Broncos Camp Notebook | Day 14: Multiple Fights Break Out in Cowboys Practice

What did we learn from an explosive Day 14 of Broncos Camp?

Englewood, Colo. — The number of Denver Broncos and Dallas Cowboys fans that stormed UCHealth Training Center to attend Thursday’s practice was unlike any practice I’ve ever seen covering this team since 2017. The official attendance number was 6,514 but felt like more. 

Dallas fans arrived as early as 7 a.m. to guarantee themselves a spot on the berm to roast in the mid-90-degree Mile High heat and altitude. Broncos alumni and Denver legends John Elway and Rod Smith, along with many former players, littered the media and practice sidelines for the final day of training camp.

The Cowboys began the day warming up on the opposite field of the Broncos, and it was evident from stretching and positional drills that both teams were locked in and ready to work hard before their first preseason game on Saturday night at Empower Field.

While some of the Broncos' practices during this three-week training camp have been underwhelming, there was no shortage of drama and storylines from Thursday's scrimmage against Dallas. It’s time to get into the meat and potatoes of what transpired between these two teams, both of which have postseason aspirations.

Wilson Leads Impressive Debut vs. Dallas' Starters

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It’s been a week of historic achievements for the Broncos franchise as they’ve officially launched the Walton-Penner ownership era in Denver and announced NFL executive Damani Leech as team president before practice on Thursday morning.

While Russell Wilson has been in Denver since March, Thursday was the first official day he stepped onto a football field as a Bronco against another NFL team. In essence, he made his first debut as a Bronco in competitive action against a talented Cowboys defense. To maximize the duration of practice, the Broncos' first-team offense practiced against the Cowboys' starting defense on one field, while Denver's first-team defense played against Dallas' No. 1 offense on the other.

But just before the first official team period began, Wilson was seen shaking hands with every single starter on the Cowboys' defensive unit. Some may scoff at the move, but I considered it extremely calculated and in the best interest of the Broncos' first-team offense, as there were never any scuffles or fights between either these two units for the entirety of practice.

Wilson’s first offensive series saw a commitment to RB Javonte Williams in the rushing attack where ‘Pookie’ pounded the ball inside and cut outside for a large gain of 20-plus yards. Then, the nine-time Pro Bowl QB completed sharp and crisp passes to WR Courtland Sutton on an out route for a gain of at least 15 yards. 

Broncos' rookie WR Montrell Washington also caught two darts from Wilson, operating out of the slot formation, before the signal-caller connected with TE Eric Saubert on a gain of 15-plus yards. Broncos' HC Nathaniel Hackett said after practice, “Joint practices are unbelievably important as the preseason mindset can be limited,” and was extremely happy with his offensive starters in the red zone.

Wilson connected with WR Kendall Hinton for a touchdown in the corner of the end zone and then started dealing a barrage to teammates, including tight ends Eric Saubert, Albert Okwuegbunam, and Eric Tomlinson. Even WR Jerry Jeudy found paydirt on a very smooth reserve to the short side of the field. Simply put, Wilson was a scoring machine at will in the red zone and was also efficient as heck in the Broncos' first offensive series.

Get excited, Broncos Country, because Wilson and this 2022 offense are gritty, focused, and most importantly, together as they showcased their talents against Dallas.

DL DeShawn Williams Bullied Cowboys' Starting OL

The Cowboys' starting offensive line is one of the best in the NFL and features prominent players like RG Zack Martin, C Tyler Biadasz, LG Connor McGovern, and LT Tyron Smith. They’re tasked with protecting franchise QB Dak Prescott and opening rushing lanes for RBs Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard.

On Thursday, Dallas had its hands full as most of its practice was ruined by the Broncos' defensive line, most notably big No. 99 DeShawn Williams. Within the first handful of plays, there was extra pushing and shoving from the Cowboys' OL after Williams demonstrated exceptional penetration and leverage. 

One play later, the 6-foot-1, 292-pound Williams blasted his way into Dallas’ offensive backfield right next to Prescott, which embarrassed the Cowboys' OL and consequently led to another skirmish involving Williams. I absolutely loved it. 

The day finished with at least five dust-ups between the Broncos' starting defense and Cowboys' No. 1 offense. Williams was in the mix for at least three of those but never once threw a punch, and always exercised control and harnessed aggression. Even his DL teammates Mike Purcell, McTelvin Agim, and DreMont Jones got the better of the Cowboys' front-five, all within the rules of an NFL practice and game.

