Day 7 of Broncos Camp is complete, and they were back in the pads. Unfortunately, the injury bug struck again, this time getting three players, including wide receiver/returner Marvin Mims. Sean Payton left practice early so he could attend Drew Brees’s Hall of Fame ceremony, so we did not receive any updates on these injuries.

On a positive note, Bo Nix led the offense to a touchdown in the final two-minute drill to end practice; the Broncos’ run game was working today, including big runs from rookie Jonah Coleman, and we had some positive injury news, including Nik Bonitto returning to practice and Courtland Sutton putting in a full practice.

On top of that, we have news and notes, more injury updates, tweets from camp, quotes, and more!

Bo Nix leads offense to a touchdown during a two-minute drill to end practice

To end practice, usually the team has a move-the-ball situational period, and today was no different. The scenario was 1:21 left in the game, the offense is down 20-24, and the ball is on their own 39-yard line, and they do not have timeouts.

They need a touchdown to win the game. This is a pretty tough scenario for most quarterbacks, but it is where Bo Nix shines, and he would lead yet another late 4th-quarter comeback to get the win for the Broncos offense.

The first play of the drive did not go well. Cornerback Riley Moss, who is having a fantastic camp, had yet another PBU to negate a potential big play. However, Nix would bounce back with big passes to Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Courtland Sutton before finding Evan Engram wide open for a touchdown with a few seconds left on the clock.

Broncos walk it off, and the offense gets a big win to end practice.

Nix did this without Jaylen Waddle and Marvin Mims being out there, as well as Bolles (vet day) and Wattenberg, but it should be noted that Malcolm Roach, DJ Jones, Brandon Jones, and Alex Singleton all were given vet rest days. Both sides were down some key players, but a win is a win

Broncos run game was working today

It has been rough sledding for the Broncos’ run game thus far, but today they finally broke through, and all three of their main backs had good gains on the ground.

The two main winners of the day, however, were starter JK Dobbins and rookie Jonah Coleman, who, according to some reports, had the best run of camp thus far.

It should be noted that Malcolm Roach, DJ Jones, and Alex Singleton, the middle of the Broncos’ run defense, all received vet days today. So, their absences likely impacted this, but still, it was great to see the Broncos’ run game get going a little bit today.

The most noteworthy thing I am taking away from this is Jonah Coleman looking good. Head Coach Sean Payton singled Coleman out as the “pleasant surprise” of camp thus far, so it’s good to see he’s making a positive impression. We won’t see Coleman’s biggest impact until the preseason when the run game can actually be unleashed and tested. Until then, we won’t learn too much about the Broncos’ run game.

More injuries – including WR Marvin Mims Jr.

Unfortunately, the injury bug bit and bit hard today.

It all started early in practice when defensive lineman Matt Henningsen went down during a drill, in what ended up being a dreaded non-contact drill. He was clearly in pain and was carted off the field. It looked bad, and unfortunately for Henningsen, it ended up being bad.

9NEWS Denver’s Mike Klis is reporting that Matt Henningsen suffered a torn Achilles, one year to the date of him suffering the same injury last year. He rehabbed and got back into football shape and was having a good camp, according to reports, just to suffer the same season-ending injury exactly one year later.

Tough break for Henningsen and the Broncos.

Then, later in the practice, Marvin Mims was flying down the field about to make a big play when he pulled up and immediately walked off the field. He was visibly upset and was talking to a trainer. He would end up walking to the locker room with the trainer. We have had no updates and can only speculate on it being a likely soft-tissue lower-body injury, but the exact location and severity are unknown at this time.

While Marvin was walking off the field, tight end/fullback Nate Adkins would end up following him. How he was hurt wasn’t seen by the media, and the details surrounding it are unknown at this point in time, but both of these will be something to monitor moving forward.

Head Coach Sean Payton will be away from the team until Sunday, so we’ll hear from DC Vance Joseph tomorrow, who will hopefully provide some updates.

The Broncos will likely need to address the defensive line and wide receiver positions in the coming days. Henningsen is done for the year, and now they will be down Waddle and Mims for at least a few practices while Courtland Sutton is being held back due to load management.

As for some good injury news, Nik Bonitto was back. Jaylen Waddle was present and wasn’t limping as badly as yesterday. Sean Payton said he should be back in “5 to 6 days,” so he dodged a bullet there. Courtland Sutton wasn’t injured, but the veteran returned to practice and participated fully after sitting out two days and being limited yesterday

WR Pat Bryant on the wide receiver room’s continuity and competitive environment

“It’s healthy competition is what we like to call it. At the end of the day, everybody’s job is on the line, but to come out here and compete, push each other, make sure everybody’s doing their job, helping each other out when it’s needed. At the end of the day, we all have the same goal: let’s go out there and win.”

WR Pat Bryant on how his run-after-catch ability has developed over time

“Honestly, my main focus is when the ball is in the air, it’s mine. The easiest way to stop [defensive backs] 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, to get that Y.A.C. [yards after catch].

WR Pat Bryant on entering his second season in the offense

“Yes, just going into Year 2 in the offense, I feel like I kind of understand things a little bit differently. Then just my ability last year, I played just about every position, so it kind of helped me going into this year. 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.”‘

CB Ja’Quan McMillian on his relationship with Defensive Coordinator Vance Joesph

“He’s meant a lot to me. Just coming in, him coming in. I obviously had a different [defensive coordinator] the first year I was on practice squad, and he came in, I end up making the team. Then just the patience that he had with me learning the defense, knowing that it was a new position for me really. Just the way he goes about his day, the team, the aggression, he liked to play with the aggressive style. That’s how I like to play, aggressive and physicality. I love ‘VJ’ (Defensive Coordinator Vance Joesph), and our relationship has grown over the years and hope it still continues to grow.”

CB Ja’Quan McMillian on what he enjoys most about playing Nickel

“I think just the communication wise, just being that leader on the field, or getting everybody in position, getting the calls to the to the back end of defense, the linebackers, I think it’s a fun thing. There are a lot of plays you can make in there, blitzing the quarterback, making tackles in the run game, covering, making plays on the balls in every which way. Just being a leader to the guys and being a controller of the back end.”

LB Justin Strnad on the progression of rookies ILB Taurean York and LB Red Murdock

“I think they’re just making leaps and strides every day, you know what I mean? [LB] Red [Murdock] had a great turnover today that he forced, [ILB Taurean] York has been consistently getting better each and every day. I think when you’re talking about young guys that just got here, I think it’s important to see them grow on a day-to-day basis, take the coaching points, and stuff that we go over tonight in the meetings and imply them out here the next day.”

On his chemistry with ILB Alex Singleton
“It’s almost like I can’t really explain it, when you play with somebody for a while, and also me and him have been friends for a long time, that you kind of just know and feel each other. There are times on the field that he might be winded and gassed, and I might help him out with something. I might be hurting something and he helps me. It’s just, when you have experiences like that over time, you start to build this bond together that’s unbreakable, and you want to go to war with people like that. So I love being able to play with him each and every day. We have that bond, and we’re looking to build on it this year.”