Winners and losers from first half of training camp

The Denver Broncos are just over halfway through their 2024 training camp schedule and preseason is right around the corner.

Before the Broncos kick off preseason against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, here’s a quick list of the team’s winners and losers from the first half of training camp.

Winner: QB Bo Nix. Nix has been praised by teammates and coaches alike, with the rookie QB making the right calls at the line, looking defenders off with his eyes and avoiding sacks at practice.

Loser: QB Zach Wilson. It didn’t take long for Wilson to be seemingly demoted from competing-for-QB1 duties down to QB3 duties. It appears that Nix and Jarrett Stidham are competing for the starting job with Wilson as the odd man out.

Winner: RB Audric Estime. The rookie running back is quickly emerging as a fan favorite thanks in part to his physical running style. It’s very possible that Estime could be Denver’s running back of the future.

Winner: C Luke Wattenberg. After losing center Lloyd Cushenberry during NFL free agency, the Broncos seem to be giving Wattenberg first dibs on the starting job. Based on the team’s offensive line rotation, Wattenberg appears to be the early favorite to replace Cushenberry.

Loser: C Sam Mustipher. The veteran center has 42 career starts on his resume, yet he seems to be behind Wattenberg (one career start) and Alex Forsyth (no career appearances) in the center competition. Perhaps Denver is hoping to stash Mustipher on the practice squad after a low-key summer.

Winner: RB Javonte Williams. Estime has impressed, but Williams is still the RB1 in 2024. Williams dropped 11 pounds this offseason — much to the delight of coach Sean Payton — and he has looked sharp at practice. Now fully recovered from his 2022 knee injury, Williams could be headed for a big bounce-back season.

Winner: OLB Thomas Incoom. The Broncos have a crowded outside linebacker depth chart, but it might be too risky to attempt dropping Incoom down to the practice squad. He piled up sacks through the first nine days of training camp and continues to make a strong case for the 53-man roster.

Winner: CB Levi Wallace. A hamstring injury could slow down his progress, but Wallace was an early winner at training camp. Denver is looking for a CB2 to start across from Pat Surtain and Wallace’s experience seemingly gave him an edge over Riley Moss and Damarri Mathis. We’ll see how quickly he can bounce back from his injury.

The Broncos are set to begin…