2023 Broncos Training Camp: Day 3 news and notes

Day three of Broncos camp is officially in the books and today was their first padded practice of the year. These are always the most notable practice of camp since they are practicing real football. Today was a rough one for the Broncos receivers as we saw Tim Patrick go down with an Achilles injury which will end his season and K.J. Hamler get waived with a non-football designation.

Today we have more on Tim Patrick’s injury, K.J. Hamler being waived, some Jaleel McLaughlin hype, the defense winning again, news and notes, injury/attendance updates, quotes, and more.

Tim Patrick’s injury

The big news out of Broncos camp today was, unfortunately, the injury Tim Patrick suffered during today’s practice. It was a non-contact injury during a 7-on-7 drill. Patrick fell to the ground and screamed in anger. He was carted off the field and needed crutches to get inside the facility. After practice concluded, head coach Sean Payton told reporters that they are evaluating him for an Achilles injury. Now, we have confirmation that Tim Patrick did indeed tear his Achilles and will be out for the year.

You can see the video of Patrick’s injury here.

If he does indeed have an achilles injury, that would end his season and likely put his future with the team in doubt next year as well. Coming off two major injuries like that will be tough and the team has a fairly easy out of his contract. Nothing has been confirmed as of yet but the fear is an achilles injury,

Head Coach Sean Payton said it is always difficult to see a player like Patrick go down like that, especially a player and team leader like Tim Patrick.

“It’s always difficult. You guys see it, especially with a guy like that who is a leader and who is coming off pretty much an entire year of rehabilitation. It’s difficult for his teammates and for all of us.

Broncos star cornerback Patrick Surtain spoke about Patrick’s potential injury after practice and told reporters that it “sucks” to see him go down and that it is a “tough break for this team”. He added that Patrick’s leadership on the field was “key” for this team and that he will be missed if he is indeed out for the year.

If Patrick is out for the year, look for former Saints wide receiver Marquez Callaway and rookie wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. to get some looks on offense.

In the middle of writing this, ESPN’s Adam Schefter has confirmed that Broncos wide receiver Tim Patrick has torn his achilles and is out for the year.

Payton hyped up rookie RB Jaleel McLaughlin

With pads coming on, you can really start to evaluate the running back position, and one player who stood out today was undrafted rookie Jaleel McLaughlin. He is a speedy, but undersized running back who has good receiving skills, but that speed was noticeable today when the pads come on.

Head coach Sean Payton was asked about McLaughlin after practice today and he hyped up the undrafted rookie. He told reporters that he has some burst and toughness in him and that he is the first one in the facility in the morning.

“He has a little burst, and there’s some toughness to him. He’s the first one here. I don’t know what time he gets here in the morning, but it’s pretty early. He’s a guy you root for. He’s shifty, and he has good change of direction. It’s funny. When you put the pads on players for the first day, then you really get an appreciation of how they look in pads. It’s hard to measure that when they’re not in pads. Today was that day where you’re just looking around at everyone and how they carry the pads. It’ll be a good stretch for him, though. He’s a guy that it’s really important to.”

McLaughlin is fighting for a roster spot and that third spot on the Broncos' depth chart behind Javonte Williams and Samaje Perine. He is competing against Tony Jones Jr. and Tyler Badie for that third spot on the depth chart. I view him as a favorite for that job but he will need to prove himself throughout camp and into the preseason.

He would add some speed and explosion to the backfield which it is currently lacking while also giving them a back who can contribute in the passing game. I am excited to see him play in the preseason and hopefully, have a strong one.

Defense wins again

This has been the theme throughout camp so far and that continued today. The Broncos pass rush was dominant once again and made life hell for quarterback Russell Wilson.

The offense struggled again today. We saw a limited amount of passes from Wilson, but the protection was an issue again, Wilson threw an interception, and some inaccurate passes. He did end practice with a nice pass to Jerry Jeudy but overall, it was not a great showing by the offense.

It is still early in camp and the defense usually starts head of the offense but we are seeing some of the same struggles we saw last year. Add in the loss of Tim Patrick and there is a reason for concern when it comes to the Broncos offense.

With that said, Sean Payton is one of the best offensive minds in the game so we need to have confidence in him to fix things. The offense is still learning the playbook and the Broncos secondary is one of the best in the league, but we need to see better from them moving forward.

News and Notes

• Broncos announced that they have signed offensive lineman Yasir Durant and have waived offensive tackle Christian DiLauro.
• Running back Javonte Williams was in pads for today’s practice as he continues his impressive comeback from a serious knee injury.
• Rookie wide receiver Marvin Mims returned to practice today and he said that he is “doing well”. His workload will ramp up this week as he is returning from a minor hamstring injury.
• Broncos plan to waive WR K.J. Hamler with a non-football injury designation. He is undergoing treatment for a minor heart condition that will sideline him for “weeks, not months” and could be brought back in the future,

Injury Report/Attendance Report

• Veteran edge rusher Frank Clark was not present for today’s practice. Payton said it was a club decision as to why he sat out practice.
• Rookie cornerback Riley Moss was not present for today’s practice. Payton said it was a club decision as to why he sat out practice.
• Right tackle Mike McGlinchey returned to practice after missing a few practices last week due to a death in his family
• Wide receiver Tim Patrick suffered a non-contact injury and was carted off the field. Head Coach Sean Payton said the team was evaluating him for an Achilles injury.

Notable Quotes

Head Coach Sean Payton on the importance of “live” practice periods and how often he plans to incorporate them

“It depends on the drill. When we get to goal line or short yardage, we might have six-to-eight plays live. We are in full pads now, so it’s full go. We’re not cutting and we’re not tackling to the ground. We have to learn to practice this way. Today, I thought they did a good job of it. They handled it well.”

Head Coach Sean Payton on the overall depth at the wide receiver position

“Look, we have a lot of guys working right now. It’s early. We’re just getting to know the guys who have been here, and then there are some guys who we have brought in. We kind of have those meetings at night where we talk about each position group. Yesterday, we met for two hours on the roster and kind of discussed that if we were bringing in an extra player, it would be this position right now or this position. That’s kind of how we approach it.”

Head Coach Sean Payton on the steepest part of the learning curve for young wide receivers

“Chances are, there’s a new system. It’s unusual if they had the same or similar system—how we call plays, how we get aligned. Typically speaking, in college, there’s some standard formations. I think the vocabulary gets bigger and the library of where they line up gets bigger. Some of them play in systems where they’re only on the right side of the field or only on the left side of the field. Here, we flip. There’s a lot of nuances—man, zone, run game. In my experience, I’ve had players that have transitioned very quickly as rookies, and then I’ve had players that took a while. It depends on each player.”

Head Coach Sean Payton on the offense going against CB Pat Surtain II and how that pays off

“When you’re a quarterback and you’re getting a rep, just like you would in a game, you’re constantly paying attention to the play. Then, you also know you have to have caution over here, and there has to be certain types of routes. It wasn’t too long ago we played here in Denver, and we would go through the game plan. There would be certain throws that you’d feel more comfortable with, and then there are other throws. You might one-way a formation and only run it to the left if you felt like he was playing to our right. Sometimes, they’ll move him around. A lot goes into that when you play an opponent that you feel has one of those elite corners. I kid him all the time. We typically try to make those elite corners tackle a lot early in the game just to get their helmet dirty. You do have to pay attention to that—the matchup, the split, the route—especially when a guy has good ball skills. If they don’t have really good ball skills, then it’s a little different.”

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