Broncos Camp Day 4: Tempers Flare | Takeaways

Day 4 of Denver Broncos training camp was easily the most intense practice so far. It was the second padded practice of camp, and the physicality was ramped up a notch.

The practice itself was also longer in duration, as the Broncos continue their gradual climb into full-fledged camp rhythms. It all started last week with two "acclimation" practices, and each day since then has steadily climbed in intensity and duration.

Things got chippy, tempers flared. That's training camp, though. It gets emotional after awhile, as these players are away from home and stuck with each other for weeks on end.

Let's get to the news and notes from Day 4, the winners and losers of practice, and our key takeaways.

Nik Bonitto Injury Scare

Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper — Denver Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto (15) and linebacker Jonathon Cooper (0) during training camp at Broncos Park. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Bonitto left practice early with an apparent lower-leg injury, suffered during a 9-on-7 drill with the trenches going hard at each other. He was bookended by two trainers who guided him off the field and, eventually, back to the locker room.

After practice, head coach Sean Payton said, "He'll be fine. No updates."

Bonitto, 26, is in his fifth NFL season. He's coming off his second straight Pro Bowl nod, totaling a career-high 14 sacks last year.

If Bonitto does have to miss any practice time beyond Tuesday, the Broncos are still in excellent shape at outside linebacker. The depth of the room is significant.

Injury Watch

We normally save this for the end, but since the Bonitto scare headlined Day 4, we may as well get to the other injury updates.

Let's hope what Payton said about Bonitto's injury is true. It's what the veteran coach essentially said about center Luke Wattenberg's injury on Monday, and the starter was back out on the grass on Tuesday, though not in pads.

Outside linebacker Dondrea Tillman practiced during individual drills on Day 4, but he left for the side field once again when it came time for team work, per The Denver Gazette's Chris Tomasson. It appears to be a lower leg injury, though nothing serious.

Tight end Caleb Lohner missed another practice. He's yet to hit the field since training camp began, after undergoing what was purportedly a "routine" clean-up procedure on his knee.

Courtland Sutton Rest Day

Sutton didn't practice, though it was by design. The veteran wideout is not injured. His rest day was part of the Broncos' "load management" for certain veterans and players coming off injury.

“I’ll fill you in," Payton said after practice. "I’m not going to give you the calendar, but we’ve got a whole vet calendar of days that we’ll rest them. Some are age-driven; some are coming off an injury.”

Expect Sutton to return to the practice field on Wednesday.

First Scuffle of Camp

During team period, Evan Engram and cornerback Ja'Quan McMillian got into a scuffle following an incomplete pass to the veteran tight end. As Denver Sports' Andrew Mason saw it, McMillian began a shoving match with Engram, which drew a throng of Broncos.

It was over before it even started. Payton didn't sound too worried about it after practice, but he made it clear that he hopes that the film doesn't show any other players jumping in to escalate the squabble.

“Yes, all I saw was just a lot of bodies," Payton said. "Whoever’s in the skirmish, I just don’t want to see the third person, the bystander who decides he’s going to be tough.”

This is part of training camp. Sometimes the scuffles happen early, sometimes later in camp. This likely won't be the last teammate-on-teammate dust-up, especially since Denver won't be holding any joint practices this summer, which traditionally give players an opportunity to work out pent-up aggression on opponents.

Defense Wins the Day — Just Ask Talanoa Hufanga

Again, it was a fiery practice, and the Broncos' defense once again won the day. The offense was besieged by the Broncos' defensive line, including the edge defenders, all of whom seemed to live in the backfield.

At one point, running back J.K. Dobbins drifted over to the defensive sideline, "barking" at Hufanga in a "word-for-word" exchange, according to The Denver Post's Luca Evans. After practice, Hufanga jogged past the media to make sure everyone had the right entry in Tuesday's camp notebook.

“Just make sure y’all write in your reports, defense won the day. Defense won the day,” Hufanga said.

Remember, these are some of the most competitively intense men walking the planet, and they've had no one to tee off against but each other now for a solid week. In terms of competition — who wins, who loses — the main objective for each side of the ball is to win the day.

