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Denver Broncos boss Sean Payton has 15 years of head coach experience and one lesson he’s learned during that time is to not write off a player too quickly.
The Broncos recently wrapped up organized team activities and mandatory minicamp, which are light, non-padded practices held in the spring. Payton has learned to not judge a player too harshly this time of year.
“You’re always guarded,” Payton said on June 1. “I’ll give you an example. We drafted in the seventh round of player — Marques Colston — in that first ’06 draft. He was a compensatory seven, so towards the end of the draft. During this period of time, he was a little overweight. Not a lot, but as a receiver, he was having back spasms.
“Meanwhile, we had a sixth-round pick at receiver, too, who was the Biletnikoff [Award winner], and he was magnificent out here. Then training camp came and all of a sudden, we began to see a little different player in Marques. He began to pick things up and by the time we got to the start of the regular season, he was our starting ‘X’ [receiver]. You just want to be cautious not to judge too quickly or evaluate too quickly. You’re working on their improvement.”
Colston didn’t look great early in his first NFL offseason, but he went on to become a Super Bowl champion with the Saints and he now ranks No. 1 in franchise history for receptions (711), receiving yards (9,759) and receiving touchdowns (72).
After an underwhelming spring, pads changed everything in the summer.
“That’s kind of been my experience with not just the receivers, but with a lot of these positions,” Payton said. “The pads sometimes can define a player. There will be a couple of guys here that we’re watching and then when training camp begins, all of a sudden, the profile changes, because we’re now in full pads. It’s hard to be in these drills defensively with your assignment, your alignment and your technique. When the pads come on, you get a better feel for your team. That’s important, too.”
Payton also noted that coaches have to do a good job to make sure players understand schemes and concepts so they can be fairly evaluated on the field.
“I don’t want to say hold judgment, but patience and making sure — the No. 1 thing is, ‘Does he know what to do?’” Payton said. “The worst thing we can do as a coach is confuse a player and then he’s playing at percent speed because he’s uncertain. That hinders the evaluation. Now ultimately, they have to get it and sometimes it’s not for everyone [if] it’s just too much. But they’re picking it up. I’m pleased with that. It’s gone well so far.”
After wrapping up spring practices last week, up next for the Broncos is training camp, which begins in late July. The pads will come on at camp — and that’s when the real evaluation begins.
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