Pat Bryant’s braids bob along as he nods his head.
He smiles as the question unfurls.
Yes, it quickly becomes clear that the second-year Broncos wide receiver knows what his head coach has said about him.
All of the good stuff, to be sure. That Bryant has authored a highlight-stuffed training camp. That the Broncos will not be able to keep him off the field. That he shows signs of being a special player.
That’s not the question at hand, though.
The question is about the one thing Payton mentions virtually every single time Bryant has come up since Denver drafted him in the third round of the 2025 draft.
When Payton’s mental rolodex spins to No. 13 in orange and blue, he will almost certainly mention, in some form or fashion, that Bryant catches the ball with his feet on the ground.
Sounds simple, but it is clearly among the first things that come to Payton’s mind. Offensive coordinator Davis Webb mentioned the same earlier in camp and called it one of “the things we were attracted to when he was coming out of Illinois.”
Pat Bryant (13) of the Denver Broncos takes the field during training camp at Broncos Park in Centennial, Colorado on Tuesday, August 4, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Does Bryant know this is his coaches’ scout on him? And is it an intentional part of his craft or just something he does naturally well? And, well, what the heck does it mean to him?
“It’s just, as a receiver, your job is to catch the ball, right?” he explains. “But if you can keep your feet on the ground, when you catch the ball, then the defender’s gotta think twice about what angle I’m going to take.
“So the ability to keep your feet on the ground and run through the catch — I’m not the fastest guy, but I know there’s certain tools to my game where I can get an advantage on a guy that is faster than me.”
A gifted catcher
This has been core to Bryant’s game since high school, he said. He attributes his hand-eye coordination to playing baseball growing up. He played catcher and center field and developed into a natural hands catcher.
The way Bryant sees it, there are obviously times when a receiver has to go up high to haul in a pass, dive to reel one in and all of that. Otherwise, if you’re catching the ball anyway, besides with your cleats firmly in the ground and your body on the move, you’re letting on.
“It’s confidence,” Bryant said with a shrug. “If you’ve got to jump to catch the ball, you don’t really have confidence and trust in your hands.”
Bryant’s got both in spades.
The second-year wide receiver worked his way into the Broncos’ receiver rotation as a rookie in 2025 by quickly establishing himself as his room’s best run blocker. He showed a willingness to operate in the middle of the field and the toughness to ward off defenders and not mind the traffic between the hashes.
It took him a while to find his footing, but slowly he played more, saw more targets and caught more passes. Bryant had just four targets over Denver’s first five games last season, then averaged 4.5 per game over the final 10 regular-season games he played. He finished with 31 catches for 378 yards and a touchdown, then opened the postseason with a bang. He caught passes on his first three snaps against Buffalo for 32 yards before sustaining his second concussion of the season and being ruled out for the game.
Along the way, Bryant said he got increasingly comfortable with Denver’s offense and the NFL game in general.
Pat Bryant (13) of the Denver Broncos stands on the field before the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Nothing like the way he feels now, however.
“My confidence is just on another level,” he said. … “This year, I feel like I can go out there and be part of the offense and, when needed, make a huge play. Last year, I was thinking, ‘OK, run my route at this depth and make sure I’m catching the ball.’
“Now I feel like I’m catching the ball, getting those yards after catch and just having that confidence that I’m better than the man that’s in front of me.”
In fact, Bryant describes the difference between his first and second seasons as being the difference between actively trying not to mess up and now rarely considering that error is even a possible outcome.
“Once you understand the offense, then it’s almost, like, hard to make mistakes,” he said.
‘He’s the complete package’
The 23-year-old hasn’t appeared to make many since the Broncos reported for training camp on July 29. He made plays nearly every time he took the field through the dog days of camp. When the preseason opener began, it seemed fitting that Jarrett Stidham opened the proceedings with a 15-yard dart to Bryant, who was working back to the ball.
It was classic Bryant, too. He worked up the field, came back and didn’t just use his 6-foot-2 frame to shield defenders from the ball. He came back to it with authority and snatched it.
“If you can attack the ball while it’s in the air and take down the flight time, it’s impossible to stop,” he said.
His whole summer, really, has been on the attack.
“He’s the guy in that room, in my opinion — he blocks, catches the ball in traffic,” defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said during training camp. “He can track the ball vertically. He’s great in the red zone. He’s the complete package. He’s got great size. He loves to play – the same player every single day.”
So much of the offseason attention on the Broncos’ offense, rightfully so, has been on the ascension of offensive coordinator Davis Webb to play-calling duties and the acquisition of Jaylen Waddle via trade in March. Along with quarterback Bo Nix’s return to good health after fracturing his ankle in January, Waddle and Webb will likely garner the lion’s share of attention once the regular season gets rolling, too. Bryant’s fine with that. He called the attention and high praise he’s received this summer “nice” but was quick to say that he didn’t really see much reason to make a big deal about training camp and preseason performance. Regular-season games are what matter.
Still, every once in a while, something can be gleaned from preseason. In this case, perhaps it’s the most talked-about play of Denver’s three exhibitions.
When Waddle hauled in a 35-yarder from Nix against Green Bay on the team’s opening drive — and the only possession Waddle played in the preseason — it was a glimpse at what he brings to the offense. The speed, the ability to separate. The stomach discomfort he’s going to cause defensive coordinators when they, at some point, have to leave him one-on-one. It showed Webb’s play-calling chops and Nix’s sharp form, too.
The rest of the play matters, too, though. There was Bryant, exploding out of the point position of the Broncos’ bunch formation to the right, not only helping clear out space for Waddle to operate in but also blowing past Packers nickel Kamal Hadden and getting himself wide open on a crossing route. If Nix throws to Bryant rather than Waddle, it’s probably as big a play and perhaps a touchdown if Bryant, as he so often does, catches the ball with his feet on the ground and gets himself turned upfield.
“One of our pet peeves in the receiver room is not being open,” Bryant said. “No matter what the route is, no matter what the coverage is, we’ve got to give Bo a throw. Doesn’t matter which receiver it is. It’s our job — if we all get open, that’s what we want for the quarterback. ‘Who do I want to throw this to?’ We are all going to go out there and make plays, and it’s up to Bo to pick and choose.
“We’re always open.”
Bryant certainly has been a lot this summer and nobody seems to expect a slowdown. This is a guy, after all, who has a knack for catching everything on the run.
“Man, Pat’s a beast,” Waddle said. … “I’m excited to play alongside him and I’m excited for the world to get to know Pat Bryant’s name.”
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