ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Jaylen Waddle appeared to be revving up for a go route. Then, a slight twitch of his hip suggested he could make a sharp turn to the outside. Instead, without breaking stride, Waddle cut in during a play early in the Broncos OTA practice on Thursday, leaving the defensive back charged with covering him with little else to do but grab Denver’s speedy new addition at wide receiver.Quarterback Jarrett Stidham threw his white towel in the air to signify a penalty and a would-be first down.“I’m super excited he’s on our side,” grinning Broncos safety Talanoa Hufanga said. “But a lot of people forget, we’ve got to go against him in practice now. It’s not the easiest, but going up against the best is what we want. … His ability to make every route look the same is pretty important. I think as a defender, when you can make a 10-yard stop (route) look like a go, a 10-yard dig look like a go, out route, it makes everything look the same and puts pressure on your backpedal as a DB. For him to bring that to our team is a blessing.”Hufanga wore a cut-off shirt emblazoned with the letters “G.T.D.” as he spoke with reporters following the Broncos’ first open-to-the-media practice of the offseason. It stands for “Go The Distance,” a mantra the team is carrying into the 2026 season after falling four points shy of the Super Bowl back in January. There is a shared hunger among players on a roster dotted with familiar faces to deliver the championship the franchise has been building toward since Sean Payton took over as the team’s head coach three and a half years ago.The continuity the Broncos have cultivated after an offseason in which they retained nearly all of their key free agents makes Waddle’s presence stand out, like a roadrunner bursting through a serene backyard. The offense has a new play-caller in Davis Webb. Draft additions like running back Jonah Coleman and tight ends Justin Joly and Dallen Bentley could work their way into supporting roles at some point. But Waddle, the 27-year-old receiver who averaged more than 1,000 yards per season during his five campaigns in Miami, is the big splash. He is the versatile target who can help alter the geometry of the stout defenses that populate Denver’s schedule.If there’s a pressure that accompanies that role, though, Waddle certainly doesn’t seem to be feeling it.“I’m just out here trying to make plays with a great group of guys,” said the veteran receiver, who landed in Denver back in March after the Broncos sent Miami first- and third-round draft picks. “I’m just having fun, honestly.”These are the early days of Denver’s title quest, a journey that begins with an opener in Kansas City on Sept. 13 and follows with five straight games against 2025 playoff teams. Starting quarterback Bo Nix isn’t even on the field yet with Waddle and the rest of Denver’s offense. The third-year quarterback, an observer at Thursday’s workout, is in the final stages of recovery from the clean-up procedure he had on his right ankle in April. Payton said that Nix should participate in some form during Denver’s minicamp in two weeks. Waddle is still digesting an offense that has “a clear vision” for how to include him, but it will take time to fully grasp.None of those caveats diminish the reality that Waddle brings something different to the table for a Broncos offense that finished in the middle of the pack last season in terms of efficiency. Payton said you can “feel his instincts and quickness” with Waddle in the way he has begun to integrate himself into the offense. Hufanga said Waddle’s footwork “creates a lot of pressure.”“I’ve been able to watch him from a distance and see the things he does well on film,” said fellow receiver Courtland Sutton, who has posted back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons since the Broncos drafted Nix in 2024. “But being able to see it up close, man, he’s a special dude. There’s a lot of qualities he has that are very unique to himself. I say that in a very specific way because he has qualities that only he can do. It’s fun to be able to watch it up close and in person. Coach Webb and coach Payton have done a really good job already figuring out the things he can do to help us in our room and in our offense.”The Broncos are still more than two months away from preseason games and 102 days away from a game that counts. But Sutton has already spent time picturing the stresses Waddle can apply to defenses and what that could mean for the rest of Denver’s offense, which is returning every key contributor from last year’s unit. The team’s ‘X’ receiver consistently faced defenses that shaded safeties in his direction and was double-teamed on 21 percent of his 633 routes, according to SumerSports. He believes Waddle’s presence will create more pressure points that force defenses into more difficult decisions.“It’s really hard to be able to sit back and say, ‘You know, we’re going to use our safeties to take away (Sutton) and (Waddle) and the rest of the receivers in our room,” Sutton said. ” … He and I being able to manipulate the outside is going to help the running game. Ultimately, whenever we do get these one-on-one looks, I think it’s going to be interesting to see what happens when that safety does decide to shade because we have the weapons in our room — not only with just myself and Jaylen, but with the rest of the guys in the room.”Waddle has not taken live reps with Nix at practice, but the two have already been working to solidify their chemistry. Nix was part of the welcoming committee that took the receiver out to dinner when he arrived in Denver following the blockbuster trade in March. Waddle said he can already tell that he and his new quarterback share a similar gene that will help facilitate their newfound partnership.“Bo is definitely a competitor. He just loves talking ball and being around the guys and I think he’s going to be a great leader,” Waddle said. “I can see those traits with him, day to day. If he sees something, he’s going to tell me about it. We can pick each other’s brains to get on the same page the best we can.”