Which Denver Broncos players are not making a big enough splash in training camp so far?
With no fans allowed in attendance at Denver Broncos training camp in 2020, we’re mostly left with no choice but to hope every media member in attendance is keeping a strong account of each player on the roster.
With nearly 80 guys out there and so much focus on big-name players, that’s not always feasible, but training camp is often a hotbed for players to stand out with big plays, great reps, or outstanding traits.
You love hearing about the big connections in the passing game from Drew Lock to Courtland Sutton or Jerry Jeudy. You love to hear about starters on defense making great breaks on the ball for interceptions, or bursting past the offensive line for a sack.
If you’re not hearing about specific players, that doesn’t necessarily mean the coaching staff is not taking notice of every rep. In fact, Broncos head coach Vic Fangio will often be asked about specific plays in practice and he will note that he needs to go watch the tape to see, so even with the naked eye, impressions can be deceptive.
With that said, players don’t have preseason games this year to make a splash in front of everyone and push their case for a roster spot. By the way, roster decisions are not all that far away, and at this point, the Broncos would have already played one preseason game.
We don’t know what the coaches are seeing on tape, but with the Broncos granting about an hour of practice access every day on social media, practice highlights being posted by the team, and reports from those media who have been granted in-person access to practice, we can at least somewhat determine which players have stood out in a good way and which players maybe haven’t.
Which players need to be making a bigger splash at camp than they currently are? Let’s take a look at the top three.
1. Justin Hollins, OLB
There is no doubt that the Denver Broncos would love to have Justin Hollins emerge this season as a potential top backup option to Von Miller and Bradley Chubb. At this particular point in time, it seems like he is at best third in line behind veteran Jeremiah Attaochu and fellow second-year player Malik Reed.
Attaochu has stood out on a number of occasions through camp, and Reed was really the Broncos’ primary starter opposite Miller last year when Chubb went down as Hollins was floating between inside linebacker and outside linebacker.
With an athlete like this, you really want to see the Broncos find a way to make it work.
Hollins is not lacking for physical or athletic skills. It’s possibly a detriment to his case that the Broncos have attempted floating him around to both inside linebacker and outside linebacker when it’s really his burst off the edge that is his standout trait on tape.
Of course, Hollins has the speed and agility to hang in coverage with tight ends and running backs, but until we really see him matched up there, it’s hard to know.
You would love to see more splash plays from Hollins coming out of training camp, but it’s important to note that he may still be doing a fine job. Through one week of camp, he’s not really rotating in a ton with the first unit that we know of even with Von Miller sitting out a practice and Bradley Chubb also getting a day off to rest his ACL.
2. Diontae Spencer, WR/RS
The Denver Broncos’ competition at wide receiver is so fierce, it’s hard to say whether or not last year’s Pro Bowl alternate return specialist Diontae Spencer will have his same seat in 2020.
That’s not to say that Spencer is not clearly the most qualified return man on the roster right now — he has over 300 career return opportunities as a professional to this point — but is he going to be valuable enough on offense to justify that spot on special teams?
If he has been, we haven’t been hearing about it, and I wish that were the case.
Spencer has legitimate track star speed, timing in the 4.3 range when he was coming out of McNeese State in 2014.
The Broncos attempted to utilize that speed offensively last year but Spencer’s limited opportunities only brought mixed results. He did have a couple of nice plays sprinkled throughout the 2019 season, but he wasn’t able to emerge as a consistent threat.
The Broncos seem to have a clear pecking order ahead of him on the wide receiver depth chart right now of at least five guys: Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, Jerry Jeudy, DaeSean Hamilton, and KJ Hamler.
Even though Hamler is injured (hamstring) and out for a couple of weeks (or a month), the Broncos have some others competing for playing time in the return game besides Spencer like Trinity Benson, Fred Brown, and even DaeSean Hamilton who has some experience returning punts.
If the Broncos only keep six wide receivers, who are you cutting to keep Spencer strictly for returns? That was a luxury the Broncos could afford last season because they had such a desperate need and not a ton of separation at the bottom of their wide receiver group, but they now have players on the roster — including Hamler when he’s healthy — who can make plays in the return game who might be better assets to the offense.
3. Duke Dawson Jr., CB
As a former second-round pick out of Florida in 2018 (by the Patriots), you obviously hope that Duke Dawson is going to be in a position to win a role in the Broncos’ defense.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like he’s in the thick of things for CB3 duties.
Vic Fangio has mentioned De’Vante Bausby, Isaac Yiadom, and Davontae Harris by name when it comes to the CB3 spot, and he has stated that of those three guys, no one has really stood out among the rest at this point.
That means good things for all of them if we’re grading on a curve, because from the sounds of it, De’Vante Bausby is having a heck of a camp coming off of his 2019 injury.
With Michael Ojemudia also nipping at everyone’s heels as the Broncos’ top defensive draft pick in 2020, where does that leave Duke Dawson?
At this point, the fact that Dawson hasn’t made any big splash in camp doesn’t bode well for his roster chances, even though he did a solid job last year as a nickel on short notice.
Perhaps that will be his edge going forward, and maybe he’s not being considered for the CB3 role because Bryce Callahan is the top nickel and Dawson is simply his backup in that regard.
With that said, you would hope to see more of a splash from a former second-round pick, even though the Broncos didn’t give up much to get him. Hopefully, he’s put together a better camp than anyone seems to be observing at this point.