Just like that, the open portion of Broncos training camp is finished.
The team plays Arizona on Saturday night and then returns to closed practices next week before its preseason finale Aug. 23 at New Orleans.
Sean Payton’s team, though, went out with a bang on Thursday over two-plus hours of joint practice with the Cardinals.
Payton had high praise for Arizona head coach Jonathan Gannon, and he said Thursday’s joint practice was among the most productive he’s had in his long career as a head coach.
“I thought both teams were outstanding just relative to the tempo and communication,” Payton said. “… There’s going to be a lot of tape — a lot of good things and a lot of things we’ve got to get cleaned up.
“That’s how you get better.”
Here are observations from The Post’s beat reporters on hand for practice, broken up into the Broncos offense, defense and miscellaneous.
Offense
Key standout: For a day, at least, Bo Nix quashed the thinkpieces.
Two days after his worst day of training camp, Nix had his best day of somewhat-organized ball since he torched the Kansas City Chiefs for four touchdowns on Jan. 5. He sprayed lasers over the middle in 7-on-7 to Pat Bryant and Lucas Krull. He ripped a seam ball to Devaughn Vele and a deep out to Trent Sherfield in 11-on-11 periods. He escaped the pocket and found Marvin Mims Jr. and Troy Franklin on the run.
That last point is particularly important. Nix has thrown the majority of his camp interceptions when he’s been off-platform. On Thursday, though, he seemed to drive off his front foot better on throws on the move. His decision-making and accuracy impressed Arizona’s defense.
“I’m extremely proud to see … the rest of the story,” said Cardinals linebacker Mack Wilson Sr., a fellow Alabama native.
• Jerjuan Newton is listed at all of 5-foot-11. The undrafted rookie from Toledo, though, has made some of camp’s most acrobatic catches. He’s certainly earned Sam Ehlinger’s trust with the third-team offense. In a team period, Ehlinger chucked a “he’s down there somewhere” ball down the right sideline for Newton. A Cardinals defensive back was all over him. Didn’t matter. Newton leapt back and plucked it out of the air.
• Speaking of undrafted rookie receivers: If the Broncos elect to cut Joaquin Davis in the hope he sneaks through waivers, they’d better hide his camp tape in a vault. The 6-foot-4 North Carolina Central product showed sticky hands on an end-zone grab from Ehlinger in team reps, and immediately turned and barked at the Arizona defensive back he’d beaten. It’s the second sort of skirmish Davis has been involved in at a joint practice.
• The run game had its moments Thursday. Jaleel McLaughlin made one beautiful cut back on an outside-zone carry, and Blake Watson, Audric Estime and Tyler Badie all had plus reps. Beyond that, though, the offensive line had trouble creating between-the-tackles holes for J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey. There simply wasn’t enough juice inside.
Still, Payton is bullish on his backfield’s overall evolution.
“We brought in leadership, with J.K., and we drafted Harvey early,” Payton said. “And so you’re going to see a difference, and hopefully a markedly different running game. It’s not always going to be perfect, but that’s the magic of the good back.”
• Get ready for a whole bunch of reserve offensive-line snaps Saturday, as the starters’ rest will give a long look at some competition for roster spots. Alex Forsyth has had a solid camp at backup center, but he and starting center Luke Wattenberg have both struggled at times to create rushing lanes up the gut. Nick Garguilo is another name on the bubble who’ll get a long look at guard.
• After a silent first week or so of camp, tight end Lucas Krull has stacked standout days. He was one of the Broncos’ most oft-targeted receivers Thursday and made several nice grabs. Krull faced tough odds at a roster spot after the Broncos drafted rookie Caleb Lohner, but he’s making a strong case.
“He’s not a rookie or a young player anymore,” Payton said. “And he’s found some confidence.”
Defense
Key standout: Ja’Quan McMillian continues to have a boom-or-bust training camp. The Broncos nickel made the biggest play of the defense’s day when he intercepted Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray in a 7-on-7 drill. He’s been on a heater in terms of taking the ball away.
