Can Evan Engram become an offensive spark for Broncos? (0:56)

Jeff Legwold evaluates the Broncos offense after adding tight end Evan Engram this past offseason. (0:56)

Jeff LegwoldAug 4, 2025, 04:17 PM ET

Jeff Legwold covers the Denver Broncos at ESPN. He has covered the Broncos for more than 20 years and also assists with NFL draft coverage, joining ESPN in 2013. He has been a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Selectors since 1999, too. Jeff previously covered the Pittsburgh Steelers, Buffalo Bills and Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans at previous stops prior to ESPN.

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Training camps have kicked off around the NFL, and our team reporters are on the ground each day following all the action. The Denver Broncos' camp is taking place in Englewood, Colorado and Broncos reporter Jeff Legwold has the latest intel on standouts, highlights, position battles, depth chart movement, cut decisions and of course the quarterback room.

What follows is everything we are seeing and hearing at camp. We will file the latest updates. Is Bo Nix ready to lead Denver against the best teams in the league? Who are the breakouts to watch, especially for fantasy football? And which players on the roster bubble could make the final 53?

Let's get into it all, and be sure to keep checking back for more information until the first full week of the preseason begins Thursday.

Camp updates for all 32 teams

Last season Zach Wilson turned a year of all practice, no play as the Broncos' No. 3 quarterback into a one-year, $6 million contract as the Miami Dolphins' backup this season.

It's too early to tell what the future might hold for Sam Ehlinger, who has worked as the Broncos' No. 3 quarterback throughout the offseason and training camp. But Ehlinger, who spent four seasons with the Colts, has gotten his head coach's attention.

"He's extremely athletic, he's comfortable throwing on the run, there's a little moxie to him,'' Broncos coach Sean Payton said. "Sometimes it can be little big for guys, but with him not at all. You feel like a guy who's played well before, his confidence and carries himself that way. He's very good off the pocket, very good off schedule. He's strong, I like the player a lot.''

Ehlinger has authored a smattering of big plays so far in camp, including a 50-yard throw on the run to rookie Courtney Jackson for a score in the drills Monday. Ehlinger figures to get the third preseason game -- against New Orleans -- to make his final case for the Broncos roster or showcase himself for another team.

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The Denver Broncos ended a stretch of training camp with 10 practices in the past 11 days with mostly 11-on-11 work Saturday in a scrimmage format.

We have reporters with all 32 teams, covering the ins and outs of camp. Latest buzz from across the NFL

Camp updates by team:

The Broncos practiced kickoffs and punts in between the practice segments and went through a variety of scripted scenarios as the No. 1 offense faced the No. 1 defense, the No. 2 offense faced the No. 2 defense and the No. 3 offense faced the No. 3 defense.

"I always think it's good when you get out of your routine,'' Sean Payton said, as he added the format "forces everyone, coaches included" to adjust.

Cornerback Pat Surtain II intercepted quarterback Bo Nix for the second consecutive day and wide receiver Courtland Sutton fueled a late surge, including a touchdown catch, for the No.1 offense in red zone work.

Big plays were hard to come by, but quarterback Sam Ehlinger, who played in eight games for the Indianapolis Colts over the past three seasons, showed his experience with back-to-back deep balls running the No. 3 offense -- one to rookie Jerjuan Newton that was the catch of the day as Newton reeled in the pass off his shoe-tops in full stride.

There isn't much room on the Broncos' depth chart for a wide receiver to surprise and shove his way on to the 53-man roster, but Newton has shown explosiveness throughout camp as has fellow undrafted rookie Joaquin Davis, who caught the other big play from Ehlinger Saturday.

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As much as Broncos coach Sean Payton wants to get to the bottom of every interception quarterback Bo Nix has thrown or will throw, even Payton couldn't be all that mad Friday about Nix's first interception in team drills in this training camp.

In some 11-on-11 work Friday, safety Talanoa Hufanga closed on the line of scrimmage to defend an RPO, with Nix in a run-pass option, and leapt high in the air to snatch Nix's pass.

It was exactly the kind of rare, instinctive and athletic play the Broncos hope Hufanga will make in the regular season.

