Amidst a very saddening day for Denver Broncos fans as they lost two of their young receivers in Tim Patrick and KJ Hamler for extended amounts of time, the team had a few ups and downs as they threw on the pads for the first time since their week 18 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in the season finale.
Aside from injuries, despite implementing a brand new offensive system under head coach Sean Payton, many players seem to be picking things up quicker than expected.
Denver Broncos players that stood out at Day 5 of training camp
RB Jaleel McLaughlin
Entering his rookie campaign and experiencing his first NFL offseason, rookie UDFA RB Jaleel McLaughlin is already faced with many obstacles and “not so great” odds as it is very difficult making an NFL roster being undrafted. However, the 22-year-old McLaughlin seems to be ready for the tough task at hand early on in his career. Actually, more than ready.
Attending camp practice, I was able to witness the young back showcase his talents in an offense that benefits small-framed RBs like McLaughlin. Throughout practice, McLaughlin was consistently making plays and presenting his high-end speed to the coaching staff and fans.
During team periods, McLaughlin got some effective work in with the backups and had rushes of 65 yards (touchdown) and 30 yards, both of which he was hardly touched by any defender. Very impressive stuff for the 5-foot-7 back out of Youngstown State.
While he did outperform other competitors in RBs Tyler Badie and Tony Jones Jr., he’s still going to need to have more performances like these throughout camp. I would still give the early winner for the RB3 spot to second-year player Tyler Badie however, McLaughlin most certainly gave his teammate a run for the money today (pun intended).
RB Tyler Badie
Staying at the RB position, as previously mentioned, Tyler Badie continued to show out in his second camp with the Broncos. The 23-year-old back caught a screen pass for about 20 yards and was involved in the starting rotation alongside RBs Javonte Williams (limited) and Samaje Perine in 7-on-7 periods.
As I have mentioned in previous pieces, Badie fits Sean Payton’s offense down to the T and could be a very underrated piece of Denver’s run game in 2023. He proved it to be true during 7-on-7s with the starters and looks to show no signs of slowing down — literally, he’s super fast.
QB Jarrett Stidham
Coming in as the team’s backup quarterback, Jarrett Stidham has drawn lots of praise early on in the offseason from Sean Payton, often referring to his knowledge of the game and high football IQ, despite not having much experience starting in the NFL. While some have chosen to disagree with said claims, everything was as advertised for Stidham in his fifth camp practice in the Mile High.
Stidham was constantly making audibles and adjustments at the line of scrimmage at the start of team periods and was presenting a great leadership aura to himself in the huddles. But most importantly, the fifth-year QB was executing at a high level and was taking everything the defense gave him as he accurately completed his passes short of the markers. Unlike Russell Wilson, Stidham was more reluctant to target routes downfield, however, was still progressing through his reads pretty effectively.
It’s Wilson’s team in 2023, but if the Broncos are forced to make a change at quarterback for whatever reason, they will be in much better hands with Stidham under center as opposed to backups in previous years. Stidham also came away with no turnovers on the day and had close to zero incompletions during team periods. Hopefully, this is not an indicator of Denver’s second-team defense performing poorly but Stidham executing the offense well. I’d beg to argue in favor of the new Broncos' backup.