The final day of Broncos Camp is in the books, and it ended with a bit of a bang. The Broncos’ big offseason addition, Jaylen Waddle, returned to practice yesterday and ended up being a big part of today’s session. Quarterback Bo Nix would hit Jaylen Waddle for a 60-yard touchdown with CB1 in the NFL, Pat Surtain II, in coverage. This ended up being the highlight of today’s practice and, frankly, one of the more noteworthy moments in all of training camp.
Last open #BroncosCamp practice ✅#GBvsDEN up next 🏡 pic.twitter.com/uayMrSIdrc
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) August 19, 2026The two would connect later in practice on a slant pass with Surtain II in coverage and once again make the play on the former Defensive Player of the Year.
In today’s piece, we have Jaylen Waddle beating Pat Surtain II deep, Evan Engram having a good day, news and notes, injury updates, tweets from camp, quotes, and more
Jaylen Waddle beats Pat Surtain II for a long touchdownThe play of the day, and maybe of training camp, happened today when Bo Nix connected with wide receiver Jaylen Waddle for a 60-yard touchdown with former Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain II in coverage.
This what we wanted to see when the Broncos made their blockbuster trade to acquire Waddle from the Dolphins. Big plays where he uses his speed to beat the best of the best in the NFL for chunk plays and touchdowns.
Bo Nix to Jaylen Waddle for a 60-yard TOUCHDOWN.
Waddle beat Pat Surtain II
After practice, head coach Sean Payton was asked about Waddle’s unique yards-after-catch ability and told reporters, “I think he’s real good after the catch”.
“I think he’s real good after the catch. He’s good at separating; he saw a double move today. He’s gradually getting to where… I don’t want to say 100%, but you’re always mindful with someone with his explosion that you don’t re-aggravate his initial injury, but he’s doing good.”
Keep in mind, Waddle may not even be fully 100% yet, but he still used his speed to get a step or two on Surtain II and made the big play down the field. If he can do this against Surtain II, he can do this against anyone in the NFL.
Surtain II met with the media today, of course, on the day he gave up his lone big play of camp, and was asked about how difficult it is to cover Jaylen Waddle.
“It’s very difficult as a [defensive back]. It makes you think for sure. It makes you think [about] what route he could be running and it doesn’t make him one-dimensional when he’s able to stop and start like that. It’s definitely tough, but it’s fun to compete against that.”
This is another example of the impact Waddle will have on the offense this season. He can make big plays like this and can take short passes and turn them into long touchdowns. However, the threat of this will open things up for Courtland Sutton, Pat Bryant, Evan Engram, and the rest of the Broncos’ playmakers, which should lead to big plays each and every week.
Evan Engram has a good dayIt was a mostly quiet training camp for veteran tight end Evan Engram, but he ended camp on a high note with one of his better practices of the summer. The highlight of his day was a 25-yard catch from quarterback Bo Nix. Safety Brandon Jones was in tight coverage on Engram and dove to deflect the pass. However, the ball went through his hands, and Engram completed the 25-yard catch.
Bo Nix with a DART that somehow got through a diving Brandon Jones into Evan Engram’s hands for a gain of 25.
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevens) August 19, 2026We’ll see if Engram has a larger role in the Broncos offense due to offensive coordinator and close friend Davis Webb now calling plays for the Broncos.
Engram was asked if he knew Webb would be where he is today when they played together on the Giants, and he told reporters that he definitely saw it from the beginning
“As a rookie, you start to build your routine. I kind of had a routine of sitting in the meeting rooms with [former Giants QB] Eli [Manning] and the quarterbacks after the day was over. [Offensive Coordinator] Davis [Webb] would be in there and just the conversations that they would have and the things that Eli would trust Davis with, as far as gameplan and giving him certain looks or certain gameplan tips. It was very impressive to see Davis step in that role and be in that room with a [Pro Football] Hall of Fame quarterback and build his trust as a second set of eyes as the weeks would go on. I definitely knew early on… I thought he was a really good quarterback as well. He probably didn’t get the opportunity that he wanted to play, but he’s taken full advantage of this opportunity right now. I definitely saw it from the jump.”
