SANTA CLARA, Calif. \u2014 Joint practices always provide plenty of fodder, film and feelings.<\/p>\n
The Broncos felt good about their work overall Thursday against San Francisco here. Here\u2019s a rundown of the day\u2019s setup and notes, primarily about what Denver\u2019s offense did against the Niners\u2019 defense.<\/p>\n
Attendance<\/p>\n
Did not practice: Physically Unable to Perform list \u2014\u00a0WR A.T. Perry (foot\/ankle). Injured reserve \u2014 OLB Johnny Walker Jr. Out \u2014 ILB Alex Singleton (thumb), ILB Drew Sanders (foot), ILB Dre Greenlaw (quad), S Brandon Jones. Dropped out \u2014 DL Matt Henningsen.<\/p>\n
Jones was the only new addition to the injury list before practice. He was not in uniform or milling around like Singleton and Greenlaw were. Payton didn\u2019t provide an update on Jones but said he didn\u2019t have a high level of concern.<\/p>\n
Henningsen was hurt midway through the practice and didn\u2019t return. Fellow DL John Franklin-Myers came up limping at one point but was able to rejoin practice.<\/p>\n
Payton said Greenlaw \u201cprobably\u201d will not play in Saturday\u2019s preseason opener but will \u201cbe back working full speed on Monday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Takeaway of the day<\/p>\n
Bo Nix and his receivers are getting good at making things happen when a play breaks down.<\/p>\n
Call it the second act or whatever term you like, but Denver\u2019s receivers are getting into a better rhythm at moving with Nix and giving him options as he extends plays by moving up in the pocket or getting out on the edge.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been practicing that, really this offseason, this training camp,\u201d Nix said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to really do them, because they\u2019re so, like, abrupt. They just come, they\u2019re out of nowhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
One particular play, top receiver Courtland Sutton caught a toe-drag touchdown in the red zone. But it was one of many such plays on the day for Denver\u2019s offense.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen this with other quarterbacks,\u201d Payton said. \u201cShoot, Aaron Rodgers in the red zone was one of the best. The play doesn\u2019t develop, and in concert, the play moves with him. And so, it\u2019s practiced, and then when you begin to see \u2014 it happened probably four times today. There\u2019s certain scramble moves that we discussed \u2014 far receiver, near receiver, backside receiver \u2014 in regard to getting in phase with the quarterback.\u201d<\/p>\n
Top Play<\/p>\n
Nix\u2019s best play of the day came on one of those off-platform, second-reaction plays during a team period. He was flushed out to his right by a free blitzer and forced to operate on the run. As he got pressed up against the sideline, he threw a dart up the seam for receiver Devaughn Vele, who had turned toward Nix and worked his way into position where the quarterback could find him.<\/p>\n
The play came on third-and-12 in a move-the-ball drill late in practice and jump-started the drive for Denver. That particular march, however, stalled out in 49ers territory when Nix and Michael Bandy couldn\u2019t connect on a third-and-medium throw over the middle.<\/p>\n
Thumbs Up<\/p>\n
Obviously, most of the attention in joint practices is on guys who will factor heavily into each team\u2019s plans this fall, but it\u2019s critical for young players and bubble candidates, too. It\u2019s notable, then, that the Broncos\u2019 two biggest offensive plays of the day were completions to rookie WR Kyrese Rowan. He caught a deep ball from Sam Ehlinger up the left sideline and then brought the practice day to a close with a touchdown to the deep post.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had that conversation just the other day in the meeting, and said, if you\u2019re not careful and you\u2019re just looking at your own depth chart, you\u2019re missing it,\u201d Payton said. \u201cBecause there\u2019s 31 other teams that are getting evaluated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thumbs Down<\/p>\n
It\u2019s just one play, but Nix will want it back. He airmailed rookie RB RJ Harvey on a wide-open swing pass that would have been a walk-in touchdown in the low red zone. That doesn\u2019t make it a bad day for Nix by any stretch, but those are gotta-have-it plays in the regular season.<\/p>\n
