ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Broncos' offense wrapped up training camp with a flourish.

In joint practice action against the Cardinals, quarterback Bo Nix turned in one of his sharpest days of practice this summer as he started fast and kept the momentum going throughout practice.

After an initial 7-on-7 period in which Nix fired a series of completions — including a 20-yard pass to wide receiver Pat Bryant on third-and-long — he carried that performance into 11-on-11 action.

Across the practice, Nix spread the ball around with completions to a dozen different pass-catchers, and there were a number of highlights:

A perfectly timed throw to second-year receiver Devaughn Vele, who turned to catch the ball and took off down the field for at least a 50-yard gain. Well-placed sideline passes to wide receivers Troy Franklin and Trent Sherfield Sr. for gains of at least 20 yards. Multiple completions to wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr., including a play where Nix showed his ability to move in the pocket. A red-zone touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton, who delivered a nice move to get free from the defender. And — despite a penalty — a strike to Evan Engram at the goal line for a score.

"Bo, you can definitely tell he made the Year 2 leap," Cardinals linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. said. "Just comparing what I saw last year with him as a rookie. He was out there making no-look throws and stuff. I'm really just happy for him."

In late situational work, Nix was just as impressive. Trailing by three points with no timeouts and 1:10 on the clock, Nix led the Broncos down the field in quick succession with a slew of completions to Sutton and several other passes to Franklin and Michael Bandy.

"We have talent everywhere," Engram said. "I just love how everybody works. Guys, they don't make plays by accident. Every guy that's here, that's made plays this camp — that's going to make plays this season — has truly put the work in to evolve their game. There's so many great minds to pick from and I'm not surprised at all by the way that we work."

DEFENSE CLOSES STRONG

On the other field, the Cardinals seemed to make several splash plays early, but the Broncos closed strong in two-minute action.

"It's still pretty fresh," Zach Allen said. "Watching the film will be the most important thing. Days like this, it's always some good, some bad. So, we'll see. Probably wanted to come out a little faster, but again, we'll watch the film and see what we can do better."

Players like wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and tight end Trey McBride posed a stiff test, but Denver forced a fourth-down incompletion to "win" a two-minute scenario.

Across the practice, the Broncos' pass rush likely would have recorded several sacks of Kyler Murray in game action, but Allen said it's sometimes difficult to project that when facing a quarterback of Murray's ability.

"Obviously, everybody knows the athlete Kyler is," Allen said. "Definitely today, when we watch the film, it will be interesting to see if it was just a pressure [or] if it would be a sack. He's a dynamic athlete, so with him, you never know. It was good to go against him again."

QUICK HITS

… It can be difficult to fully evaluate the running game in practice, but the Broncos had a slew of carries that seemed to result in positive yardage, including a nice carry by RJ Harvey in red-zone work.

"You haven't seen it yet, because in every drill, there's an early whistle," Head Coach Sean Payton said. "We stay up on the backs. You saw a little last week. When it's tackle, you'll see more. I would say we are much further along just in the looks. It's hard to appreciate when you're working a thud-up, touch-up tempo. … I think you'll see it. We've seen it."

… Payton outline the Broncos' plan for Saturday's matchup against the Cardinals, and he doesn't anticipate playing many of Denver's starters. The Broncos' first-team lineup should see game action against New Orleans on Aug. 23. For more details, click here.

… Payton also provided injury updates on outside linebacker Nik Bonitto, tight end Nate Adkins, tackle Garett Bolles and fullback Michael Burton. For more, click here.