Webb certainly impressed the Broncos from the start. Sean Payton hired him on the spot, and Webb quickly ascended through the coaching ranks and earned Payton’s trust. Now he is the offensive coordinator and play caller for the Broncos, and I believe we will see a few more plays designed for Engram this upcoming season.
Last season was a bit of a disappointment for Engram. He came to the Broncos with high expectations and never really lived up to them. He didn’t play bad and was getting open, but the production simply wasn’t what many expected it to be this time last season. Engram told reporters he learned a lot from his experience last season with the Broncos
“The season we had last year and the season I had last year, I learned a lot. I wouldn’t put any negative term on it. I was able to be on a winning team and got to know the guys in this locker room. We had a lot of crazy moments last year, and I felt like I made a lot of great plays when I had my opportunities. I learned a lot through the experience last year and [am] looking forward to building on that and playing better this year.”
Hopefully, we see Engram have a large role this season, especially in the red zone, and help the Broncos offense become more explosive this upcoming season.
Injury Report- OL Nick Gargiulo remained on the PUP and did not practice
- TE Caleb Lohner continued to miss practice
- LB Levelle Bailey did not practice due to a broken leg
- WR Michael Bandy continued to miss practice
- Backup center Alex Forsyth was back in attendance but was not in pads
- Edge rusher Drew Sanders missed his third straight practice
- Reserve OL Calvin Throckmorton was back at practice and in pads with a bandage on his face after leaving yesterday’s practice bloody due to the fight that broke out
- Center Luke Wattenberg and Marvin Mims were in pads but worked on the side field today
- Broncos were in pads for the final day of Broncos training camp
- CB Ja’Quan McMillian had two PBUs during 7-on-7s
- RB Jonah Coleman caught a deep pass on a wheel route during 7-on-7s
- Rookie TE Justin Joly hauled in a nice deep pass from QB Sam Ehlinger and was celebrating and jawing with the defense – However, he was called for OPI, which led to the defense jawing and celebrating – The rookie TE has proven to be a talker and has drawn the ire of the defense the last few days
- Defense wins the final two-minute drill when the offense cannot spike the ball in time
Kage Casey is very stout on the interior. Consistently the lowest man in leverage, and has strong hands.
— Cody Roark (@CodyRoarkNFL) August 19, 2026Ja’Quan McMillian forced two incompletions to start 7on7s.
First one he was in smothering coverage on Courtland Sutton deep.
Second one he had a PBU.
Jonah Coleman caught a DEEP wheel route down the left sideline from Sam Ehlinger in 7on7s
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevens) August 19, 2026Jeremy Crawshaw. Makes every gunner’s job easier!
— Cody Roark (@CodyRoarkNFL) August 19, 2026Bo Nix to Jaylen Waddle for a 60-yard TOUCHDOWN.
Waddle beat Pat Surtain II
Bo Nix with a DART that somehow got through a diving Brandon Jones into Evan Engram’s hands for a gain of 25.
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevens) August 19, 2026Reese Taylor forced a fumble after allowing a completion.
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevens) August 19, 2026Great team period for Bo Nix, Broncos offense.
– J.K. Dobbins with some good runs
– Bo Nix’s downfield dime to Waddle vs PS2 for TD
– Two connections to Evan Engram, one of them was a catch and run TD untouched.
Situation during practice:
Broncos offense down 22-20 with 2:00 minutes left with the ball on the 48. 3rd and 7.
Jaylen Waddle with a great catch on a slant in the middle of the field. Ball was behind and Waddle did a great job making the catch with Pat Surtain II in coverage.
Que Robinson with a pick six on Jarrett Stidham.
Stidham was hit by his own offensive lineman as he was thrown into him. Stidham went down but bounced up after.
Fun moment in practice:
Justin Joly caught a DEEP ball down the right sideline from Sam Ehlinger. Ehlinger would have been sacked.
Joly celebrated the catch.
Then OPI was called on Joly.
Defense went crazy.
Situation to end practice:
58 seconds left. 0-0. 2nd quarter. 1 timeout each. Ball on own 27. 1st-10.
Bo Nix hit Courtland Sutton on a big throw with little time left.
Offense ran to the line but couldn’t spike it before time ran out.
Defense won.
