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The Broncos' 2016 training camp is underway with the start of Thursday's practice at UCHealth Training Center. (photos by Eric Bakke)
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TWEETS FROM THE FIELD:
NOTES:
... WR Kalif Raymond was the first player on the field, walking through the double doors near the north side of the locker room at 9:07 a.m. MDT. Raymond and other special teamers joined the quarterbacks and offensive linemen in taking the field first for pre-practice work.
... Befitting their status as the top two quarterbacks in a "neck and neck" competition, Mark Sanchez and Trevor Siemian were the most accurate; each completed at least 69 percent of their passes during team and seven-on-seven periods. "I saw good things," Head Coach Gary Kubiak said.
... With Paxton Lynch, you're looking for improvement from day-to-day -- and period to period. One example of this came on two short passes down the middle to RB Kapri Bibbs. On the first one, Lynch didn't get set and the pass sailed high, and Bibbs had to reach up to bring it in; as Bibbs fielded the pass, rookie ILB Frank Shannon arrived to knock the football out of Bibbs' hands over his head. But on a similar pass later in practice, Lynch's footwork was more settled, and the pass was on target.
... DE Derek Wolfe dominated one-on-one line drills. In two of his repetitions, Wolfe burst off the snap and quickly got his hands up, allowing him to get leverage and whip around him into the backfield.
... OLB Eddie Yarbrough was one of the players who earned a shot through a good performance during the Broncos' local tryout in April. After using a quick first step to whip around tackle Kyle Roberts in the one-on-one period, he used a similar burst to get pressure on Siemian for what would have been a quarterback hit in game conditions. Siemian did manage to get the pass away, finding TE Virgil Green downfield.
... DE Shaneil Jenkins and G Robert Myers had one of the most interesting sets of duels in one-on-one line work. Early in the period, Jenkins bull-rushed into Myers, nicknamed "Quadzilla" because of his massive quadriceps that are 33 inches in circumference. But when Jenkins and Myers met again, Myers did a better job using his massive legs to get set, allowing him to hold his ground against Jenkins.
... OLB Shaquil Barrett blew up a pass play for what likely would have been a sack in a game, whipping around the edge against fourth-year veteran Darrion Weems to pressure Sanchez.
... RB Kapri Bibbs looked particularly smooth, reading the blocks perfectly and using decisive cuts to break off several long runs behind the No. 2 and No. 3 offensive lines.
... The only interception of the day came off Siemian when Lorenzo Doss picked off a pass during a team period. Siemian was looking for Cody Latimer in the left flat, but Doss read the pass perfectly and grabbed the football.
... Earlier, Bradley Roby nearly intercepted a Sanchez pass, but bobbled the ball, allowing it to skip into Emmanuel Sanders' grasp.
... The defensive backs wore blinders during an individual drill early in practice.
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Some of Broncos Country's most passionate fans were lined up for the opening of training camp Thursday morning. (photos by Aric DiLalla except for those noted by Eric Bakke)
PARTICIPATION REPORT:**
... TE Jeff Heuerman was back in the team period after sitting out team drills during the last three weeks of OTAs because of a hamstring injury.
... RB Juwan Thompson saw some more work at tailback Thursday after seeing most of his snaps at fullback during OTAs. He will continue to work at both positions, and is the only man in the backfield who can work at both spots.
... CB Bradley Roby worked in place of Aqib Talib, with Kayvon Webster moving up into the No. 3 cornerback role.
... OLB Von Miller was limited to individual drills in his first practice with the team since Feb. 5, two days before Super Bowl 50. With DeMarcus Ware on the non-football injury list, Shane Ray and Shaquil Barrett continued to handle the OLB positions, as they did during OTAs.
... LT Russell Okung continued to work only individual drills, as he did during OTAs. As with Miller, he is considered a "progression player" as he returns from offseason shoulder surgery. Michael Schofield continued to work in his spot on the first team.
... RG Ty Sambrailo had a full practice workload, as expected. Sambrailo was eased back into team-period repetitions late in OTAs as he completed his recovery from the torn labrum that ended his rookie season.
... DE Adam Gotsis was limited to individual work in his first practice as a pro. Gotsis looked smooth as he went through the defensive-line drills, and appeared unaffected by the torn ACL he suffered last Oct. 31 in Georgia Tech's game against Virginia. He did not take part in the one-on-one, nine-on-seven or team periods.
INJURY REPORT:
... CB Aqib Talib and OLB DeMarcus Ware watched practice from the sideline. Both are on the non-football injury list. DE Kenny Anunike was also on the sideline taking mental repetitions; he is on the physically-unable-to-perform list.
QUOTABLE:"I was really impressed with how our veterans came back. To me, the guys that stood out at practice were veteran players. They're ready to go. They're taking care of their business." -- Kubiak
WEATHER REPORT:Practice took place under mostly sunny skies, with temperatures hovering between 74°F/23ºC and 80°F/27ºC throughout the practice, which lasted just over two hours, including an end-of-practice walk-through period.
ATTENDANCE:3,407.
