Football season is back. Week 1 is here and the Broncos open the regular season with a home game against the Las Vegas Raiders.<\/p>\n
In this revamped rendition of the Broncos Journal, we\u2019ll endeavor to take you inside the Denver locker room, provide unique insight from the beat and open up the notebook each week.<\/p>\n
So, let\u2019s get to it.<\/p>\n
Opening Drive\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Few Broncos put forth a more productive training camp than outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been consistent, he\u2019s explosive and I think he\u2019s been very physical,\u201d head coach Sean Payton said Wednesday of the third-year player. \u2026 \u201cYou know exactly what you\u2019re getting and that\u2019s a good trait.\u201d<\/p>\n Payton typically balks at the notion of \u201cstarters\u201d at some positions — \u201cthe first play of the game could be one of 25 personnel groupings, so tell me who the starter is,\u201d he said Wednesday, without actually being asked if Cooper\u2019s a starter \u2014 \u00a0but it\u2019s clear Cooper\u2019s going to play a big role on the edge for Denver.<\/p>\n Of all the interesting trends to watch early in the season, playing time at OLB will rank near the top of the list. If you\u2019re going purely by preseason production, Cooper will be on the field a lot and veteran Frank Clark might be No. 4 after Cooper, Randy Gregory and Nik Bonitto.<\/p>\n Clark, remember, signed a one-year deal with $5.5 million guaranteed back in June. Had Denver known then the kind of camps Cooper and Bonitto would put forward — or if Baron Browning had not needed offseason knee surgery \u2014 perhaps Payton and general manager George Paton would have thought twice about that outlay.<\/p>\n Clark, for his part, raved about the group this week.\u00a0<\/p>\n And maybe he will find his form once the games actually count and the three-time Pro Bowler gets into a rhythm. He\u2019s a veteran and has missed practice time here and there over camp, though he\u2019s not on the injury report this week.<\/p>\n Browning’s eligible to return after four weeks. He spent the entire summer rehabilitating from MCL surgery but is hoping to be ready around Week 5.<\/p>\n What will we make of this group at that point?<\/p>\n Upon Further Review\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Let\u2019s go all the way back to draft weekend. The Broncos didn\u2019t take a running back, but Payton gave a bit of foreshadowing between Days 2 and 3.<\/p>\n \u201cWe haven\u2019t even talked about the minute the draft ends and that 2.5-hour period where you don\u2019t know you\u2019re going to be doing it, but you find the last starting running back for this team that played in the Super Bowl in (undrafted)\u00a0 free agency,\u201d Payton said, referring to C.J. Anderson. \u201cThere are a bunch of those players sitting out there.\u201d<\/p>\n Jaleel McLaughlin didn\u2019t get drafted, but by late April the Broncos had been recruiting him to sign with them in the event he didn\u2019t hear his name called. It worked. He inked with Denver that weekend, then proceeded to spend the offseason wowing just about everybody he came across.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were hoping he\u2019d be undrafted,\u201d Paton said after McLaughlin made the 53-man roster recently. \u2026 \u201cYou never know with (undrafted) free agents and what you\u2019re quite getting. He went to two schools, obviously. The tape was good, but we\u2019ve had a lot of those guys over the years when they come in here. He passed every test.\u201d<\/p>\n The next test is going to be fun to watch for the diminutive running back who just keeps impressing.<\/p>\n From the locker room\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 Much has been made about the Broncos\u2019 overhauled offensive line this offseason, but can players tell how quickly a unit jells before real game action arrives? Left tackle Garett Bolles thinks probably not.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re all close, but you\u2019re going to have to ask me that question in a couple weeks,\u201d he told The Post. \u201cI like where we\u2019re at right now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 Veteran cornerback Fabian Moreau is entering his seventh season and playing for his fourth franchise. He spent 2022 with the Giants, 2021 in Atlanta and four years before that in Washington. He says he hasn\u2019t played in a secondary like Denver\u2019s.<\/p>\n \u201cBest I\u2019ve been a part of,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m just blessed to be here and to work with them each and every day. They\u2019re definitely a close group. It\u2019s been cool to see.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 Sunday is a good day for the Broncos\u2019 vested veterans. Any player who\u2019s vested — meaning they have four or more credited seasons in the NFL \u2014 sees his base salary guaranteed if he\u2019s on the 53-man roster for the first game of the season. Per OvertheCap data, safety Justin Simmons had $2.9 million in guaranteed money due this year. Come Sunday, his $14.4 million base salary locks in. Similar for Bolles \u2014 $2 million in guaranteed salary currently, but his $13.75 million base becomes guaranteed Sunday \u2014 inside linebacker Josey Jewell (nothing guaranteed to $4.49 million) and several others.<\/p>\n