Denver Broncos: 10 major takeaways early in training camp

4. 2021 7th-round picks showing out

With a couple of days to observe camp in person, including the first padded practice of the offseason, I was very excited to take some notes on players in the trenches who stood out.

The Denver Broncos took a couple of late-round shots in the 2021 NFL Draft on defensive lineman Marquiss Spencer (Mississippi State) and Jonathon Cooper (Ohio State) with outstanding athletic profiles and perhaps more in the tank than their college production led on.

With some outstanding flashes throughout their college years, Cooper and Spencer really exemplify what should be the “ideal” seventh-round dart throw in the NFL Draft.

Those two guys made some of the more eyebrow-raising plays over the course of two days of camp, and Cooper had one pass rush rep, in particular, that may have been one of the more impressive individual defensive reps thus far.

Cooper, specifically, could be competing for a rather crucial role on the Denver Broncos’ defense. At this point, no fourth pass rusher or edge player has really emerged behind Von Miller, Bradley Chubb, and Malik Reed.

Practices like Cooper had on Tuesday go a long way towards ultimately making the 53-man roster.