DENVER — Russell Wilson threw a few red zone touchdowns while rolling to his right early in the season.
But against the Green Bay Packers last week Wilson seemed to break from the pocket relatively early and rolled right seemingly more times than not, to the point it almost seems like a habit. Has Wilson been forced from the pocket? Is it his preference to break from the pocket?
“In fairness to that question, there’s probably a little bit of both,’’ said Broncos head coach Sean Payton. “Sometimes maybe earlier than we like, and sometimes out of necessity. One of the things he does extremely well is create when he’s outside of the pocket. We would like each week to think, ‘How can we design that sometimes?’
“Some weeks, ultimately, you’ll have to be in that pocket. It’s something we talk about constantly relative to the drop-back list. How long are these routes developing? Too long or just right? It’s something we look at a lot.”
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Brandon Johnson iffy
Brandon Johnson, the Broncos’ No. 3 or 4 receiver (along with Marvin Mims Jr., and behind Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy) suffered a hamstring twinge near the end of practice Thursday and didn’t practice Friday. He is listed as questionable for the game Sunday against the Chiefs.
“Likely, he’ll be more of a gametime decision,’’ Payton said.
Covering Kelce
Practice squad tight end Lucas Krull was the Broncos’ scout teamer this week who played Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce. Jordan Jackson, a defensive tackle from Air Force, was the Broncos’ practice teamer who emulated Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones.
Kelce ate up the Broncos’ soft zone between the 20s when the two teams met two weeks ago. The 6-foot-5, 250-pound Kelce is also a mismatch against man coverage. Broncos safety P.J. Locke, for instance, has the speed and quickness to stay with Kelce but at 5-foot-10, 202 pounds he is vastly outsized.
“Size doesn’t really matter,’’ Locke said Friday. “It’s competing for the ball. Obviously, he has the advantage but there’s ways to get around the body. He does have the body advantage. But there’s ways.”
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