"To be able to go up and catch that with a crowded look in front of him -- I'm anxious to see it on film," Payton said after Friday's practice. "There's certain players, the ball finds them, he's one of those guys. [But] that was play was sick."

The league's reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Pat Surtain II, swooped in to intercept Nix in the end zone later in the practice, an interception that will likely get a far different review for Nix than Hufanga's.

"Pat was floating back off, [WR Courtland] Sutton was on a double move, it's just a location error and you clean it up," Payton said. "It's ... understanding there's a blind area where the ball can't go."

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Broncos linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who was one of the most significant free agents the Broncos signed this past offseason, left the field during Thursday's practice and did not return.

Greenlaw, who did not participate in the on-field work in the team's offseason program due to a thigh injury, pulled up slightly during a 1-on-1 pass coverage drill with linebackers working against running backs. He walked slowly around the outside of the drill for a few minutes, stretching his legs intermittently and then jogged slowly into the locker room.

After practice, Broncos coach Sean Payton said after the initial evaluation of the medical staff that he didn't believe the injury was serious.

"He felt (his leg) get tight,'' Payton said. "Different area (than offseason injury). We'll have all the precautionary work done, but I think he'll be all right.''

The Broncos have had some bumps and bruises at inside linebacker thus far in camp. Drew Sanders suffered a ligament injury in his right foot that could keep him out six to eight weeks, and Alex Singleton, the starter alongside Greenlaw, fractured his left thumb Monday and had surgery Wednesday.

Singleton watched practice from the sideline Thursday, with a cast on his left hand. Payton said Singleton would miss a week of practice in all.

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In an effort to be better prepared for life as the cornerback opposite of Pat Surtain II in the Broncos' defense, Riley Moss said he arrived to training camp a little bigger and a little stronger than he was last season.

While he was "193, 194 pounds" when last season ended, Moss was 200 pounds at the start of this year's training camp. He said he didn't sacrifice any speed, but decided to add the weight after realizing he was getting shoved off by receivers at the top of routes.

"The point of attack, when the ball is up in the air, some of those 50-50 balls, getting stronger, not getting pushed off," Moss said. "That was a big thing for me this offseason ... being able to push against the receiver and being a little more physical."

The third-year cornerback said practice battles with the 6-foot-4, 216-pound Courtland Sutton have been the "best work of camp so far" for him, and that it has shown him he does indeed have better play strength.

"You've got to be able to play into (the wide receiver), play strong -- at the top of the route," Moss said.

Regarding the high-volume work he will get across from the league's reigning Defensive Player of the Year in Surtain, Moss said: "As long as I'm across from DPOY, it's going to be like that."

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Linebacker Alex Singleton had surgery Tuesday to repair a fractured right thumb he suffered in Monday's practice. Broncos coach Sean Payton said after Tuesday's training camp practice, Singleton is expected to back in the Broncos' complex Wednesday and that the sixth-year veteran would miss "a week.''

After he returns to meetings, Payton said Singleton's return to the practice field would depend on how "the wound and the incision'' heals. If he were only to miss a week's worth of practices, that would be exceptionally good news for the Broncos.

Singleton and free-agent signee Dre Greenlaw's work side-by-side at inside linebacker has been one of the highlights of training camp for a defense that already looks poised to be one of the league's better units, if the starters have the good fortune of good health.

Singleton led the team in tackles in 2022 as well as 2023 and was on track to do it again in 2024 until he suffered a torn ACL in Week 4.

"He's ... a tackling machine as well,'' Greenlaw said. "Just having somebody like that ... somebody who is going to go out there and that's going to battle, that's going to fight. That's going to give it all they've got every play.''

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Quarterback Bo Nix has drawn rave reviews from his teammates and coaches for his willingness to keep working and asking questions. It's why Nix went to California for a week this offseason with Drew Brees and why he has had regular discussions with Peyton and Eli Manning.

"It's just the internal standard I have that I want to be the best in world,'' Nix said on Saturday. "And I know there's a lot of guys I'm competing with for that and I'm not going to stop until I give it my best shot.''

