ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Broncos' goals are lofty, but their focus is narrow.
Following Denver's first on-field work of training camp, Head Coach Sean Payton acknowledged Denver can't avoid its ultimate goal of chasing a world championship.
"It has to be a comfortable topic," Payton said Wednesday of embracing the team's pursuit of a Lombardi Trophy.
Payton, though, said the "journey" that is the NFL season requires a more granular approach to reach those heights. And that message — outlining the ultimate goal while describing the necessary immediate steps — is the one he imparted on the team to begin training camp.
"Briefly, yesterday, I outlined a few things that are coming," Payton said. "But it starts more with the division and with seeding. We have to start faster than we have the last two [seasons].
"You try to point at the nearest goal and some of the ones that are more visible, but you can't be afraid about talking about the end game. That's got to be a comfortable subject. And then you've got to be comfortable saying, 'Hey, look, this is what's required.' You don't get a best-of-7 [series]. But I think you start with some of the objectives that are a little more clearly visible in the short term."
As the Broncos work toward those short-term goals, Payton acknowledged he's adjusted his approach to help his team take the next step.
"It does a little, and in a good way," Payton said of his approach. "Look, it's what you want. In other words, there are so many different ways it's measured. You're playing on a national stage more and there might be unique travel more, but all that's what we're wanting. We're not a finished product by any means. … We're still a work in progress. And yet, it's not the national expectations. It's just, there was a belief a year ago by many of us internally that we had a team that could compete certainly for an opportunity in the division and for an opportunity to get in the playoffs. Those standards, they can't be just high for the coaches. The whole group needs to see the opportunity and where we can go.
"When the whole thing started two years ago, this is kind of where we were hoping to be going into Year 3. It's exciting."
NIX VISITS WITH BREES DURING OFFSEASON
As Bo Nix got ready for his second season in Denver, his prep included a multi-day visit to see future Pro Football Hall of Famer Drew Brees.
Payton said Nix visited Brees for four or five days to learn more from the former Saints quarterback about Brees' knowledge of the offense and his routine. Brees, who visited Broncos practice back in 2023, was a two-time AP Offensive Player of the Year and 13-time Pro Bowler during his 20-year career.
"[It was Nix] just reaching out and just coordinating some time to dive into the offense, the schedule, the calendar, his schedule, his work week in season," Payton said. "… It was him doing more research at the position."
Payton said Nix also spent time with former major league pitcher and throwing expert Tom House to gain insight on warmup techniques.
"He's someone that works his tail off, wants to improve," Payton said of Nix. "The whole offseason is planned out.
"… There's a lot that he wants to absorb in a fast period of time. That's a great thing for young player like that. We're never going to just pick up from where we left off, but there's a lot of building to do when we look at last year and a lot of positive things to look at."
'TODAY WAS A GOOD START'
The Broncos will hold their first official practice of training camp on Friday, but they were back on the grass on Wednesday to begin a ramp-up toward full-speed work.
"You're getting back into it," Payton said. "They left in good shape. These guys all — when you talk to them — the five weeks between when we were last here and now, these guys all do a good job of training, whether they're here local or somewhere else. The installation, I mentioned to them, it's a process. We're going to have four straight days of installation and then when the pads come on, we'll be back with the same installation. It's retaining, getting a chance to repeat and put the mistakes behind you. There's a number of things. Getting back into wearing your football shoes on the grass, moving around. I thought today was a good start. We weren't long out there. … It's building it up."
