Denver Broncos conclude 2023 minicamp: Sean Payton's offense looks promising

The Denver Broncos have officially wrapped up their 2023 minicamp activities and will head into the presumed "dry" period of their offseason as they prepare for the hard-fought, tumultuous battles of training camp in late July.

While mandatory minicamp only consisted of three consecutive practices, the media was still able to learn quite a bit from the outstanding performances by players such as S Justin Simmons, LB Josey Jewell, LB Alex Singelton, rookie LB Seth Benson, CB Ja'Quan McMillian, WR Courtland Sutton, and many more!

Here are the biggest headlines and standouts from Denver Broncos mandatory minicamp:

Albert Okwuegbunam revenge arc?

We have all seen those movies where the villain has hit a "low" and is in the midst of their climax before they regain their control or power. In the Denver Broncos' current situation, TE Albert Okwuegbunam fits that description at the moment, except he's a pretty nice guy. While Albert O has not necessarily done anything to obtain that "villain" status, he was essentially put in the 'dog house' by former head coach Nathaniel Hackett last season.

In 2022, Okwuegbunam appeared in eight games while only starting in one of them as TEs Eric Saubert and Greg Dulcich received more playing time down the stretch of the season. Being targeted just 18 times, Okwuegbunam caught 10 passes for 95 yards and a touchdown while playing a mere 190 snaps from scrimmage. When given playing time, he dropped a total of two passes out of his 18 targets and continued to struggle with blocking assignments in Hackett's newly installed outside zone scheme.

According to reports, Albert Okwuegbunam had a very productive first day of minicamp catching "multiple deep catches" during team periods, and has made good progress, according to head coach Sean Payton. In his press conference, Payton said Okwuegbunam is very athletic and "can run" but the team's offensive staff is looking for consistency from the young tight end.

Albert O, 25, is heading into his fourth season with the Broncos and is on the cusp of not making the team, depending on how many tight ends Coach Payton plans to carry entering the regular season. Okwuegbunam is still very young in the early years of his NFL career and has plenty of juice to dust defensive backs that line across from him. He excels after the catch having 247 YAC in 2021 and is a legitimate vertical threat down the field when given the opportunity to showcase his abilities. The Broncos are going to have a good problem on their hands heading into training camp with several young tight ends on their roster looking to make an impact in the receiving game.