It's fair to say that the defense is up 3-1 on the offense through four days of Broncos camp. Outside of Day 1 on Friday, the defense has racked the most victories, but that's to be expected.

The format of training camp tends to favor defenses. And it just so happens that Denver's defense is also one of the NFL's best, as new wideout Jaylen Waddle has come to realize for himself.

"Our defense is definitely one of the best in the league," Waddle said after Tuesday's practice.
"Going against that group from the defensive front to the linebackers and the secondary forces us to play the right way. We try to give them good looks and compete hard against them every day.

"That defense is tough to gain even one yard against, I can tell you that."

Riley Moss Stacking Days

Moss has been one of the standouts of camp thus far, and that continued on Day 4. He had multiple pass break-ups during individual and team periods of practice.

Moss continues to send a message to the Broncos' front office: Pay me.

This is the last year of Moss's rookie contract, and he's been a big part of the Broncos' success over the past two years. The Broncos may have been waiting to see whether 2025 first-rounder Jahdae Barron was going to take a quantum leap forward in Year 2 and give Moss a run for his money, but that hasn't happened.

Don't be surprised if Moss is the next man up for one of GM George Paton's summer extensions.

Day 4's Big Winners

Denver Broncos wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. (19) during Denver Broncos Training Camp. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Marvin Mims Jr. | WR
Troy Franklin | WR
Pat Bryant | WR
Brent Austin | CB
Riley Moss | CB
Sai’vion Jones | DL
Tyler Onyedim | DL
Sam Ehlinger | QB

Mims and Bryant continue to impress, but it was nice to see Franklin finally get in on the action. Franklin beat Barron for a deep touchdown during one-on-one drills (Mason), and had several nice plays on the day.

The arrival of Waddle seems to have sparked something in Mims. Either that, or Mims is simply turning it up a notch as he enters a contract year. Maybe both, but Waddle revealed after practice that he admires Mims.

"I'm a big fan of Marvin Mims. He's extremely explosive, and I love watching him work," Waddle said. "I enjoy being in meetings with him and picking his brain. Marvin is a big play waiting to happen at any moment. Defenses have to respect that kind of speed, and it's been great watching him."

These two are similar players, though Waddle is obviously a more accomplished and refined receiver. There were questions about how Mims would fit in with Waddle pushing everyone down the depth chart, but training camp has shown us thus far that there's plenty of room for both in this offense.

Keep an eye on the undrafted rookie, Austin, who once again makes the winners' column. He out-efforts the guys around him, and that was on display on Day 4, at the expense of a wide receiver who's been one of the big early winners of camp (more on him shortly).

It's great to see Jones and Onyedim making plays with the pads on. It's hard to guage trench play without the pads, and both former third-round picks are standing out. Each had run-stuff plays today.

Ehlinger's play continues to garner recognition. He's putting pressure on Jarrett Stidham for the No. 2 quarterback job and had some great plays on Tuesday, including a nice touchdown throw to running back Jaleel McLaughlin, per DNVR's Zac Stevens.

Day 4's Losers

Hakeem Butler. — Denver Broncos wide receiver Hakeem Butler (30) catches a pass during a training camp practice. | Ben Swanson/Denver Broncos

Hakeem Butler | WR
Evan Engram | TE
Ja’Quan McMillian | CB
Jahdae Barron | CB
Dondrea Tillman | OLB

Butler took a bit of a step back on Day 4, but he's been nothing short of impressive. Per Evans, the 6-foot-5 Butler had multiple "low-effort reps" on Tuesday and was beaten by the 5-foot-11 Austin in a "go-get-it" type play.

Odd, considering how Butler has shined in jump-ball situations since camp began. He'll need a bounce-back day to erase Tuesday's setback.

Engram and McMillian make the losers list for their scuffle. But both have had a good camp thus far. It's worth noting, though, that after an active start, Engram hasn't been as involved or productive since the pads have gone on.

Tillman makes the list simply for missing two straight days of team period. With how deep the Broncos are at outside linebacker, they've been able to withstand his absence.

Tillman has been a productive depth player for the past two years, but the Broncos have a lot of outside linebacker mouths to feed this summer, so the sooner he's back on the field, the better.

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