ENGLEWOOD, Colo. --The long-awaited morning finally arrived.

A light rain gave way to a perfect, 75-degree day as the Broncos kicked off the 2013 edition of training camp Thursday.

Though the players won't put full pads on for another couple days, the excitement was obvious as a packed house of 3,007 fans at Dove Valley cheered on the first day of camp.

ROLL CALL

J.D. Walton (left ankle) and Chris Kuper (left ankle) both entered camp on the Physically Unable to Perform List. In terms of eligible players, Ryan Clady (shoulder) was limited.

"Otherwise, everybody was healthy," Head Coach John Fox said.

First-round pick Sylvester Williams, who has yet to sign a contract with the team, was not on the field.

UPDATE: Williams signed shortly after the conclusion of practice.

PLAYMAKERS

• Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie had a nice day -- during one-on-ones between wide receivers and cornerbacks, he held Eric Decker without a catch, including a pair of last-second breakups. But Tony Carter's morning might have been even better -- he played tight coverage on Demaryius Thomas in one-on-one drills and then grabbed a pick six off a Brock Osweiler pass during seven-on-sevens.
• The leader in takeaways for Thursday's morning practice? College free agent linebacker Uona Kaveinga. The BYU product grabbed two interceptions in the session. Rahim Moore also snared an interception; his came during one-on-one drills when he stepped in front of a pass intended for Jacob Tamme and returned it for a touchdown.
• The loudest cheer of the day -- other than the one when the team started practice to kick off training camp -- came during one-on-one drills. Peyton Manning lofted a pass down the sideline to his newest weapon, wide receiver Wes Welker, who made the over-the-shoulder catch with one hand before securing it for a touchdown past cornerback Chris Harris. The two Oklahoma natives smiled and had a little back and forth chat as they ran back to the huddle.
• Another notable deep touchdown connection came from Brock Osweiler to 2013 fifth-round pick Tavarres King, or as @JoshuaVictor put it on Twitter: "The future!"
• It's not often a play draws much of a reaction from the crowd during individual drills, but when wide receiver Gerell Robinson made a leaping, one-handed grab on the sideline and got both feet inbounds, the fans voiced their excitement.
• During team drills, Von Miller got his hands in the air and batted away a Manning pass at the line of scrimmage.

QUICK HITS

• The defensive linemen worked on swatting passes at the line by using a Nerf ball early in practice.
• Safety Duke Ihenacho helped pump up the crowd when he first ran out onto the field.
• Sports Illustrated's Peter King was in attendance to watch the first day of practice, as were NFL Network's Kurt Warner and Michelle Beisner and a crew from ESPN. Lots of attention on the Broncos in 2013.

The team will be back on the field this evening for a walkthrough session that is closed to the public. The next practice that's free and open to the public comes tomorrow (Friday) morning at 10:25 a.m.