Broncos training camp: Five breakout candidates to watch this summer

In June Sean Payton delivered an emphatic message to reporters regarding a sardine-packed running back room Don t count Don t try to figure out the club right now the Broncos head coach revealed It s way too early He was right The fates of J K Dobbins RJ Harvey Jaleel McLaughlin Audric Estime and countless others still had months to play out This is the same head coach who touts the story of his New Orleans Saints drafting running back Antonio Pittman in the fourth round and then cutting him for the undrafted Pierre Thomas who eventually became a Saint staple So who s the next Thomas in Payton s camp Or the next Devaughn Vele who put himself in position for a strong rookie year after a standout summer in Or even the next Frank Crum who surprisingly made last year s Broncos roster as an undrafted offensive tackle Here are five breakout candidates to keep an eye on from the temporary bleachers in Broncos training camp Jonah Elliss OLB Elliss wants more and isn t afraid to say it Five sacks are nothing to scoff at especially on a Broncos front with bodies galore But after the third-round pick endured the natural maturation of freaking out on rookie installs as he self-described to The Denver Post this offseason the competition should slow down for him in his second season The key is improving his first step off the edge And the Broncos will likely give him every opportunity to showcase that get-off in camp with several in their core pass-rush group at a contract crossroads Zach Allen requirements a new deal Nik Bonitto necessities a new deal John Franklin-Myers demands a new deal It s a lot of wealth to allocate and if the -year-old Elliss showcases noticeable rise it could clear up particular extension decision-making Troy Franklin WR Somebody in Denver s pass-catching room is going to get left out Too various mouths to feed Courtland Sutton and Evan Engram technically a TE will get their looks and Marvin Mims Jr will likely start at the Z Devaughn Vele could catch a heap of passes this year Rookie Pat Bryant could set himself up for immediate reps if he plays like he did in minicamp and OTAs Franklin with an overlapping-ish skillset to Mims and an up-and-down rookie year could be the odd man out He could also set himself up for a massive second-year leap Payton doesn t commerce up willy-nilly and Franklin came into the offseason with an intriguing blend of added muscle and quick-twitch feet Payton commented he d had a number of explosive plays during OTAs He was Bo Nix s go-to guy at Oregon in for a reason Franklin s in store for a pivotal camp Mario Goodrich CB In mid-June the Broncos quietly signed Goodrich away from the UFL their last technical free-agent move before camp The -year-old has played a total of snaps in his NFL career after going undrafted out of Clemson in Not an earth-shattering move But this isn t a simple camp body Nobody Payton and George Paton bring in truly is Broncos scout Ish Seisay first reached out in March to Birmingham Stallions general manager Paul Roell for a list of names to keep an eye on Months later after the UFL s season the Broncos saw enough in Goodrich to bring him in for a tryout and sign him Related Articles Broncos Nik Bonitto feels he s in good position for extension as training camp nears Keeler Broncos offensive line has stomach for Super Bowl run for Sean Payton in Broncos position preview High expectations after offseason of change for Denver s special teams Lawsuit between Shannon Sharpe woman who accused him of rape resolved lawyer says Broncos position preview Talanoa Hufanga brings spark to Broncos safety room Goodrich played well in the UFL and notably he has a chunk of NFL tape under his belt as a slot corner The majority of the Broncos cornerbacks profile as outside corners Goodrich could carve himself out a niche with a strong camp JL Skinner S Still pinned to Skinner s Twitter page is a post from Patience Learn Grow When the time comes I ll be ready He s had to have plenty of patience and do plenty of growing across a tough couple of seasons in Denver A torn pec tanked the one-time Boise State standout s stock enough before the NFL draft to slide to the Broncos in the sixth round A bid for more playing time in last year s offseason resulted in all of defensive snaps Still Skinner made himself into a key special teams standout providing another clear path to an initial spot on the -man roster under new special teams coach Darren Rizzi Signing Talanoa Hufanga made the Broncos safety room more complicated but Skinner still has a wealth of feasible and the youth to show it off in camp Clay Webb OL The pedigree s all here And if it shows up in the NFL the Broncos could have a heck of a steal on their hands Webb was once a promising Georgia offensive lineman with a higher ranking in the class of than Bo Nix After transferring from the SEC amid a federal bullying lawsuit Webb put together three strong years at Jacksonville State before entering the NFL draft He was widely projected as a Day pick and projects as a center in the NFL but he played primarily at guard in college That s solid positional versatility in a crowded Broncos offensive line room Denver did its homework on Webb before choosing to bring him in on a UDFA deal and he ll have a shot to impress during camp Want more Broncos news Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis