ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Bo Nix was being chased like it was elementary school recess.
During a red-zone period at Saturday’s structured scrimmage, the third-year quarterback was immediately flushed to his right after the snap as the interior of Denver’s defensive line broke through. As he tilted his body at a 45-degree angle he made a heave toward the back corner of the end zone. It was a play, at first glance, that seemed to have a low probability of success, particularly because the intended receiver was draped by two defenders.
Then, as has been the case so often during these first two weeks of training camp, Pat Bryant happened. The second-year wideout, a third-round pick last year out of Illinois, secured his vice grip around the ball and held onto it as he hit the ground, his toes scraping the back of the end zone.
“He made two (plays) today that were unbelievable,” said Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, who ran Saturday’s scrimmage while Sean Payton attended Drew Brees’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Canton, Ohio. “It’s been like that all camp. That’s what he can be, man. He’s the guy in that room, in my opinion — he blocks; he catches the ball in traffic, he tracks the ball vertically, he’s great in the run game — he’s the complete package. He loves to play and he’s the same player every day.”
Bryant made encouraging strides during the second half of his rookie season, even as he missed two games due to concussions. He finished with 31 catches for 378 yards and a touchdown, establishing himself as a reliable target in traffic. From Week 9 through the end of the season, only Courtland Sutton (25) was targeted by Nix on third down more often than Bryant (11), signaling the franchise quarterback’s growing trust in the young receiver.
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In this camp, whether he’s lined up outside of Nix or Jarrett Stidham or Sam Ehlinger, every Broncos quarterback is trusting Bryant in all parts of the field. Payton has lauded Bryant’s ability to move after the catch. The Broncos weren’t dreadful in that area last season — the 4.3 yards after the catch per reception among the team’s wide receivers ranked 13th in the NFL, according to TruMedia — but it’s an area Payton believes they can exploit with greater success in 2026, particularly with the addition of Jaylen Waddle.
“My main focus is when the ball is in the air, it’s mine,” Bryant said. “The easiest way to stop DBs from having PBUs is to be able to go up there and attack the ball, cut down the flight time a little bit. Honestly, just having trust in my hands. When you trust your hands, you can run across the middle full speed, tuck the ball, get that YAC.”
Bryant’s significant opportunities in camp have been boosted by absences at the position. Jaylen Waddle has missed the team’s past four practices after suffering a muscle strain in his leg earlier this week. Sutton did not participate in three straight days of team reps as the Broncos aim to manage the veteran’s workload with a long playoff run in mind. Marvin Mims sat out Saturday’s scrimmage after pulling up while running a deep route Friday and exiting practice.
Even when the Broncos’ full room has been on the field, Bryant has found ways to get more reps.
“Last year, I played just about every position, so it kind of helped me going into this year,” Bryant said. “Whenever a guy’s tired during camp, I’ll go out there and take a rep because, at the end of the day, I know my job being Year 2 in this offense.”
A new season for Bryant has also come with a new nickname, courtesy of offensive coordinator Davis Webb: “Patty Ice.”
“I think Pat is very savvy, very smart,” Webb said. “When he catches it, his feet are on the ground. I think those are the things they are attracted to whenever he was coming of Illinois. It’s been really cool to see him take another jump into Year 2.”
After making the catch in traffic in the back of the end zone, Bryant fired the ball into the sky as the training-camp crowd roared in approval. If that becomes a common scene when the regular season begins, Denver’s passing game could take a jump right alongside it’s second-year receiver.
From safety to kicker?
Sean Payton wasn’t the only member of the Broncos organization spending Saturday in Canton. Several of the team’s assistant coaches who were on the staff in New Orleans during Brees’ time there were also at the Hall of Fame festivities. So, too, was Broncos kicker Wil Lutz, a former teammate of Brees.
The Broncos still had special-teams operations to work through during Saturday’s scrimmage. The JUGS machine can fire simulated kickoffs into the sky, but it doesn’t work for field-goal reps. Instead, that job went to Brandon Jones, the veteran safety with a soccer background. After warming up with long snapper Mitchell Fraboni and holder Jeremy Crawshaw between team periods early in practice, Jones took his position as kicker during a field-goal period and converted three-of-four attempts, ranging from 33 to 39 yards — much to the delight of the camp crowd.
The scouting report from special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi: “The first couple, the operation time was a little slow. The ball, he has a real natural rotation. The third and the fourth kick, the operation time was a little more realistic. The first two, he was just kind of feeling his way. … That’s what you want to do. You want to know in a game, if we get down in the red zone and need an extra point or a short field goal, what are your options and is that option — kicking a PAT with a backup kicker — better than going for two?”
Jones played club soccer until concentrating on football full-time when he reached high school. He said he once made a 50-yard attempt during an offseason practice with Lutz holding for him. Asked how he would do as an emergency kicker in a real NFL game, Jones said it depended on the stakes.
“If we’re winning by a lot, no big deal,” he said. “I don’t think it would ever come down to a game-time thing where I need to make it to win. Phew, if we do, and it comes down that, man, y’all just pray for me. That’s all I can say.”
Many teams turn to their punters as place-kickers in emergency situations, but Rizzi explained Saturday why that’s not a likely option for the Broncos and second-year punter Jeremy Crawshaw.
“American punters, at least somewhere along the line, the majority of them have (kicked),” Rizzi said. “But a lot of the Australian punters have not. So we have contingencies for all of that.”
