Thursday OTA Notes: All About the QBs

*** UPDATED 4:41 P.M. MDT ***

Tim Tebow was the third quarterback up on Thursday. Understandably, that drew the attention of all outside observers on hand. (PHOTO: MAXDENVER.COM)

When in doubt, talk quarterbacks. So that’s where we’ll begin.

Kyle Orton was the busiest passer on the field at Thursday’s practice, throwing more times in team and seven-on-seven drills than the other three quarterbacks combined. That’s exactly the way Josh McDaniels wants it.

“Kyle’s definitely getting the most, and he deserves to,” McDaniels said.

Orton overcame a skittish start to complete 60 percent of his 25 passes against defenses in team and seven-on-seven periods. His first pass against a defense was intercepted by D.J. Williams, who returned it to the end zone; Orton’s second pass was a short screen that was nearly picked off by Andre Goodman, who couldn’t cleanly field the low throw.  From that point forward, he flourished.

Orton’s best pass of the day came in the first seven-on-seven period, when he found Brandon Lloyd deep on a post route just past cornerback Nate Jones.

Brady Quinn completed 12 of his 17 passes against defenses, including a 75-percent tally in team periods. Quinn had some nice long passes, but his best sequence of the day came in a red-zone period, when two touchdown passes (to Lance Ball and Eddie Royal) sandwiched a false-start infraction he drew with his cadence.

Tim Tebow was the third quarterback up and went 2-for-5 with an interception. Tom Brandstater’s only pass against a defense was incomplete. The placement of Tebow as the No. 3 quarterback understandably arched eyebrows among those of us observing the practice, but McDaniels later cautioned not to read too much into it.

“We’ve been flopping them all,” he said. “The only thing consistent is that Kyle is in the first huddle.”

MORE NOTES:

… Brandon Lloyd didn’t have the most receptions of the Broncos’ pass-catchers on Thursday; Eddie Royal and Jabar Gaffney did. But given McDaniels’ stated emphasis on the deep ball at OTAs, his four grabs were likely the most eye-catching, since they included three deep receptions: two from Orton and one from Quinn.

Lloyd’s first catch, in a team period, saw him work past rookie cornerback Perrish Cox to get open up the right sideline as Brady Quinn playfaked. Safety David Bruton veered over to provide deep coverage, but arrived two steps too late, allowing Lloyd to make the grab with plenty of open space in front of him.

He then dominated the first seven-on-seven period, catching two passes from Orton (including the afore-mentioned post route that was thrown perfectly) and one from Quinn in traffic, with Cox defending.

“It’s how I play, and I think this year everybody’s going to get the opportunity to thrive in what they do best,” Lloyd said. “Everybody’s pushing each other. We’re all different and good at different things, and we’re all just pushing each other.” …

… Immediately after the Orton-to-Lloyd post pattern, Quinn stepped onto the field and executed a similar connection to tight end Daniel Graham, who was tightly covered by safety Brian Dawkins but still managed to make the grab of a precisely located pass …

… While Cox was on the wrong end of those Quinn-to-Lloyd connections, he did get the better of Lloyd in the red zone, intercepting a pass thrown by Tebow to the back right corner …

… Jamal Williams and Justin Bannan were not at Thursday’s practice. With Williams out, Ronald Fields and Marcus Thomas each saw time at first-team nose tackle, with Fields receiving the majority of the repetitions. Le Kevin Smith continued to receive first-team work at defensive end, along with March signee Jarvis Green …

… Linebacker Baraka Atkins continued to receive first-team work on the outside during team and seven-on-seven periods. “He’s another guy that is making that conversion from having his hand down to playing standing up. He’s got the size that you’re looking for,” said McDaniels, who compared Atkins’s transition to that of Elvis Dumervil and Jarvis Moss last year. “(Atkins) is in the first phase of standing up and learning how to adjust. He’s got a long way to go, but he’s working his butt off.” …

… A “minor” shoulder problem continued to leave Brandon Stokley sidelined.

… Right tackle Ryan Harris also remained out of uniform. McDaniels didn’t want to give a timeline on his return, but was “hopeful to see him out there soon.” …

… Center Dustin Fry saw some work with the first team, but most of the repetitions there went to rookie J.D. Walton. “He’s not afraid to take charge at all. We like his confidence,” McDaniels said. “This work has been invaluable to him.” When asked whether he would be comfortable with Walton as the first-team center in the regular season, McDaniels replied, “If he’s the best player (at the position), sure.”

… Nate Jones saw some work as first-team nickel back. Alphonso Smith, who worked there Monday, shared the first-team nickel work with Jones …

… The wildest moment of the day came on D.J. Williams’s pick-six off Orton; the entire defense raced to the corner of the field and jumped around with him, celebrating as though he’d just made the play in sudden death of a playoff game …

… It’s May, but the coaching intensity is at a regular-season level, and Seth Olsen was on the receiving end of it from assistant coach Clancy Barone. In a voice loud enough to be heard from 70 yards away, Barone bellowed at Olsen: “I’m tired of this (expletive)!” during an early-practice drill. Olsen has been working with the first team throughout OTAs …

… The status of Brian Westbrook, who visited with the Broncos earlier this month, remains up in the air. McDaniels said he “had no update” on Westbrook.

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