ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — It was January 2018 in Mobile, Alabama, and Vance Joseph was not the Broncos defensive coordinator but head coach of not only the Broncos but the Senior Bowl North Team.
Because the Broncos had the No. 5 overall draft pick that year, general manager John Elway arranged with Senior Bowl officials for the two top quarterback prospects to be on Joseph’s North Team to get a better evaluation. And so, Joseph had Baker Mayfield and Josh Allen on his team.
Joseph and Mayfield will reunite this Sunday at Raymond James Stadium, where Joseph’s Denver defense will match up against the Mayfield-led Buccaneers offense.
Had the Broncos wound up with either Mayfield or Allen, Joseph might still be addressing the local media on Wednesdays, and not Thursday coordinator day. But that’s another topic for Broncos history class. Joseph said he has followed Mayfield’s career since he got those couple days to coach him in the Senior Bowl six years ago.
“Of course I followed all of those quarterbacks from that game,’’ Joseph said. “Multiple players, even Fred Warner (San Francisco’s outside inside linebacker) was in that game with us. Baker is a great story. Obviously, he came in as a young guy, had some success early, and then kind of had a downfall and he’s back. That speaks to his character and speaks to the coaching, his will to keep improving.
“Even with [Seattle quarterback] Geno Smith the first week. Same kind of career. It’s been good to watch [Mayfield] come back. He’s always been a confident guy and he’s always been a playmaker. So that stuff wasn’t going to shake him personally. Just being in the right system, having good players around him and maturing. It’s been good for him.’’
Mayfield became the No. 1 overall draft pick of the Cleveland Browns in 2018, so the Broncos couldn’t have got him anyway. He had a very good rookie and third year for the Browns; not so good in years two and four.
He was later traded twice upon his request, the second of which was a life raft as he got to play for Rams head coach Sean McVay. There was that Christmas Day 2022 shellacking of the Broncos, Nathaniel Hackett’s last full day as head coach. Mayfield then became a free agent and signed a make-good, one-year, $4 million deal with Tampa last season. He made good, guiding Tampa to the postseason and first-round playoff win.
He then got a three-year, $100 million contract to re-up with the Bucs. He is 2-0 this year, throwing for four touchdowns and 289 yards to trounce Washington in the season opener and then hung tough against 4.5 Aidan Hutchinson sacks to upset the Lions in Detroit.
“He’s playing at a high level,’’ Joseph said. “He’s playing the best I’ve ever seen him play. Throwing the football, putting the guys in great plays and he’s escaping the pocket a lot. He’s making guys miss. He scored on a quarterback draw last week, so he’s extending plays. He can make every throw. He has a big arm. Not a tall guy, but has a big arm, and he has targets. Obviously it’s going to be a challenge to get him stopped on Sunday, but he is playing well.”
Tillman ready for debut
After three years of playing for the champion Birmingham Stallions in the USFL (United States Football League) and UFL (United Football League), outside linebacker Dondrea Tillman will play in his first NFL game Sunday at Tampa. Signed by the Broncos in late-June, Tillman was called up from the practice squad this week to provide depth at both outside linebacker with Baron Browning expected to be out with a foot injury, and special teams.
“Very physical player,’’ said Broncos special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica. “We liked what we saw in the preseason. He's really worked his tail off. I think he'll be an asset for us.”
Tillman credits his time in the other two professional leagues for getting him here.
“There were a bunch of guys who had been in the NFL so it got me ready for here,’’ Tillman said. “I got to work on my tools and fine-tune stuff that I needed to work on. I took advantage of it; it was a great league.”
During his time with the Broncos, he noticed a difference in overall play from the UFL to the NFL.
“I definitely noticed a little jump,’’ he said. “The biggest thing I would say is the O-linemen and the way the offense tries to scheme against us. It’s a lot more technical, a lot more fancy for the offense so just being able to play fast.’’
Not so dynamic kickoff
All that hot air and print on the NFL’s new kickoff rule, and yet when the game gets down to the nitty gritty, teams want nothing to do it. They have been booting it into the end zone for touchbacks, accepting that the ball comes out to the 30.
Marvin Mims had been able to return three kickoffs for the Broncos, but he’s watched eight others sail into the end zone.
“I'm not surprised by it,’’ Kotwica said. “We just want some more opportunities. We think we have a really good returner back there. The other thing that some people may overlook is as you get through the game, attrition takes its toll. So maybe that kickoff team that you were going to employ in the first quarter looks a little bit different because something’s happened during the game to one of your assets that you really like running down the field.
“So that's a very dynamic process as you’re moving forward and its stuff that we always take into consideration. As far as the kickoff, we'd just like to get some more returns.”
Bronco Bits
Starting safety Brandon Jones (foot) and defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers (concussion) returned to practice on a limited basis Thursday. Franklin-Myers is still in the concussion protocol.
Browning (foot) and special teams safety JL Skinner (ankle) did not practice.
The Broncos will practice Friday and then take off in mid-afternoon to Tampa, the beginning of their 10-day, two-game road trip.