Kris Abrams-Draine picked off Sam Ehlinger to end practice.
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevens) August 19, 2026Biggest takeaways from Broncos training camp practice today:
-Bo Nix hit Jaylen Waddle for a 60-yard touchdown over Pat Surtain II down the right sideline
-Evans Engram caught two impressive passes from Bo Nix
-Que Robinson with a pick six on Jarrett Stidham. Stiddy was hit by… pic.twitter.com/gxXqK7GwFN
HC Sean Payton on what he is looking to see from QB Bo Nix in his first preseason game
“So tonight we’ll do the roles, but he’ll play. We’ll look at the pitch count, maybe similar to last week for him with that 14-snap count. When we do that tonight, we go through each phase and who might be the early outs and then who might play a little bit more. A lot of it’s based on maybe… Last week, we had a few linemen out, so we knew we were going to have to go a tick longer. We’ll do that tonight.”
HC Sean Payton on G Calvin Throckmorton’s ability to play center
“When you’re a backup lineman, you’re a flex. Your ability to do more than just one thing is important. You’re taking eight [linemen], so you’re going to have a tackle, and you’d like your interior guys to have that flex. So he’s one of those players that knows who he is. He’s worked at center and he’s worked at guard. That’s helped him play as long as he’s played to this point.”
HC Sean Payton on the teaching points from the first-team offense’s situational periods
“It’s twofold. Everyone’s fast and still and then that umpire just needs to touch it. So the traffic for him with that guard and his ability to get to that ball and get out, it’ll be good film to look at. Now we have a different crew here. We’ve got to be careful defensively that we don’t get caught trying to… they will whistle a delay in a heartbeat. So I’m anxious to watch the film, but there’s that cutoff with the clock and then the yards. Sometimes it’s impossible, but that was a, ‘Down, down.’ Then it’s a sprint and gets set. How fast can we do that and get the ball on the ground?”
HC Sean Payton on the possibility of keeping three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster
“I think yesterday we were talking about it. A lot of it… There are so many things that come into that, but we’ve got time for them.”
HC Sean Payton on the team’s historic sack differential over the last two seasons
“Let’s look at it from two ways. Let’s start with I think it’s a quarterback statistic offensively, not so much an offensive line statistic. It’s one that’s difficult year in and year out if you’re taking a lot of sacks. So it’s one of [QB] Bo’s [Nix] strengths, right? It was a strength of [Pro Football Hall of Fame QB] Drew’s [Brees], he was tough to sack. [He] processed it and balls out. Then conversely, you’re wanting to be a defense. When you get that combination of an offense where a quarterback’s getting it out and then you’ve got pressure players on defense, those numbers are probably going to… But it’s not something you can come out here and say, ‘All right, we’re just going to practice the sack differential.’ It’s a byproduct a little bit of what you’re scouting and what you’re trying to build offensively and then defensively the same way.”
HC Sean Payton on WR Cameron Ross
“I think that group in general has had a good week and a half. They’re getting reps and they’re getting to play. They’re all looking at not only roster, they’re looking at practice squad or they’re looking at the unknown of another team that has a vision for them. So I’ve been encouraged [them].”
TE Evan Engram on his impressions of the rookie tight ends
“They’ve been doing great. ‘DB’ (TE Dallen Bentley) and [TE] Justin [Joly] have been awesome. They’ve been learning. Rookies have their moments and they take their bumps and their bruises, but they’ve been responding really well. They’re competing. They’re handling things the right way. They’re doing well in a difficult offense to learn, especially as a rookie, but very proud of the progress they’ve made.”
CB Pat Surtain II on where he has seen CB Riley Moss grow this training camp
“I’ve just seen him playing lights out, honestly. When the ball is in the air, he’s winning those contested catches and coming down either with a pick or deflection. That’s big time with him. We all know what type of player [CB] Riley [Moss] is and he’s excelling big time. He’s having a great camp so far.”
CB Pat Surtain II on if he uses training camp as a time to test new things
“You always want to try new nuances here and there, and work on it and practice it fundamentally. You come out here each and every day trying to refine and sharpen your skills and put forward into those techniques that you are trying to use on the field. This is a perfect time to utilize them, and you just learn from it and grow from it.”
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