McMillian also logged interceptions in both the joint practice and preseason game last week against San Francisco.
The counter, though, is that McMillian has given up his share of big plays, too. In the preseason game, quarterback Mac Jones made a great throw to Jordan Watkins for a 50-yard catch over McMillian. He got beat again in 7-on-7 Thursday, giving up a big play on a fade to Cardinals star Marvin Harrison Jr.
McMillian played with the No. 1 defense Saturday, and that’s largely been his role throughout camp. The next couple of weeks will determine whether he holds off Jahdae Barron for the job.
• Barron, the first-round pick, had a play-of-the-day candidate, too. In a two-minute drill to end the practice, Murray had a wide-open option in the flat that would have gone for a big play. Barron came on a blitz and leapt high enough in the air to two-hand block the throw. Impressive leaping ability, reaction time and athleticism.
• Broncos cornerback Riley Moss has had a terrific camp, but he had his hands full and then some against Harrison.
These settings, though, are a terrific chance to get players work they might not otherwise get. If the teams played in the regular season, conventional wisdom is that Pat Surtain II would cover Harrison most of the time. In this setting, though, Moss can get the reps going against a top-flight receiver. Denver’s got Cincinnati in Week 4, and Moss will likely get another heavy dose of Tee Higgins, like he did last December. Days like this against Harrison are good prep.
• Former Colorado State tight end Trey McBride had a heck of a day against the Broncos. He ran wide open several times, including a deep throw from Murray on a busted coverage where McBride had time to throw up the touchdown signal while the ball was still in the air.
McBride had a massive year last year, racking up 111 catches for 1,146 yards.
“That’s a joker,” Payton said. “… When you get one, they’re hard to find.”
• Payton said he hadn’t seen much of the defense’s outing, but coaches told him that they thought the group started slow. Defensive tackle Zach Allen concurred.
“Days like this, there’s always some good and some bad,” Allen said. “We’d like to come out a little faster, but we’ll watch the film.”
• Jonathon Cooper’s high-level training camp continued Thursday. The veteran outside linebacker generated consistent pressure and appeared to play the run well, too. With fellow starting OLB Nik Bonitto (foot) still out, Cooper played mostly opposite Jonah Elliss and Dondrea Tillman.
Sights and sounds
• Broncos owners Carrie Walton Penner and Greg Penner were on hand Thursday, as was Cardinals owner Michael Bidwell. Payton recounted after practice being a ball boy at St. Louis Cardinals training camp back when the club camped at Eastern Illinois.
“I handed out rosters, and Mike Bidwell was, I think I was 18 and he was 17. (ESPN broadcaster) Joe Buck was 15 and running around. We were just football brats.”
• Other notable folks who were on hand for practice: Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning, Arizona Diamondbacks manager Tory Lovullo, and former Broncos assistant and San Francisco head coach Mike Nolan.
• Quite a summit formed after practice when Manning was chatting with Nix and Payton and the group eventually was joined by Murray and Harrison. Manning, of course, played with Marvin Harrison Sr. in Indianapolis for years.
• Murray and Allen had a nice moment during a special teams drill, exchanging big hugs and catching up. They played four years together with the Cardinals before Allen signed with Denver as a free agent. Earlier this month, of course, Allen signed a four-year, $102 million contract.
“He’s a dynamic athlete,” Allen said. “It was good to go against him again. … He’s obviously matured and everything like that. He’s a top quarterback in this league, and every year he gets better. Today he had a hell of a day.”
• The only kerfuffle of practice came during a special teams drill. The sidelines emptied, but nobody really seemed to do much shoving or punch-throwing. Broncos Keidron Smith and Levelle Bailey were in the mix, and Nik Bonitto joined the jawing despite not being in pads.
• Payton said the teams have already talked about matching up with the Cardinals again in the preseason next year. He likes playing non-division opponents who are in the West, which means Arizona, San Francisco, the Los Angeles Rams, and Seattle are likely to continue to show up regularly on Denver’s preseason slate.
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