Talanoa Hufanga's ‘sick' play fuels dominant day for new-look Broncos secondary

New York Times

2 days ago

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — When Bo Nix faked the handoff and quickly stood out of his crouch to whip a throw over the middle, Talanoa Hufanga may as well have been in another ZIP code.
'If you really looked at his distance from the throw, I bet it was like 8 yards,' Broncos coach Sean Payton said of the highlight play during Friday's training camp practice made by Hufanga, the veteran safety who was one of Denver's marquee additions this offseason.
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Hufanga, recognizing an RPO throw, broke from his spot in the back of the defense and then leaped to snare the ball Nix was trying to zip to his receiver in the middle of the field. Payton was stunned by what Hufanga accomplished on the play in what felt like the blink of an eye.
'To be able to go up and catch that, with a crowded look in front of him, I'm anxious to see it on film,' Payton said. 'I saw it from behind the line of scrimmage. The one thing over the years, if I asked you to give us the best safeties that are in the Hall of Fame, the traits are always instincts and football smarts. Some are faster than others, but it's hard to be real effective at that position if you don't have those high football instincts. Certainly, he brings that. There are certain players where the ball finds him, and he's one of those guys.
Hufanga snatched a rare interception of Nix during OTAs, and the safety's pick Friday was the first thrown by Nix during a team period in this 2-week-0ld training camp. Payton summed up the play by calling it 'sick,' uttering that phrase from the podium for perhaps the first time since taking over as Denver's coach in 2023.
As impressive as Hufanga's takeaway was, it was only part of a dominant showing in Friday's practice by a Denver secondary that appears as loaded with talent and depth as any the team has put together since the 'No Fly Zone' unit was suffocating receivers en route to a Super Bowl victory in 2015. One period after Hufanga snared Nix's bulleted throw out of midair, reigning Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain intercepted a pass in the end zone intended for receiver Courtland Sutton. Payton said Surtain had been lurking underneath on the play as Sutton ran a double-move against another cornerback, likening it to a similar interception standout Houston Texans cornerback Derek Stingley had off Russell Wilson in 2023.
'What looks like an open receiver, it's understanding (for Nix) that there's a blind area where the ball can't go, and then it doesn't happen again,' Payton said.
But the secondary's greatest triumph came when the Broncos ran a two-minute drill for the first time in camp. The situation: Offense down six, 1:43 on the clock from its own 25-yard line, one timeout. Nix hit Sutton for roughly a 15-yard gain to get the drive off to a good start, and he ultimately moved his unit to the opposing 40-yard line. But the defense tightened its grip from there. Nix looked for Marvin Mims on a deep route near the back of the end zone, but cornerback Riley Moss was with the speedy receiver step for step, giving him no room to come down with the ball in bounds.
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At one point, the Broncos had Moss and Surtain on the field along with rookie Jahdae Barron and Ja'Quan McMillian. Barron and McMillian both profile as options at the nickel spot, but Payton provided a reminder that numerous situations in a game, particularly in similar two-minute situations, are going to call for more defensive backs — and he likes the combinations the defense can put on the field right now.
'The hardest thing defensively is to have enough cover people,' Payton said. 'Then, when you do, you can add them to obvious passing situations and match up. So if Surtain wanted to take (tight end Evan) Engram, you have that flexibility. It gives the defense a lot of different coverage people who can execute when you know it's an obvious passing situation.'
McMillian and Barron both have the versatility to flex outside. One obvious matchup where that could prove advantageous is when the Broncos face the Las Vegas Raiders and prolific tight end Brock Bowers. As a rookie last season, Bowers had eight catches for 97 yards and a touchdown in the teams' first meeting. The Broncos limited him to four catches for 38 yards in the second matchup — his third-lowest output on the season — with Surtain picking up more of the man-coverage responsibilities on the tight end. Denver believes it is even more equipped to create those coverage opportunities this season, and Friday's late-practice drills provided some of the evidence behind that belief.
'We have the depth to do that,' Payton said.
It wasn't just the frontline starters either. Cornerback Damarri Mathis, who is likely on the roster bubble as he enters his fourth season, ended the practice when he intercepted quarterback Jarrett Stidham during the second-team offense's crack at the scenario.
Payton volunteered an injury update after practice that was good news for Denver's defense. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who left Thursday's practice with a quad 'tweak,' should return to practice next week and could potentially be in the mix when the Broncos have a joint practice with the 49ers, Greenlaw's former team, on Thursday in Santa Clara, Calif.
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Payton said the quad issue Greenlaw experienced Thursday is in a different spot than the injury to the muscle he had just before the start of Denver's offseason program. Greenlaw was at practice as an observer on Friday.
'Fortunately, the scans were good,' Payton said. 'We're going to be smart with bringing him back, but we see him getting work and being a part of next week. We're fortunate there.'
Payton also said rookie outside linebacker Que Robinson, who missed his third straight practice Friday, has been dealing with a bone bruise and should return Monday.
• Second-year cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine, Payton has said previously, was probably the 2024 draft pick (fifth round) who had the most catching up to do after OTAs ended last season. The former Missouri standout has more than made up the ground since then. He has been one of Denver's most consistent young performers in the secondary throughout camp, but not just on defense.
During a special teams drill Friday, Abrams-Draine was lined up as a gunner during a punt period with two defenders directly in front of him. With one quick burst, Abrams-Draine raced past both defenders at the snap and sprinted unimpeded to reach the returner just as he caught the ball. Abrams-Draine is another reason the Broncos like where they stand with their secondary as the preseason nears.
• The Broncos will have a simulated scrimmage Saturday to complete a stretch of six straight practices — and 11 in 12 days — that will lead into a player off day Sunday.
'Marvin (Mims), he's built like a mosquito. You need to worry about that. I can lose this weight.' — defensive tackle Malcolm Roach
The summer beef Payton never saw coming has brought some levity to a marathon stretch of camp. It began earlier this week when Mims, asked about the defense's chatter during practice, said it was really only coming from Roach. He went on to jokingly call Roach 'a fat guy' who didn't need to worry about what the receivers were doing.
'I don't think of Roach as fat, but with Malcolm, you hear him before you see him, and I like that energy about him,' Payton said. 'I wouldn't have picked Mims and Roach (to be in a war of words). I would have picked so many other combos.'