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The Broncos got back to work Monday, April 13, with the first phase of their offseason program.
Members of the Broncos' defense come together after the first workout of the team's offseason program.
DeMarcus Ware works out at the Broncos' training facility on the first day of the offseason program.
Von Miller works out at the Broncos' training facility on the first day of their offseason program.
Derek Wolfe works out at the Broncos' training facility on the first day of their offseason program.
Chris Harris Jr. works out at the Broncos' training facility on the first day of their offseason program.
Members of the Broncos work out at the team training facility on the first day of their offseason program.
T.J. Ward works out at the Broncos' training facility on the first day of their offseason program.
Lamin Barrow during the first day of offseason training at the Denver Broncos Dove Valley facility in Englewood, CO.
Antonio Smith during the first day of offseason training at the Denver Broncos Dove Valley facility in Englewood, CO.
Von Miller during the first day of offseason training at the Denver Broncos Dove Valley facility in Englewood, CO.
Chris Harris Jr. during the first day of offseason training at the Denver Broncos Dove Valley facility in Englewood, CO.
The Denver Broncos during the first day of offseason training at the Denver Broncos Dove Valley facility in Englewood, CO.
The Denver Broncos during the first day of offseason training at the Denver Broncos Dove Valley facility in Englewood, CO.
Darian Stewart during the first day of offseason training at the Denver Broncos Dove Valley facility in Englewood, CO.
DeMarcus Ware during the first day of offseason training at the Denver Broncos Dove Valley facility in Englewood, CO.
Owen Daniels during the first day of offseason training at the Denver Broncos Dove Valley facility in Englewood, CO.
Emmanuel Sanders during the first day of offseason training at the Denver Broncos Dove Valley facility in Englewood, CO.
Peyton Manning during the first day of offseason training at the Denver Broncos Dove Valley facility in Englewood, CO.
Ben Garland, Manny Ramirez, Peyton Manning and Zac Dysert during the first day of offseason training at the Denver Broncos Dove Valley facility in Englewood, CO.
Joe Don Duncan during the first day of offseason training at the Denver Broncos Dove Valley facility in Englewood, CO.
The Denver Broncos during the first day of offseason training at the Denver Broncos Dove Valley facility in Englewood, CO.
James Casey during the first day of offseason training at the Denver Broncos Dove Valley facility in Englewood, CO.
Owen Daniels during the first day of offseason training at the Denver Broncos Dove Valley facility in Englewood, CO.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. —** Increased competition doesn't deter David Bruton Jr. Coming up on his seventh NFL season, he said he's pretty much seen or heard it all, from safeties drafted to talk of moving corners over. In spite of all that commotion, he's persisted through the years to maintain a foothold on the active roster.
When the Broncos drafted two safeties in Bruton's third year, he figured he was done. He said then-Special Teams Coordinator told him he needed to make a big impact on special teams in a battle for the last safety spot. "That fueled me up and I go out and block two punts that game and that's what solidified me staying here that year," he said.
"I could've sworn I was out the door then," he said at media availability on Wednesday. "And then every year we've moved a corner to safety, whether it's Omar [Bolden] or talks of Kayvon [Webster] or [Bradley] Roby or whomever they're thinking about moving out there from corner to safety. I've seen it all. All I can do is keep my head down and keep plugging away."
That's exactly what he's done, working on being the best player he can be and becoming a leader on special teams. Last year, he got a bigger role toward the end of the season after an injury to T.J. Ward, and now his confidence level is at a new high, ready for more.
"I feel as though I played extremely well when I had my opportunity last year, and I feel like I played well throughout training camp last year, as well, and I plan to carry that on. I feel confident," Bruton said. "It's tough to feel confident when you don't have that opportunity throughout your last two or three seasons and the fact that I was finally granted that opportunity and now had a chance to shine, I just feel like I'm going into these OTAs and training camp and the season with a huge amount of confidence."
He joked that that his chest feels a bit bigger—and not from Strength and Conditioning Coach Luke Richesson's workout plan. He's got more wind in his sails, and he hopes that will carry him into a starting spot.
"I envision myself playing a lot more. I envision myself starting," he said. "I'm dreaming big this season, especially [in a] contract year."
While he knows that decision isn't up to him, he knows the best player will play and by continuing to train with that in mind, he trusts in his fate.
"There's nothing really that I can do about the coaches' decisions as far as who's playing which position. I'm going to just play mine and I'm going to play it the best I can and hopefully they give me that opportunity when I show that I can play as good or better than anybody else."
