ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Drew Lock may be the No. 1 question mark this year, but he hasn’t been the most discussed topic in Broncos’ virtual chat rooms.
That would be the running back position where it’s Melvin Gordon and Phillip Lindsay, Lindsay and Gordon.
So far in camp, the first-team reps have pretty much gone 50-50 between Gordon and Lindsay.
“It’s going well,’’ Gordon said in a Zoom call with the Denver media following the Broncos’ training camp practice Sunday at UCHealth Training Center. “We’re competing. That’s the thing, we’ll make each other better. Out here, I’m trying to be the best Melvin Gordon I can be, working on everything.
“When I get done with a run, I ask him and I ask the coaches, ‘Do you see anything I can do better?’
“We’re playing unselfishly right now, and we’re both trying to help each other get better. At the end of the day, we’re still competing and trying to be the guy.”
Maybe it’s because Lindsay is so popular as a local player (Denver South High School, University of Colorado) makes good. Maybe it’s because Lindsay had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in his first two years yet the Broncos still gave Gordon $9 million dollars this year to take over.
Whatever the reason, Gordon and Lindsay would have been this offseason’s most fervent water-cooler topic – had the pandemic not kept people from gathering around the water cooler.
One thing Gordon has found is Lindsay has a distinct advantage growing up in Colorado.
“The difference is the altitude,’’ he said. “I'm struggling up here a little bit with the altitude (laughs). What I keep hearing is when we play other places, we won’t get tired. I’m looking forward to that. Right now, it’s tough trying to finish down field. It’s dry out here, I’m trying to drink water every second. My lips are dry. That’s the biggest adjustment.
“Working all offseason then coming here and feeling like you’re still not in shape because of the altitude. That’s the difference.’’
Lock, by the way, has performed well so far. He seems to know where to go with the ball quickly and his passes have primarily been on target.
“I like him,’’ said Gordon, who played the previous five years with the Chargers and quarterback Philip Rivers. “He’s a fiery quarterback. He wants to be great. He wants to learn and he’s hard on himself. Anytime he makes a bad throw, whether it’s pass catching, skeleton [drills] or anything, he’s like, ‘Hey, Mel, let’s run it back on the side. Let’s run that play back over.’
“He wants to be a perfectionist and I feel like as a quarterback—in some type of fashion—you have to be and think like that in a sense.
“I like a guy that’s going to put it all out there on the line for you, and I feel like on game day, he’s going to give us that. You like to be led by guys like that.”
The Broncos put on pads for the first time Monday. It will be a 90-minute practice.