Broncos minicamp observations: Shurmur talks quarterback competition; Donatell sees potential in Surtain

Jun. 16—The Drew Lock-Teddy Bridgewater quarterback battle continued Wednesday, with neither quarterback impressing on Day 2 of mandatory minicamp.

After throwing three touchdowns Tuesday, Lock threw an interception to safety Justin Simmons and no touchdowns Wednesday. Bridgewater threw the only touchdown of the day — a 6-yard out to wide receiver Jerry Jeudy.

But while neither stood out Wednesday, offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said he's been impressed with both so far this offseason.

"I think they're both getting better," Shurmur said. "They've both gotten work with the 1's and they've both had the chance to share the workload with regard to the reps. Seen improvement in Drew from the decision making, his timing and his accuracy. Getting a feel again for Teddy, you can see the things he does well. For Teddy, it's more getting up to speed with what we've done. He's right on board with the new things that we're doing."

Coach Vic Fangio has also been adamant that this battle won't be won until training camp and during preseason games. He explained why Wednesday and how they'll split the snaps in training camp, which starts July 27.

"If you're going to put a percentage on it, the evaluation and comparing the two is 2-3% these last few weeks. The 97-98% of it has yet to come," Fangio said. "It's just going to be 50-50, somehow, some way. There may be days where one of them gets more work than the other, then the next day the other guy will get more work. Some days will be 50-50, some will be 60-40. We like to work it that way. But in the final analysis, it'll be pretty damn equal in the work and the opportunities."

Donatell sees potential in Surtain

It seems every time a player or coach is asked which rookie is standing out, Patrick Surtain II's name always comes up.

Wednesday, defensive coordinator Ed Donatell spoke at length about what Surtain brings to the table and how he's fit in with the defense so far.

"He's a guy that's very calm, reserved. I wouldn't say reserved, but he's respectful of others, and he's just a very hard-working, serious player," Donatell said. "So he has everything that can point to success, and not to mention he's a heck of an athlete. He's fitting in great with our guys, and he'll work to get a strong role."

McMahon says Martin, Duffy will compete

While quarterback is the competition everyone is talking about this offseason, it appears special teams coordinator Tom McMahon has a battle of his own at punter.

The Broncos brought in Max Duffy who won the 2019 Ray Guy Award as the nation's best punter at Kentucky — to compete with Sam Martin, who was the Broncos' starting punter last season and is entering his ninth season in the NFL. McMahon said it's very much a real competition between the two.

"Max just blew us out of the water with his ability," McMahon said. "It had nothing to do with what Sam had done. I felt he had a great season. It's just one of those things where he had a great workout, and naturally, I will never bring anybody in unless it's a true competition. ... It's always a true competition if we have two specialists at the same position."