Denver Broncos: Mandatory Minicamp Week 2 Quotes, Notes and Observations

The Denver Broncos have one more week left of mandatory minicamp, so they’re out a UCHealth Training Center putting in the best work they can before the summer break hits. After this week of practice is over, the team will be off until the start of training camp in late July.

Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak has a plan for this week.

“We’ve still got some things we’ve got to cover," he said. "We’re jogging through some goal-line stuff and trying to do some teaching. We do still have some more stuff—install.”

Kubiak revealed, “I tried to create a little chaos in practice today. I wanted to see how some of our young guys react to a little craziness on the field. We’ll have a good day tomorrow and we’ll see about Thursday.”

The nonplaying season has been an interesting one for the Broncos. They’ve celebrated their Super Bowl 50 victory, but with the ring ceremony done on Sunday, the team has moved forward with a focus on winning another one.

Kubiak believes the team moved on long before they received their Super Bowl rings.

“We did that [put Super Bowl 50 behind] a long time ago," he explained. "We didn’t even wait until that. It’s been a good offseason. Our team is really hard on each other and expects everyone here doing their job. We’ve done that.”

Here are some Day 1 observations, interesting notes and revealing quotes from the last week of mandatory minicamp at Dove Valley.

Fast-Paced Offense

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

The Broncos are going to grind it out on the ground most of the time this year. They’ll have a balanced offense and run-heavy leanings on offense with starting running back C.J. Anderson leading the way. However, there are times the team will need to strike quickly through the air. On Tuesday, the Broncos worked on their hurry-up offense.

Kubiak commented on why he wanted to operate at a faster pace.

“We basically went no-huddle all practice," he said. "Get the coaches out of the hip pocket and throw them out there, throw all kinds of situations at them and see how they react in certain situations.”

Mark Sanchez has experience working in a high-tempo offense from his days under head coach Chip Kelly with the Philadelphia Eagles. It’s a challenge physically to move that fast from play to play, but Sanchez highlighted another challenge after practice.

“I think it’s more the mental side. When you get into those two-minute drills today or no-huddle type stuff, your footwork is automatic. Your defender that you’re keying is automatic. You’ve got to know where to go.” Sanchez opined, “I think just the more times you can do it, the better you get and the more comfortable you get.”

It’s good to have a multifaceted offense. Even though the Broncos are going to run with great efficiency and frequency, they’ll also be able to change things up with a faster pace if needed.

Sanchez and Siemian Close?

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

The Broncos have been monitoring all three of their quarterbacks closely during OTAs and minicamp. Sanchez once again received first-team reps for the Broncos in practice this week. Behind him, second-year pro Trevor Siemian worked with the second unit.

Kubiak feels the competition between Sanchez and Siemian is close.

“I think they’re looking each other right in the eye throughout the whole course of the offseason as far who is ahead and who is [No.] 1 or 2. I think those two guys are right there with each other. I think it’s a very competitive situation.” Kubiak summarized, “I think that those two guys have been very good throughout the course of [the offseason].”

While Sanchez has been looking the best in practice, Siemian has struggled with passes that are sailing high and off the mark. During his college career at Northwestern, Siemian was known as a quarterback with a strong arm but inconsistent accuracy. He also struggled to stay healthy or remain in the starting lineup. He’s progressed since his college days, but Siemian still has problems with pass placement that Sanchez doesn’t have.

Siemian has more experience in this system since he’s been with the team for a year, but Sanchez did run a similar offense in college at USC and is working diligently to pick up the verbiage under Kubiak.

Behind those two quarterbacks, the future at the position is developing. Paxton Lynch was the team’s first-round pick in 2016, and he’s being groomed to take over eventually. He has the upside of a franchise quarterback and could one day be a top-12 player at his position.

This week, Lynch has been going through some growing pains. Kubiak acknowledged the rookie has plenty of work ahead of him.

“You watch in practice today and when I got [quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator Greg Knapp] Knapper and [offensive coordinator Rick Dennison] Rico away from him, we did some things," Kubiak said. "He struggled through a period. We went to two-minute [offense], and he just went out there and reacted, played football and took his team right down the field.”

The head coach knows that Lynch has the upside to be a quality starter. “All the ability is there. It’s just trying to get all the consistency in place for what you do.”

No matter who wins between Sanchez and Siemian, it’s clear to see that Lynch is the future.

Brandon Marshall Gets a New Deal

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

A lot of attention has been put on the contract negotiations between the Broncos and franchise-tagged linebacker Von Miller. While the two sides remain apart in negotiations, there is plenty of time left with a July 15 deadline a month away. The team had another deadline to deal with—and another linebacker to work out a contract with in veteran Brandon Marshall.

With a June 15 deadline looming for the restricted free agent, the Broncos were able to work out a new contract with Marshall.

According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, Marshall’s new deal is a four-year pact worth $32 million with $20 million in guarantees and a $10 million signing bonus. The extension is actually for the 2017-2020 seasons, as Marshall will play on the second-round tender of $2.5 million in 2016.

Marshall felt confident a deal could get done at some point.

“I’ve always thought that it could happen. I try not to focus on it too much," Marshall said. "Obviously it’s hard not to think about it, but I tried to just really be here, and I was really just trying to focus on getting into as good of shape as I could. That’s really what I was trying to focus on.”

This season, Marshall will take over at the weak-side inside linebacker position in the spot that Danny Trevathan vacated. Last year, Marshall was on the field instead of Trevathan when in dime packages, so playing on passing downs is old hat for him.

Now, the team can turn their attention to paying Miller.

Miller is the contract that could be the largest in franchise history, and we could see Miller earn a deal that makes him the highest-paid defensive player in league history. Getting Marshall’s deal done should have no impact on the team’s ongoing negotiations with Miller.

All quotes and injury/practice observations obtained firsthand. Record/statistical information provided via the Broncos' media department unless otherwise noted.

Contract and salary-cap information provided by Spotrac. Transaction history provided by Pro Sports Transactions.