Training Camp

[brianmcfarlane]

Today Cushenberry got reps with the 1st team. Jake Rodgers was at RT.
TEs Fant and Vannet had the day off ... it was reported that with the extra reps both Fumagalli and Butt had good days.
Reports are that Bouye has been worth the trade.
Reports are that Josey Jewell has had a good camp so far... that's good to hear. Had an INT today.

PS ... it now is reported that Fant was sick (not covid) and Vannet is in concussion protocol.

[brianmcfarlane]

Allbright made an interesting comment about how obvious it is that Shurmur's offense is much more aggressive than Scangarello's was.

Todd Davis has stated that the offense has looked better this camp then any other camp since being with the Broncos ... he did start with the Broncos late season 2014.
I tried to find that comment/tweet but could not find it, it was couple of days ago.

[JvDub95]

Today Cushenberry got reps with the 1st team. Jake Rodgers was at RT.
TEs Fant and Vannet had the day off ... it was reported that with the extra reps both Fumagalli and Butt had good days.
Reports are that Bouye has been worth the trade.
Reports are that Josey Jewell has had a good camp so far... that's good to hear. Had an INT today.

Not that I'm biased or anything 🤣 but I'd love to see Jewell take Todd's spot next to AJ

[DENVERSB50CHAMP]

Munchak is in the process of identifying the best five O-Linemen to start. It is always a work in progress which will continue throughout the season. Denver added Graham Glasgow and Demar Dotson, the latter just last week. Denver has two rookie draftee O-Linemen, Lloyd Cushenberry and Netane Muti. The two best O-Linemen are the starting Guards, "Route 66" Risner and GG.

Glasgow has 27 NFL starts at LG, 16 at C and 15 at RG where he has been repping in Denver. He might be the second C, if a shuffle was needed depending on the cause of the shuffle. He can play any of the inside OL spots.

"Route 66" played LG last year as a rookie and that is where he is repping now. His last three years at K-State, he was All Big 12 RT. The year before that he started at C. Dalton might be able to play all the O-Line positions, even LT in an extreme pinch. He is an option at RT depending on the unfolding set of circumstances.

Cushenberry and Muti are rookies. We'll need to see how they progress and how soon they can practice/play their way into the starting five. Cushenberry will play Center and Muti looks like a G. When they earn a spot in the five, a shuffle will ensue.

Austin Schlottmann had four starts at RG last year and has been taking first team reps at C, the last position he played at TCU. He is quality depth at all inside spots and can start, if necessary.

Eli Wilkinson had seven starts at RG in 2018 and looked OK. In the fifteen games he played at RT last year he didn't look to me like a T. He seemed challenged as a pass blocker. IMO his best spot seems RG. Demar Dotson has 106 NFL starts most of which were at RT. He will soon take first team reps. If Munchak thinks he is a better pass blocker than Wilkinson, I'm inclined to think Demar will start. Swing Tackle is an unresolved issue.

Garrett Bolles is on the final year of his rookie contract and has started every game at LT. It is good that he and the rest of the first team O-Line practice against Denver's Defensive Front 7. Miller, Chubb, Casey, Harris, et al. may turn out to be the most effective pass rushers in the league this year. Practicing against them will be excellent preparation. It's a good thing "Buzz Lightyear" is mobile. He may need to add some Star Trek technology so he can beam out of trouble ... at least in practice.

Once Again Another Masterpiece Write Up By The Master. I Honestly Do Not Ever Want To See E.Wilkinson As A Starter On This Team I Hate To Say This However He Just Cannot Cut It.

[brianmcfarlane]

Fangio says Cushenberry has done a solid job picking up the offense and the calls. Says he's "encouraged" with how the rookie has performed to this point. Says there is still a three-way battle at center with he, Schlottmann and Morris.

[brianmcfarlane]

Jake Butt is very optimistic of his chances staying healthy ...
Butt cited Frank Gore and Thomas Davis as 2 guys who've dealt with 3 torn ACL's and had long careers...so, fingers crossed. He also said he's talked to Davis in the past when he tore his knee.
Jake Butt: “There was a lot of days I wanted to quit… I’m happy I stuck with it.”
Jake Butt: "I do feel really, really good out there. I feel like I can play in this league and contribute, and I can get even better." “For me, I feel 100 percent”

[HDbroncos02]

Dotson is currently in the conditioning phase before he can actually practice. Let’s hope he’s serviceable at the very least when he finally hits the field because the Jake Rodgers & Elijah Wilkinson experiment at RT is definitely not cutting it right now. I do think the 25-year-old Wilkinson is Munchak’s “project”, especially since the FO went out and placed a 2nd round RFA tender on him over the offseason.

[brianmcfarlane]

Fangio has said that the 3rd CB spot is between Davontae Harris, Yiadom and De'Vante Bausby. Fangio says none of the three have pulled away from the other two. But...

