Broncos camp rewind, Day 4: Sean Payton downplays change to QB rotation, saying “We’ve got a plan”

Attendance

Did not practice: Physically Unable to Perform list — S Delarrin Turner-Yell (knee) and LB Drew Sanders (Achilles). Non-Football Injury list — RB Blake Watson (muscle strain). Out — OLB Nik Bonitto (back) and DL John Franklin-Myers (personal).

Payton said Tuesday after practice that Franklin-Myers was excused to deal with a death in his family. Bonitto, meanwhile, has had back soreness the past couple of days but Payton anticipated him being back Wednesday or Thursday.

QB Race Today

The Broncos’ three-man rotation of Jarrett Stidham, Bo Nix and Zach Wilson at quarterback took its first turn Tuesday.

Last week Payton said he expected to adjust the arrangement in which each rotated with the top group a day at a time sometime in the near future. That happened Tuesday, though Payton said afterward he didn’t consider the change noteworthy.

On the every-three-days rotation, Wilson would have been up Tuesday after Stidham on Saturday and Nix on Monday. Instead, it was back to Stidham.

Payton rebuffed any notion that the adjustment carried meaning.

“Nope. We’re still — look, we’ve got a plan,” Payton said. “Yesterday Bo ran with the ones and Zach with the twos. Today ‘Stiddy’ was with the ones. No news to announce there. I know you’re looking for it.”

Wilson actually went third both Monday and Tuesday in seven-on-seven and team periods, though the number of reps in those settings has remained equal even as the order has changed.

Asked specifically if Wilson will get another day with the top group, Payton said, “We’ll see. LIke I said, nothing to announce.”

Top Play

The biggest oohs and ahhs of the day from the crowd came compliments of rookie running back Audric Estime. He pulverized safety Omar Brown with a stiff arm in a 9-on-7 practice drill as he continued his strong — no pun intended — start to training camp.

Thumbs Up

SWAT team. More like paws up, maybe. The Broncos defensive front — perhaps the biggest story of camp so far outside the quarterback battle for its disruptive play to date — on Tuesday swatted down five passes during team periods. Four came in the final two sets of plays alone. Zach Allen has a knack for it. Baron Browning and Elijah Garcia each got hands on passes, too. The group is playing fast overall so far and being disruptive even when they don’t get home.

“Obviously, if it’s quick game you’re not going to get there, so get your hands up,” Browning said. “I think it’s more of a feel thing. … Zach is definitely good at it. That’s something our interior is very good at as a whole.”

Thumbs Down

A camp scuffle. The thumbs down isn’t for the first scuffle of camp overall. They happen and they can come from aggression. At first blush, though, Payton didn’t see the value in one that popped off Tuesday between outside linebacker Durell Nchami and tight end Nate Adkins after a run play in a team period. Nchami went after Adkins after the play, the benches cleared but then order restored fairly quickly.

“Sometimes it doesn’t bother me,” Payton said. “I think in that case, we’ll look at the film. One player got blocked pretty well and got frustrated. I don’t want a discipline foul. We’ve all seen it. We talked a little bit about it afterward. But the guys are working hard.”

Odds and Ends

• Payton said quarterback evaluating at this stage in camp is mostly about measuring each player against himself and the kind of growth each shows. Then, once a decision is made, that equation changes some.

”Each guy individually right now,” Payton said of the evaluation. “What are we seeing consistently? As we get further down the road, then we get into more of a tailored approach, right? You begin to look specifically once that decision’s made and that’s the approach we’ve always tried to take.”

• The Broncos got a period of one-on-ones in between receivers and defensive backs on one field while 9-on-7 was going on the other. Lil’Jordan Humprhey had a good day overall and nice set of 1-on-1 reps, including a contested catch against Levi Wallace and a slant against Tremon Smith. Also, a bit of a rarity: Courtland Sutton stacked Pat Surtain II and ran past him up the sideline for a big play.

“You can see leverage, you can see technique,” Payton said of the value of 1-on-1s. “It’s a little slanted to the offense because there’s no pass rush, but it allows the corner to play bump, allows him to play off, allows the receiver to work on his releases.”

• Browning said that rookie outside linebacker Jonah Elliss has “a lot of natural ability” but added that every rookie faces a steep learning curve toward trying to get ready to play in the NFL. “I’m happy with what I’ve seen,” Browning said. “But obviously I know he’s got high expectations for himself and not only him but our whole unit. I’m excited to see him keep growing.”

Wednesday schedule

Parking lots open at 8 a.m., gates at 9 a.m. and practice runs 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

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