The Denver Broncos are barely a week into training camp, and we’ve already seen a handful of surprises. We take a look at the top five so far.
The Denver Broncos have been practicing for just over a week, and now, the preseason is just about one week away.
Time flies when you’re having fun.
It’s been a fun training camp so far for the most part, though the season-ending injuries to wide receiver Tim Patrick and running back Damarea Crockett put a damper on a nearly flawless offseason for the Broncos.
Although everyone’s expectations were different coming into camp, there are a variety of things I think everyone can agree have been rather surprising through the first nine practices.
What have been the five biggest surprises? Let’s take a look.
Denver Broncos training camp surprise no. 1: Defense winning most days
From the first day of training camp, the Denver Broncos’ defense has been out there getting the better of Russell Wilson and the offense on most days.
Now, that’s not to say that the offense has looked bad or hasn’t had any success. But if you’re chalking up “wins” to either side of the ball throughout camp, it sure seems like the defense has won a few more days than the offense to this point.
Notable players that are standing out more than others?
- Pat Surtain II
- Justin Simmons
- Bradley Chubb
- Dre’Mont Jones
The expected names have been out there really showing out, but perhaps none more than Pat Surtain II.
Surtain has looked like an absolute superstar to everyone that has attended Broncos practice.
Offensive coordinator Justin Outten even joked that he playfully asks Surtain if he’s going to let them complete any passes in a given practice.
The defense has been making the offense work for practice wins, and you can’t help but love to see it. Considering Russell Wilson and his Hall of Fame abilities are also very much testing the defense, I’d say this unit is poised for a huge year.
Denver Broncos training camp surprise no. 2: Dalton Risner solidifying job quickly?
Going into training camp, one of the position groups in focus was the offensive line.
The Broncos knew their starter at left tackle was going to be Garett Bolles, but it felt like all of the other positions — at least to a degree — were up for grabs.
Things changed rather quickly when the team learned that Tom Compton was going to have to go on the PUP with a back injury.
Compton wasn’t necessarily expected to start, but he was certainly a factor.
Billy Turner also (less unexpectedly) started camp on the PUP and he has yet to practice at this point. Could he still be a starter? Sure.
But for the time being, it seems the “competition” on the offensive line has been overblown.
At least from what has been reported within the guidelines the Broncos have, only Netane Muti has been rotating in at the guard positions with the starting offensive line.
What’s surprising about this is the fact that more people felt like Dalton Risner’s job as the starting left guard was very much up for grabs.
It still may be, but with Muti rotating more at the right guard spot than he is on the left, it seems that rumors of Risner being on the chopping block may have been significantly overblown.
5) A few young guys on offense are off to quick starts in camp. Coaches love Javonte Williams—one called him a "smooth yet violent" runner. Dalton Risner's fit the new zone scheme better than expected. And Wilson has really taken Jerry Jeudy under his wing.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) August 5, 2022
Risner was at his best in 2019 when he was a rookie in Rich Scangarello’s wide zone offense. The Broncos are back to that scheme this year and Risner is once again proving to be a strong fit.
We’ll see what happens as more time progresses here. Maybe Netane Muti is more of a threat than it seems (the team has talked him up quite a bit) but it does seem like the starting five on the offensive line to open the season — if I had to bet on it today — would look like this:
- LT Garett Bolles
- LG Dalton Risner
- C Lloyd Cushenberry III
- RG Quinn Meinerz
- RT Calvin Anderson
With the top reserves being:
- T/G Billy Turner
- G/C Graham Glasgow
- G Netane Muti
Who else factors in? Will the Broncos keep nine or 10 offensive linemen?
There are plenty of questions right now but it seems like this is the way things are shaping up.
Denver Broncos training camp surprise no. 3: Montrell Washington’s emergence
There probably hasn’t been a bigger surprise at Denver Broncos training camp in 2022 — so far — than the emergence of rookie wide receiver Montrell Washington.
Washington was a fifth-round pick out of Samford and was not, by any means, a well-known prospect coming into this year’s draft process.
Although, to be fair, our own Chandler Hyler predicted the Denver Broncos would pick him on Day 3 of his 2022 mock draft.
Washington was certainly a dynamic all-purpose threat in the FCS at Samford. With that being said, few people expected him to be making an impression on the Denver Broncos’ offense as quickly as he has in 2022.
Washington — like many other receivers on this team — is rotating in with the first-team offense but he seems to have earned the favor of the coaching staff as well as quarterback Russell Wilson.
It doesn’t matter if he’s making plays deep downfield or in the red zone, Washington is balling out every single day at Broncos training camp.
With the Dallas Cowboys coming to town next week and the preseason on the horizon, we could see Washington gain even more publicity and hype in the coming days.
After Tim Patrick’s injury, everyone wondered how the Denver Broncos were going to ‘replace’ him.
Well, I don’t think anyone’s exactly going to do that. It’s going to be a committee approach. There’s no doubt, though, that Montrell Washington is going to be a factor on this offense earlier than people anticipated.
Denver Broncos training camp surprise no. 4: Jonas Griffith’s separation at LB
After he was signed as a free agent, there was certainly a school of belief that Alex Singleton was poised to become a starter next to Josey Jewell in the Denver Broncos defense.
That is, unless you had been paying attention at the end of the 2022 season.
Over the final four games of the 2022 season, young Jonas Griffith — a trade acquisition in 2021 from the 49ers — would rack up over 40 tackles and fly all over the field, looking like a future full-time starter.
Over the course of the 2022 offseason, he’s been absolutely outstanding.
Even with just a couple of padded practices, Griffith has been flying around in coverage, finding running lanes, and playing fast.
He’s showing a great understanding of Ejiro Evero’s defense and at this point, nobody’s even rotating reps with him at Denver Broncos training camp.
It’s not even a conversation anymore of whether or not the job next to Jewell is Griffith’s to lose — he’s already won it.
Singleton has yet to really make any waves at camp and while he has experience and multiple seasons over 100 tackles, it looks like Griffith has run away with this position battle before there was even really a battle to begin with.
Denver Broncos training camp surprise no. 5: Baron Browning’s quick transition
Many —many Denver Broncos fans were skeptical of the team’s decision to move Baron Browning from off-ball linebacker to the edge.
The thinking is pretty simple and understandable: If Browning is coming off the edge, he’s not in the starting lineup.
The Broncos already have Bradley Chubb and Randy Gregory on the roster and both are expected to start Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks.
Gregory is working his surgically repaired shoulder back to full strength, so in the meantime, players like Browning are getting a great opportunity to show their worth and really get out there and impress the coaching staff.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Browning has been a “revelation” off the edge to the Broncos.
From Inside Training Camp: This #Broncos defense should be legit. pic.twitter.com/i8D7oM4zKd
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 4, 2022
It’s great to hear about Baron Browning making a successful transition to the edge in the eyes of the team, it’s another for people to be out there seeing it.
The Broncos aren’t just excited about Browning and the possibility of his athleticism coming off the edge on paper, he’s out there having great practices, exploding off the ball, setting the edge, and proving they made the right decision in moving him to the edge.
I wish I could say that I, personally, view this as a big surprise. I do not. I think a lot of people do.
Watching Browning at Ohio State, it was clear that his potential as a pass rusher was very big.
The thinking initially was that the Broncos might try to use him in a similar way to how the Cowboys use Micah Parsons, and that may still be on the table, but it sounds like Browning is going to be rushing the quarterback and setting the edge on a much more full-time basis by comparison.
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The fact that he’s out there having a great start to camp isn’t surprising to everyone, but it’s certainly surprising to a lot of people.