ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — They will arrive with dreams and insurance waivers, anxiety and eagerness, excitement and, yes, maybe a little fear.
The Broncos are scheduled to welcome 47 players to their rookie minicamp that begins thursday and runs through Mother’s Day Sunday.
The first-time professionals will include first-round draft pick Noah Fant, a tight end from Iowa; second-rounders Dalton Risner, a guard from Wiggins and Kansas State and Drew Lock, a quarterback from Missouri; and Hayden Hunt, a tryout punter one month shy of his 26th birthday whose last recorded boot was three years ago for Colorado State.
There will be four first-year (not rookies) players who will participate in the rookie minicamp: Center-guard Austin Schlottmann, cornerback Linden Stephens, kicker Taylor Bertolet and receiver Fred Brown.
There will also be 20 tryout players including four with Colorado roots: Hunt, Northern Colorado long snapper Jacob Bobenmoyer, and CSU-Pueblo’s Bernard McDondle, a running back, and defensive lineman Deyon Sizer.
The tryout players have been brought in primarily so head coach Vic Fangio can have enough people to practice this weekend. But you never know.
In an intramural matter, the Broncos informed the agents of their six draft picks – in order, Fant, Risner, Lock, Dre’Mont Jones, Justin Hollins and Juwann Winfree – they will start negotiating their slotted contracts after the minicamp.
All six signed insurance waivers so they can participate in the rookie practices without financial risk. Fant might have had to sign his a few times as he is due to get a signing bonus of nearly $7.2 million and a four-year, fully guaranteed contract (with a fifth-year team option) worth around $12.5 million.
The minicamp begins with an orientation of sorts Thursday. There will be the issuing of shoulder pads, helmets, undergarments and jersey numbers. They will gather for playbooks, meetings and seminars.
Unlike recent years, there will be rookie practices Friday and Saturday afternoons and Mother’s Day morning.
The Broncos had backed off rookie minicamp practices following Jeff Heuerman’s season-ending knee injury during the event in 2015. There were walkthroughs, meetings and orientation the past two years with head coach Vance Joseph. But Fangio will have them work up a sweat, if on a scaled-down practice version.
Huddle 'em up, Drew Lock. The second rounder and the undrafted Brett Rypien will give the Broncos two quarterbacks to run things over the weekend.
And then the rookies will stay over and join the veterans for the Broncos’ first organized team activity (OTA) practice Monday.
The Broncos have 9 OTA practices over the final three weeks of May, then a three-day mandatory minicamp June 4-6 to conclude the offseason until training camp begins July 17.