If Bryce Callahan ends up playing in the slot this season, De’Vante Bausby might be the favorite to start on the outside across from A.J. Bouye. After practice Tuesday, Bouye said Bausby stood out when he watched film of Denver’s defense from last season. On Monday, Broncos coach Vic Fangio said Bausby “should be in the best spot he’s been in in his career.” Bausby’s competition for playing time includes Davontae Harris and Michael Ojemudia (Duke Dawson will likely play in the slot).

[brianmcfarlane]

Not that I'm biased or anything �� but I'd love to see Jewell take Todd's spot next to AJ

Todd Davis is doing well in camp too. It would be nice if Jewell could breakout this season, I am rooting for him. Still, if both Jewell and Davis can play well it would be great for the ILB position to have that depth for a possible rotation.

[HDbroncos02]

Fangio says Cushenberry has done a solid job picking up the offense and the calls. Says he's "encouraged" with how the rookie has performed to this point. Says there is still a three-way battle at center with he, Schlottmann and Morris.

If Cushenberry isn’t the starting center Week 1 against the Titans on MNF, that would be the biggest shock to me. No doubt they’re easing him in, but he’s looked solid so far by all accounts. Fangio calling him smart for a rookie is probably as high of a compliment as our old-fashioned head coach will ever give a player here. Maybe by the end of the week our 3rd round rookie will get a full day with the 1’s. That would be nice to see.

[brianmcfarlane]

If Cushenberry isn’t the starting center Week 1 against the Titans on MNF, that would be the biggest shock to me. No doubt they’re easing him in, but he’s looked solid so far by all accounts. Fangio calling him smart for a rookie is probably as high of a compliment as our old-fashioned head coach will ever give a player here. Maybe by the end of the week our 3rd round rookie will get a full day with the 1’s. That would be nice to see.

Yes, I expect Cushenberry to win the start, maybe in a week or two.
It sounds like the Broncos are going to have a practice, maybe scrimmage at Mile High on Sat 8-29; that will be my prediction on when he wins the spot.
Schlottman has done well though. I think he is being projected as the 2nd G/C. Could be wrong but he has been getting reps at both G and C and as Samparnell pointed out he played C most of his college career but played at RG a few games last season with the Broncos.

[samparnell]

Yes, I expect Cushenberry to win the start, maybe in a week or two.
It sounds like the Broncos are going to have a practice, maybe scrimmage at Mile High on Sat 8-29; that will be my prediction on when he wins the spot.
Schlottman has done well though. I think he is being projected as the 2nd G/C. Could be wrong but he has been getting reps at both G and C and as Samparnell pointed out he played C most of his college career but played at RG a few games last season with the Broncos.

I think Austin Schlottmann played C at TCU his last year there. IIRC he played T before that. Some O-Line coaches like to shuffle guys from T to C to take advantage of their long legs, if they have them.

[listopencil]

You could also use Hamler as a gadget RB just to have a running threat from a combo of Sutton, Jeudy, Fant, Albert O, and Hamler. Maybe even run some RPOs off of that

Right. I'd like to see Hamler get a good 5 or so designated plays a game. A few passes and a couple of runs designed to get him in space with the ball in his hands. Those 'runs' could be end arounds or sweeps from the WR position too.

[HDbroncos02]

KJ Hamler will be out for a couple weeks due to a hamstring injury. Todd Davis was helped off the field by two trainers and was carted out of practice after suffering a lower leg injury late in practice.

Tyrie Cleveland has been balling out with Juwann Winfree sidelined. He's made some great catches with both the 2nd & 3rd team offenses. Fangio just mentioned today that he's "liked" Cleveland so far.

Jeudy seems to have had his best day against the 1's today after being a little quiet for the past couple of practices. He made a tough catch deep with Simmons all over him. Then he caught two touchdowns from Lock, one being a quick slant and then the other one was a "dime" to close out practice in a late fourth quarter drill.

[brianmcfarlane]

I think Austin Schlottmann played C at TCU his last year there. IIRC he played T before that. Some O-Line coaches like to shuffle guys from T to C to take advantage of their long legs, if they have them.

I guess I shouldn't have said played MOSTLY at C in college. I was going to look into that but it slipped my mind. But now after doing the research it does look like he played mostly at C.

This is from 2018 written by Travis Wakeman when Schlottmann was signed by the Broncos as an UDFA...
Schlottmann came into the draft as a center after playing much of his college career at that position. He didn’t allow a single sack during his senior season. However, he looks more like a tackle and should be given a shot to earn a rotational spot down the road.

"Much" might not mean "most" and he did play nearly every position in college.

Denver Post did write in 2019 ... Schlottmann (6-6, 300) entered the NFL with a wealth of experience at center after more than 20 starts at the position in a college spread offense. In 2018 on the Bronco's PS he was rotated between G and C.
2017 | SENIOR Honorable-mention All-Big 12 ... started all 14 games ... made eight starts at center and six at right guard.
Austin said he played some TE in high school next to Courtland Sutton. He was recruited as an OT.
He did work with Loren Landow with Landow Performance in order to get ready for his pro day... he was not invited to the combine.