It's tough to gauge everything that's going on throughout the course of OTAs for a variety of reasons. Players aren't even wearing pads yet. Installation is happening. Guys are in new environments. Some players were held out for precautionary (injury) reasons. You can only do your best to read the tea leaves and follow the breadcrumbs out there in terms of which players might be seeing their "stock" going down heading into training camp.
For the Denver Broncos, there are a lot of changes going on and there's certainly a lot of pressure to perform at a high level. Every player on this team is going to be under the microscope as we enter year two of the Sean Payton era, but which players are seemingly in need of a jolt ahead of training camp?
Let's look at some players whose stock is down around the roster, whether they were outperformed at OTAs by someone else or some other factors at play.
1. Zach Wilson, quarterback
It was always going to be a tough climb for Zach Wilson. Jarrett Stidham has a year head start in Sean Payton's offense and the team used a 1st-round pick on Bo Nix in the 2024 NFL Draft. Even though Wilson was the 2nd overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, and even though he may be the most talented player the Broncos have at quarterback, he seems to be clearly behind the others at the position.
Not that this is the biggest deal, but it's not the best look for Wilson that both Jarrett Stidham and Bo Nix are getting in extra work with the team's skill players and Wilson isn't there...
As promised, #Broncos QBs Jarrett Stidham and Bo Nix with contingent of receivers, RBs, and TEs as they put in work this week.
— Cody Roark (@CodyRoarkNFL) July 10, 2024
📷 Jarrett Stidham’s IG pic.twitter.com/hXKewIyQtI
Again, not the biggest deal, but definitely not the best look, either.
2. Javonte Williams, running back
For the majority of the second half of the entire 2023 season, Javonte Williams struggled to average even three yards per carry. He averaged just 3.8 yards per touch over the course of the year, down a pretty staggering 1.2 yards per touch from his rookie year when he averaged 5.0 yards per touch.
We didn't see the same guy in the 2023 season that was out there in 2021. Williams' game is based on creating yards after contact, which he has been incredible at since his days at North Carolina -- until last year. There was very little in the way of yardage after contact and while Williams didn't exactly get the chance to display whether or not he's improved in that area, Jaleel McLaughlin was a standout at OTAs and the Broncos used a 5th-round pick on Audric Estimé of Notre Dame.
The team had a 3rd-round grade on Estimé, and Williams is going to have to fight for his starter carries as well as potentially even his spot on the roster.