Nix has been smooth and decisive in camp, and his assertiveness in running the offense is something several teammates have pointed out.

"I've always wanted to be with a quarterback who has that dog mentality," safety Brandon Jones said.

Nix said he's better equipped to deal with the job of a quarterback than he was as a rookie and hopes that shows up in his play.

"A lot of times as a rookie you just don't want to look like an idiot," Nix said. "Now you can go out there and look a lot better than an idiot. I'm excited for Year 2, excited for this football team.''

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The Broncos may have been on the field for all of three full-team workouts so far in this training camp, but tight end Evan Engram has already shown why the Broncos tried so hard to sign him in free agency and why one of the least productive position groups in the league over the last two years will be a much tougher challenge in the season to come.

Lucas Krull led the Broncos tight ends with 19 receptions last season. To put that into perspective, 16 teams had two tight ends with more than 19 receptions and one team -- Cincinnati -- had three. Engram had 47 catches in nine games for the Jacksonville Jaguars last season and that would have been the most by a Broncos tight end since Noah Fant had 68 receptions in 2021.

"It's been awesome, really, I feel really at home in this offense,'' Engram said after Friday's training camp practice. "I feel like my strengths are being used at the highest level.''

Engram has lined up all over the formation in the team's initial camp practices and quarterback Bo Nix has quickly developed a comfort level with the veteran. Engram has challenged the interior of the defense through the intermediate and deep middle -- places where the Broncos have found it difficult to create impact over the last two seasons.

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The Broncos are still in the acclimation period to open training camp, so they've done no work in full pads yet. But safety Talanoa Hufanga's comfort level in the defensive scheme is already evident.

And Hufanga, who signed a three-year, $39 million with the Broncos this past March, said Thursday it was fellow Broncos safety Brandon Jones who helped get him up to speed so quickly.

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Jones had signed with the Broncos in free agency before the 2024 season.

"Brandon Jones has definitely been helping me,'' Hufanga said. " ... First week I got here he was like 'you want to get some work in.' There was no hesitation. it wasn't like 'hey, you're on this by yourself,' he was like no we're all in this together.''

Hufanga said Jones' help, in particular, has helped make it like "it is Year 2'' with the team. Hufanga and Jones have been the most common pairing at safety throughout the team's offseason program and into the start of training camp.

Broncos coach Sean Payton has routinely said he wants his players and coaches to understand he has the highest expectations for himself and his team.

He embraces prime-time games, short weeks and international games because "that's the position you want to be in. You want to be in the most important games, you want them to want that."

That also means he is unafraid to talk about the Super Bowl, so long as that discussion comes with the work it takes to get there and a discussion with the steps that come first.

"That's got to be a comfortable subject," he said. "And then you've got to be comfortable saying this is what's required and you don't get a best of seven -- (but) you start with the some of the objectives that are a little bit more clearly visible in the short term."

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The Broncos' veterans formally reported for training camp Tuesday, and it's clear all involved believe it's Bo Nix's team this season.

"Nix is a lot more confident this year," said cornerback Pat Surtain II, the league's reigning Defensive Player of the Year. "He's a tremendous leader, he's a tremendous player out there. This year he's going to make a lot of noise. I'm looking forward to seeing what he does."

Entering his second year, Nix was seen early and often at the team's south suburban Denver complex throughout the offseason. He started every game of the Broncos' 10-win season in 2024, falling just two touchdown passes shy of Justin Herbert's rookie record (29) from 2020.

"He's going to be a great player this year ... that just gives him the hunger for more," tackle Mike McGlinchey said. "I think that's one of the most impressive things about Bo is his competitive nature. Just trying to get the most out of himself."

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Construction on the Broncos' new training facility -- just across their practice fields from their current complex -- will limit attendance to 800 fans at each open practice this camp. The first open practice is Friday.

Surtain said the DPOY honor didn't impact his preparation for the new season beyond some additional off-field commitments. "Adding that hardware to my resume is pretty cool," Surtain said. "(But to) be honest with you, I just stay grounded, stay humble, stay in the thick of things. You can be on the top like that and you could fall that quick. I just go back to my work."

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