Broncos

Broncos rookie RB Jonah Coleman is doing all he can to get up to the speed of the NFL game ahead of his first season and is using his preseason reps to do so, along with learning from HC Sean Payton and veteran RB J.K. Dobbins.

“It’s a mix of it all,” Coleman said of his adjustment, via the team website. “You can’t just come in here and be like, ‘Oh, I’m adapted.’ It’s a want to and a willingness to. I want to be good. I want to be great. I want to be able to play fast and play free. It’s preseason…I’ve still got a long way to go. I’m still in my first year, so just still being a sponge and still being able to grow and know the areas that I want to grow in. I had one good preseason game, but I’m still chopping wood and trying to be the best teammate I can be.”

“He’s savvy, he’s smart,” Payton commented when asked about Coleman on Monday. “I’ve said this a number of times: You don’t feel a young player. That’s a real good trait. He’s smart, he has real good contact balance — and so that lends itself to a little bit smoother transition than maybe some. We’ve been around successful players that maybe took a little longer when they arrived — and then some that arrived a little quicker.”

“J.K. is really smart,” Coleman added about what he has learned from Dobbins. “He has really high football IQ. So, he’s playing the game, [and] he’s playing faster than I would say I was playing when I got here. He’s kind of breaking [it down] like ‘Hey, you see that hole, you’ve got to hit it. It’s going to close like that. You see this look right here, you automatically know that’s going to happen, so just make sure you do this, you do that.’ I’m able to ask J.K. anything about his experiences. It’s Year 8 for him. He’s got eight years on me. I just continue to be a sponge and learn from him every day. There’s any question, I go to him.”

“He just wants the best for me,” Coleman continued. “Being able to have him in the room has definitely been really helpful for me. Good teams push each other. It starts with the players, and J.K.’s one of those guys that’s going to push you to get the best out of you. Even if you had a good run, [he’ll say], ‘Oh, you could’ve done this.’ … If there’s something that I need to tweak or correct, J.K. will be the first person to tell me.”

Chiefs

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes noted that the Chiefs’ season-opener is nine months to the day since he suffered his ACL injury, for which he was given a nine-month recovery period.

“It’s nine months,” Mahomes said, via ESPN. “It’s the amount of time [doctors] said from the beginning that if I did everything the right way, I would be ready to play Week One. I’m someone that, if you put [a goal] out in front of me, I want to go out and get it and maximize every single opportunity, every rep in the weight room, every hour that I can spend in the building to get my body right. This has always been the plan. From the day I got the surgery, as quick as I did, to hopefully the first game of the year, the plan will go accordingly, and I’ll be able to go out there and be myself.”

Raiders 

Sam Warren of The Athletic provides several notes from the Raiders’ training camp on Tuesday, August 25: 

• Veteran QB Kirk Cousins took all the first-team reps, but Fernando Mendoza had a series with the first-team during a scout-team period and threw touchdowns to TE Michael Mayer and Brock Bowers.
• Cousins threw three touchdowns during a red-zone 7-on-7 drill, including two to Bowers and one to WR Jalen Nailor. Mendoza had two touchdown passes during the session, including one to TE Albert Okwuegbunam and one to WR Deven Thompkins. 
• With RB Ashton Jeanty dealing with an ankle injury, RB Mike Washington Jr. took most of the first-team reps, while Dylan Laube and Dare Ogunbowale got sporadic time with the first team. 
• Second-round S Treydan Stukes got all the first-team reps, while Jeremy Chinn got most of the first-team reps alongside him. Warren adds that Isaiah Pola-Mao also got some first-team snaps but mostly worked with the second team. 
• Regarding the right guard competition, Jackson Powers-Johnson and Caleb Rogers continued to rotate wth the first team.
• Second-year CB Darien Porter continues to get their first-team reps opposite Eric Stokes, while fifth-round rookie Hezekiah Masses got one series with the first team in a walkthrough period. 
• Maxx Crosby recorded a “few sacks” during team drills against the first-team offense, while DT Adam Butler got through the offensive line on a couple of occasions against the second team. 
• Third-round C Trey Zuhn got work with the second-team offense, while Antonio Mafi and Jordan Meredith rotated at left guard. 
• Fifth-round S Dalton Johnson got most of the second-team nickel reps and also rotated to the safety position. 
• Las Vegas HC Klint Kubiak wouldn’t elaborate on Jeanty’s condition: “He’s on the mend,” per Sam Warren.
• As for the right guard competition between Powers-Johnson and Rogers, Kubiak said they are still evaluating the two: “It continues. This game will be really important for that battle. I know both of those guys are gonna play this year. We’re counting on both of them, as well as a lot of other guys.” (Warren)