ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Pat Bryant drew the Michael Thomas comparison from Sean Payton immediately after being drafted, which immediately arched eyebrows given that Thomas holds the NFL’s single-season reception record.
Payton made it clear that the comparison was about Bryant’s traits, of course. The skills and performance at the next level — that would reveal itself with time.
But so far, signs are encouraging. And with Devaughn Vele not on the field during the two days of minicamp, Bryant has received an opportunity to catch plenty of passes from Bo Nix. He didn’t disappoint.
“Little things we’re coaching up, but you like what you see. I like what I see,” Payton said after practice Wednesday. “He’s tough.”
Resilient, too. During one team period Wednesday, he opened the sequence by dropping a pass from Nix on a slant route. The next play wasn’t much better for the offense as a whole; Zach Allen burst through for what would have likely been a sack of Nix in game conditions.
The worm turned one snap later when rookie RJ Harvey exploded through a hole for a solid gain. And finally, on a third-down snap, Nix called Bryant’s number, finding him past Ja’Quan McMillian for a gorgeous, over-the-shoulder connection on a fade route for a touchdown.
It was the kind of play for which Bryant was drafted to make when it counted — using his size to his advantage.
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PAT BRYANT FITS THE “CERTAIN PROFILE”
And specifically, he fits it on multiple levels.
There’s the physical part, of course. Payton likes his receivers to have size; Pat Bryant checked in at 6-foot-2 and 204 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine earlier this year.
“I like bigger receivers,” Payton said. “He’s good at the line of scrimmage. I would say he has exceptionally strong hands in traffic.
“So, it’s not that I don’t like smaller receivers, I do, but the bigger receivers that can block and are physical at the line of scrimmage… He showed those traits.”
Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton and wide receiver Pat Bryant
(Photo by Andrew Mason / Denver Sports)
Then there’s the football-character part, too. A team captain at Illinois, Bryant helped set a standard within the program.
“Interview him. Be around him. It’s so important to him,” Payton said. “I would say that’s probably the case with so many of these young guys.
“It’s not like an accident. There’s a profile we’re looking for. It’s not easy always. Sometimes that requires more trips and visits. But we’re looking for a certain profile.”
One thing that helped with Pat Bryant was the connection through assistant head coach Jim Leonhard, who was on Illinois’ staff in 2023 and had an up-close view of Bryant.
“That’s really, really important information that if I was just going based on the film, it’s more difficult,” Payton said.
That intel helped make the choice easy. And if the minicamp returns on Pat Bryant prove accurate, the Broncos might have a third-round steal.
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