Williams quite literally set the tempo of this joint practice by performing at a high level and making it known that he was all business. This attitude was contagious for the rest of his fellow D-linemen and pass rushers, who doubled down on Williams’ perspective and played with pride, heart, and most of all.

You know things are going right when a team’s defensive line has an extreme chip on its shoulder, and mean attitudes. Safeties Kareem Jackson and Justin Simmons did their best to break up any dust-ups along with coaches and staff, but it was nice to see the new-look defense set a tone starting in the trenches against a top-notch OL in Thursday's practice.

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Broncos' O-Line Needs One-on-Ones

Two weeks ago, when Coach Nathaniel Hackett said he didn’t believe in one-on-ones for receivers/defensive backs or OL/DL, I thought that was an interesting and new idea. But after witnessing the first live bullets fly for the Broncos' starting O-line, it’s crystal clear that one-on-ones need to happen at practice in Denver.

RT Calvin Anderson has had a nice camp the last three weeks and has played his role into the starting position as far as I’m concerned, even with Billy Turner on the PUP list. But in practice against the Cowboys, he struggled to block pass rushers using a host of swim, rip, and bull rush moves. 

At times, it seemed like Anderson was leaning way too much, which caused a delay in his kick-step recovery while the defender turned his hips. Now, that’s not to say that Anderson's good reps shouldn’t be recognized, but for crying out loud, these linemen can’t improve unless they’re going against each other in practice. I understand it’s a team game, and all five O-linemen are required to be in sync for every play, but Thursday was a huge eye-opener that maybe Hackett’s disdain for one-on-ones could be a huge risk for the Broncos' offense. 

LT Garett Bolles had a productive day and continually demonstrated superb hand placement and recovery speed in addition to maturity and being prepared. Starting center Lloyd Cushenberry III also had a good day of practice and looked to be much improved in pass protection and has been mauling defenders as a run blocker. 

The same could be said for RG Quinn Meinerz, whose agility has improved immensely with the second-year player always working upfield in Denver’s new outside zone running scheme. LG Dalton Risner had another consistent day and held up extremely well against much larger Cowboys defenders and has transitioned very smoothly from the power/gap rushing scheme to the outside zone.

O-linemen will ultimately go one-on-one with opponents in specific scenarios of regular-season, and even postseason games, so I worry that this could be a disadvantage to this Broncos' offense without practicing them. Then again, the biggest goal of Day 14 was to have players remain healthy, and every Broncos player that participated in practice today avoid the injury bug.

Footnotes of Broncos-Cowboys Joint Practice

• Rookie WR Montrell Washington caught each live punt return rep as starter on depth chart and multiple passes from Wilson in starting offense.
• Rookie WR Caden Davis was second to catch returns in special teams.
• WR Courtland Sutton participated in the full amount of practice while he was battling a shoulder injury and was held out of practice on Tuesday.
• TEs Eric Schubert, Eric Tomlinson, and Albert Okwuegbunam worked with starting offense and backup offense.
• The only incompletion in Broncos' first offensive position was to WR Jerry Jeudy as Wilson was rushed and overthrew No. 10.
• WR Brandon Johnson with first-team reps, bobbled a pass that was consequently picked off by Dallas for Wilson’s only turnover.
• WR Seth Williams caught a deep pass with 15 YAC from Josh Johnson.
• Johnson hit WR Jalen Virgil for 40-yard touchdown in team period.
• QB Brett Rypien was efficient in short-to-medium routes and received second-team reps.
• I saw an offensive package built for Jeudy to work out of the backfield (not RB).
• LB Jonas Griffith stuffed run on multiple plays in team period.
• Safety Justin Simmons recorded an interception against Prescott in red zone period.
• Safety Kareem Jackson had an impressive pass break-up to save a touchdown in red zone period.
• CB Patrick Surtain II and WR CeeDee Lamb matched up nicely with each winning reps in team.
• CB Michael Ojemudia struggled in zone coverage against Cowboys' WRs.
• OLB Nik Bonitto had a great day utilizing fast hands, bend, and working inside moves.
• Five total team scuffles, all with Broncos' defensive starters vs. Cowboys' offense (zero ejections or punches thrown).
• OLB Bradley Chubb was fiery, competitive, and talking trash while getting better of Cowboys' OL.

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