Odds and Ends<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Broncos and 49ers got a ton of work in over a long, warm, 2.5-hour practice. After early individual drills, they got into 7-on-7 and then spent most of the rest of practice in team settings. They spliced in the occasional special-teams period, but Payton and San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan clearly wanted to emphasize 11-on-11 work. They worked red zone. They worked third down. They worked more red zone. They had a couple of move-the-ball sessions. It was efficient, and it covered a lot of ground.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The only mild dust-up featured Denver rookie receiver Joaquin Davis, who got to jawing with a 49ers defender during a special teams period. It settled down quickly without any shoving and otherwise the teams didn\u2019t fight or even mix it up after the whistle.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was Sean\u2019s No. 1 message to us: \u2018We\u2019re not flying across the country to get into fights,\u201d McGlinchey said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to play football.\u201d<\/p>\n
Added Payton: \u201cWe have this two-hour moment in time. There\u2019s no conflict. They\u2019re an NFC team, we\u2019re an AFC team, and let\u2019s use it to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Broncos clearly feel good about Harvey and J.K. Dobbins at running back, but the down-ballot race is a good one. Tyler Badie made a bunch of plays Thursday, and Audric Estime showed burst in the run game. Jaleel McLaughin didn\u2019t make many splash plays, but he\u2019s been maybe the steadiest through camp.<\/p>\n
It is a critical 10-day stretch for the backs, continuing Saturday night with the game here and then a joint practice and another game next week at home against Arizona.<\/p>\n
All along, pass protection has been a question for this group outside of Dobbins. Badie is maybe the best of the bunch after him and that\u2019s part of what makes him an intriguing figure in the race for roster spots.<\/p>\n
\u2022 It\u2019s going to be difficult to keep receiver Trent Sherfield off the field. He\u2019s not the biggest name or the most exciting young talent in the room, but he fills a role Payton values, and the ball seems to find him.<\/p>\n
Sherfield, signed this spring largely because of his value on special teams, is kind of a souped-up version of Lil\u2019Jordan Humphrey. He\u2019s a willing and physical blocker in the run game and can be counted on in at least a limited role as a receiver.<\/p>\n
Humphrey played in all 17 games last year, started seven and logged 50% usage. He finished with 31 catches for 293 yards and a touchdown. It might be considered a surprise by some if Sherfield meets or exceeds those marks this fall, but it shouldn\u2019t be.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The summer of Troy Franklin continued Thursday. He got open regularly and caught the ball with confidence. The arrow continues to point up.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Denver\u2019s veteran offensive line started fast, but the Niners ramped up their pressure as the day went on and they were able to disrupt Nix at times. C.J. West beat All-Pro Quinn Meinerz for a sack and Nick Bosa was a handful for right tackle Mike McGlinchey. Nothing new there; those two did battle for years when McGlinchey played for San Francisco.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did it for four years and it\u2019s very good work,\u201d McGlinchey said. \u201c\u2026 It\u2019s very valuable work as you move forward. Nick\u2019s been at the top of the league since he walked in the door, and I expect nothing different from him this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Denver has some depth questions up front. Alex Palczewski and Matt Peart could be the next men up at both tackle and guard spots when the season begins, and they\u2019ve each handled spot playing time well in the past. Alex Forsyth was the No. 2 center all of last year, and there aren\u2019t many other options besides him. He and several others, though, struggled in 1-on-1s Thursday and allowed some pressure in team settings.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Nix did a good job of keeping the ball out of harm\u2019s way for almost all of practice, but was nearly picked off twice down the stretch. CB Dallis Flowers almost got him on a deep ball for Sutton that was fading out of bounds. Then linebacker Dee Winters got his hands on a red zone throw over the middle and should have secured it.<\/p>\n
\u2022 All sorts of dignitaries were on hand for the joint practice. Two-time Broncos Super Bowl champion coach Mike Shanahan \u2014 the father of 49ers head coach Kyle \u2014 watched intently, switching between the San Francisco offense and Denver\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Broncos owners Carrie Walton-Penner and Greg Penner strode between the two practice fields and chatted with general manager George Paton.<\/p>\n
Longtime NFL QB Steve Bono was around, too, and gave McGlinchey a big hug afterward.<\/p>\n
\u2022 McGlinchey and his wife still have a home in the area and were set to host the Broncos offensive line for a Thursday night get-together.<\/p>\n
\u2022 It had to be difficult for Broncos linebacker Dre Geenlaw to miss practice against his old team. He was roaming around talking with old coaches and teammates, and at one point got a big hug from Kyle Shanahan.<\/p>\n