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.