ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Know why the Denver Broncos are going to practice in pads Monday?
Because they can.
When it comes to training camp, new Broncos’ head coach Sean Payton believes in simulating the game-day experience as much as the Collective Bargaining Agreement will allow.
“If we can be in pads, we’ll be in pads,’’ said Broncos’ tight end Adam Trautman, who played two seasons for Payton in New Orleans. “There’s no question about that. Football is a physical game and that’s just how it is and that’s how Sean runs his camps. I think it’s a good thing. You build your callouses. If you go into a season and haven’t hit or anything it’s going to be a shock to your body.
“It’s an old-school approach but Sean does a lot of new-school when it comes to taking care of our bodies and recovering. But we get after it. I’m sure you guys see us conditioning (with wind sprints) after practice. Not every team does that. So that’s unique. But he knows how to get the best out of his players and that’s what this camp is set up for.”
The 6-foot-6, 253-pound Trautman was selected out of Dayton in the third round of the 2020 draft by Payton and the Saints. He was a part-time starter and special teams player as a rookie, then became a full-time, No. 1 tight end in 2021 when in 13 games he had 27 catches – 13 for first downs.
Payton stepped away from coaching last year and Trautman’s receptions declined to the point that he asked for a trade after the 2022 season. On the final day of the 2023 draft in late-April, he was sent to Payton’s Broncos, along with a seventh-round pick that turned out to be center Alex Forsyth, in exchange for a sixth-round selection that became receiver A.T. Perry.
Trautman, 26, has had a catch or two in pretty much every camp practice to date.
“They’ve done a great job of giving me opportunities in the pass game to show what I believe I can do,’’ Trautman said. “And I know they believe in me as well. Just capitalizing on the opportunities they give you and excited to keep doing it.’’
Tight end is perhaps the most multi-faceted, and misunderstood position on offense in that he must block in the running game and both catch and block in the passing game. The Broncos seem to have settled on specific tasks with Greg Dulcich as their top receiving tight end, Chris Manhertz as their blocking tight end, and Trautman as the two-way tight end who can both block and catch.
Fine with that characterization?
“Absolutely. One of my biggest strengths -- and it is my biggest strengths because it’s what I’ve put on film -- is not only the pass game stuff but blocking,’’ Trautman said. “I take great pride in that and I love to do it.
“So yeah that’s what it looks like. But we’ll figure out roles as we go along. It’s super early. We’ll game plan very specifically once we get into the season. It’s a great group, too. To have certain roles, it’s a very well put-together tight end room.”
Sometimes, Trautman catches a pass from backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham during 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 periods. Mostly, it’s a pass from starting quarterback Russell Wilson that Trautman snags. Like everyone else in the NFL universe, Trautman knew of Wilson as he was a high school and college player and during his first three professional seasons in New Orleans. Now that he’s been around Wilson for a few months, anything about the quarterback that surprised him?
“It’s cool to hear some guys talk about him and then you see him in person and … you hear people say Russ gets after it. He works really hard. And you’re, Let’s see. And it’s no lie,’’ Trautman said. “He working around the clock, on his body, on his mind, on the new offense just to get the best grasp of it that he can. He’s done a helluva job. He’s done a very, very good job picking up all the terminology and lingo. Because we do have a wordy playbook.
“Great leader, super personable. Coming into the building, sitting down with everybody at lunch, having conversations with everybody, he’s been great. He’s been what I expected.”
His thoughts on playing in Denver?
“It’s beautiful,’’ he said. “I live really close to here and driving down the road and you see when it’s clear out – which is pretty much every day – you see the mountains in the background. I love the dry heat. It’s really nice. There’s so much to do here. I’ve been up in the Rocky Mountain National Park and done a hike there. There’s a lot to do and I love it. It’s a great city and facility-wise, too, it’s top notch.”
Trautman went to the playoffs with the Saints in 2020, winning a first-round game against the Bears, but then losing to Tom Brady and the eventual Super Bowl-champion Tampa Bay Bucs in the second round. The Saints missed the postseason the past two years. So Trautman knows good, and he knows not so good.
How good is the team he’s with now?
“I think it’s pretty good,’’ Trautman said. “But we’ve got a looong ways to go. Sean said it yesterday, there’s going to be a light at the end of the tunnel at some point but right now it’s pitch black. But this team has got what it takes and I’m excited to see where we can go.”
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