Mile High Report
News and notes from day 2 of the Broncos acclimation period.
Today was Day 2 of their acclimation ramp practice, the final one before Broncos camp officially kicks off tomorrow in front of nearly 800 fans in attendance. Today’s practice was a little bit longer than their opening period on Wednesday, but it was still a non-padded ramp-up practice. With fans in attendance tomorrow, the team will allow media members to live tweet what is happening throughout practice, so we should have a better idea of what’s happening on the Broncos' practice field.
Broncos Head Coach Sean Payton did not meet with the media today, but we did hear from All-Pro guard Quinn Meinerz and safety Talanoa Hufanga.
Today we have the Broncos pass rush being dominant, Bo Nix’s arm strength wowing his teammates, injury updates, news and notes, notable quotes and more!
The Broncos' defense led the NFL in sacks last season and is showing that they still have an elite and dominant pass rush. During today’s ramp-up practice, Nik Bonitto, Zach Allen, Jonathon Cooper, John Franklin-Myers, Dondrea Tillman, and even Drew Sanders showed off their pass rush potential.
It is still early in camp, still in their ramp-up period, and defense is always ahead of the offense early in camp, but this is exciting to see. They have the same overall unit returning this year, with a good mix of established veterans and intriguing young players who could be on the verge of a breakout year.
Zach Allen, John Franklin-Myers, and D.J. Jones are established veterans, but then you have Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper, who are both coming off breakout seasons. If they continue to improve, this pass rush could get even better. On top of that, you have second-year pass rusher Jonah Elliss, Dondrea Tillman, and exciting rookies Que Robinson and Sai’vion Jones mixing in as well. So, the Broncos have a young and talented pass rush unit that has the legit potential to be even better than they were last season.
Hell, we haven’t even mentioned Drew Sanders, who is expected to be used as a blitz-specialist/pressure player this upcoming season. Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph can scheme up some exotic blitzes to get after quarterbacks this upcoming season.
Safety Talanoa Hufanga was asked if the Broncos' pass rush would make things easier for hi,m and he told reporters that it would make things much easier and that they have “Dogs up front”.
“It makes it a lot easier. You got dogs up front. I think they led the sacks last year [with] 63. So it makes it easier for us, but at the same time, we want to make it so they can have sacks too. We’ve got to cover long and get sticky in the back end so they can make it right up front.”
If the Broncos' pass rush can repeat what they did last season or even improve, this defense could be very dangerous. They...
