First Practice: Who Played Where

Photo Courtesy

Details on the first practice from training camp are flooding in from all corners – whether you’re checking out Andrew Mason’s Blog or one of the many great Broncos forums out there, you’ll find tons of insight on the stars of practice so far and who lined up where.

Offensive Line

First Team: It is being reported that the first-team offensive line looks exactly as many (including myself) thought it would – from Left Tackle and moving over to Right, it featured Matt Lepsis, Ben Hamilton, Tom Nalen, Chris Kuper, and Erik Pears. Everyone looked good by all accounts.

Second Team: Rookie Ryan Harris took snaps at LT, with Center/Guard hybrid Chris Myers filling in at left Guard. Greg Eslinger lined up at Center (one report said he got blown up by Rookie Marcus Thomas). At Right Guard and Tackle were Montrae Holland and Adam Meadows.

Skill Positions – Offense

With Marshall and Smith on the PUP, there was a lot of rotation among receivers, with Javon Walker playing consistently and mixup between David Kircus and Domenik Hixon, among others. Apparently Kircus really shined, catching a ton of balls and snagging the “Catch of the Day” from a deep ball by Jay Cutler.

Undrafted rookie runningback Andre Hall also took a few snaps behind the first team – that’s always exciting, even though I’m still hopeful our other undrafted tailback Selvin Young can step up. Mike Bell also reportedly looked good – no word if Cecil Sapp saw any snaps behind Cutler and Nalen, but his absence in these reports seems to indicate that he did not.

Daniel Graham shared snaps at tight end with Alexander and Teyo Johnson, among others.

Defensive Line

First Team: Veteran John Engelberger was the surprise of the defense, taking snaps as the starting defensive end opposite Ebenezer Ekuban. Gerard Warren and Sam Adams filled in the middle, and both looked extremely impressive in Jim Bates system.

Second Team: Rookies Jarvis Moss and Tim Crowder took snaps as the second unit starters, leaving a noticeable absence of one Kenard Lang. At defensive tackle were recent acquisitions Alvin McKinley and Jimmy Kennedy.

Third Team: We’re extremely deep at the defensive line, and these seedings were worth noting. Marcus Thomas was relegated to third team for the time being, although I think he’ll find his way up the depth chart soon enough. Fan favorite Elvis Dumervil and rumored trade bait Kenard Lang found themselves as the third-string defensive ends. The other DT was Amon Gordon.

Thomas and undrafted rookie Steven Harris even entertained the crowd with their impressive backflip/handstand duo trick. Mighty athletic for 300-pounders.

The Back Seven

First Team: D.J. Williams and Ian Gold were locked into their respective spots, with Warrick Holdman filling in most of the strongside snaps. Of course, our superstar tandem of Champ Bailey and Dre Bly started at corner, with John Lynch and Nick Ferguson filling in at Safety.

Second Team: D.D. Lewis and Louis Green saw work at OLB, with Nate Webster serving as D.J.’s backup. Domonique Foxworth serves as probably the best third-corner in the league, with Karl Paymah seeing work, along with Curome Cox and Hamza Abdullah at Safety.

It’s worth noting that this is the first practice, and all of these are highly likely to change at any time. I’m particularly excited about the possibility along the defensive line – it’s going to be highly competitive, which can only make our defense that much better.