used to it, but the plays are going to be good. There's going to be big plays."
In place of team-guided workouts, quarterback Drew Lock and several teammates have worked together on their own to learn the offense on the field.
"We've been able to get together as much as we can with social distancing," Lindsay said. "It's going to be a big year for Drew, so it's good to have everybody around him trying to get better and for him to continue to build trust with everybody, and for him to show his leadership, being as young as he is."
Even without coaches around, the new offense is starting to take shape.
"It's going to be more aggressive," Lindsay said. "Honestly, it comes down to the athletic ability of us in winning matchups and winning one-on-one battles."
Throughout the offseason, the confidence and energy among offensive players has been unmistakable. In spite of the uncertainty that the novel coronavirus has caused, there's an anticipation building up with training camp set for July 28.
"I'm feeling good," Wilkinson said. "Hopefully everybody's coming back as safe as possible as we can. That's the main goal in all of this. But I'm excited. The draft picks were amazing. I'm excited to jell as a team more. We're one of the youngest teams in the NFL, so I'm just excited to build that bond with everybody and start something special here."
