Virgil Green makes his way to the front of the line each morning at Broncos headquarters. He leads the bulk of the 90-man roster from the locker room, his cleats clacking first across the parking lot until they dig into the well-manicured grass on the practice field.

He often announces his presence by shouting words of encouragement for the players collected behind him.

John Leyba, The Denver Post Denver Broncos tight end Virgil Green (85) tight end A.J. Derby (83) tight end Steven Scheu (81) and tight end Austin Traylor (86) run through drills during training camp on July 31, 2017 in Englewood at Dove Valley.

John Leyba, The Denver Post Denver Broncos tight end Jake Butt (80) walks off the field carrying the tight ends equipment after practice during training training camp on July 31, 2017 in Englewood, Colorado at Dove Valley.

John Leyba, The Denver Post Denver Broncos tight end A.J. Derby (83) snaps his helmet strap during training camp on July 31, 2017 in Englewood, Colorado at Dove Valley.



John Leyba, The Denver Post Denver Broncos tight end Steven Scheu (81) watches drills during training camp on July 31, 2017 in Englewood, Colorado at Dove Valley.

John Leyba, The Denver Post Denver Broncos tight end Virgil Green (85) watches tight end A.J. Derby (83) and tight end Jeff Heuerman (82) run through drills during training camp on July 31, 2017 in Englewood, Colorado at Dove Valley.

John Leyba, The Denver Post Denver Broncos tight end Virgil Green (85) looks on in drills during training camp on July 31, 2017 in Englewood, Colorado at Dove Valley.



“For the past three years, every time we go in there to do our activation, I always want to be the first one out on the field,” Green said. “I want to take the field and show not only my teammates, but my coaches, that I want to be here. I’m not moping out here. I want to come out here and compete and earn the right to play on Sundays. That’s all you can really ask for out of a teammate.”

Put simply, the Broncos are asking for more production out of the tight end position in 2017. Green led the team with 22 receptions for 237 yards last season. The rest of the tight ends had a combined 31 catches. There were 16 tight ends in the NFL last season who had more catches on their own than Denver’s 53 grabs at the position.

The group had an especially difficult time making its mark in the red zone. The Broncos had two touchdowns by tight ends in 2016, one by Green and another by John Phillips, who signed a one-year deal with the New Orleans Saints in March.

That’s a far cry from just three seasons ago, in 2014, when the Broncos had a combined 15 touchdown receptions from their tight ends.

There were other harsh numbers that torpedoed Denver’s playoff hopes last season. The Broncos scored touchdowns on 46.8 percent of their red zone drives, an efficiency rate that ranked 26th in the NFL. They were last in the league in third-and-1 conversion rate at 44.4 percent. Though the offense’s failings in those scenarios were widespread, the Broncos also know better production out of their tight end spot could be a salve.

“Not only are we eager to produce in the passing game, we’re eager to produce in the running game as well,” Green said. “That’s a huge thing for (offensive coordinator) Mike McCoy. He doesn’t want to just be a great passing team. He wants to be a great run team and play-action team. So to have guys on the edge who are willing to sacrifice their bodies and be unselfish is what we want in the tight end room.”

The Broncos’ extensive work in the red zone through the first week of training camp has put an increased spotlight on the tight ends, and there have been a few revealing performances. Green opened Monday’s practice with a diving catch in the corner of the end zone on a pass from Paxton Lynch. It was the same way Green started the first practice of training camp last Thursday.

“He’s a our tone setter in the room and a tone setter on our offense,” tight end A.J. Derby, who joined the Broncos in a trade from New England midway through last season, said of Green. “He’s always in the trenches making plays for us, and when he sneaks out and makes a big catch, it’s awesome.”

Derby, too, is expected to be a playmaker . He had 16 receptions on 20 targets in six games with Denver last season, numbers that were dampened by his absence, because of a concussion, in the final two games of the season.

Last season, Derby said, was a whirlwind. He was in just his third season as a full-time tight end after switching from quarterback during his senior season at Arkansas, and he was cramming overtime to learn a new playbook. Related Articles September 18, 2020 Broncos’ Phillip Lindsay ruled out for Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh as running back deals with toe injury

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“Last year I was really scrambling every week to try to learn the new plays and everything like that,” Derby said. “But with being able to learn it through training camp and (organized team activities), it’s a lot more comfortable. Knowing the guys really helps.”

Derby last week displayed the benefits of an offseason workout program, headquartered in Denver, that focused on improving quickness and speed. In one-on-one red zone drills last week, where space is at a premium, Derby excelled at carving enough of it to open windows for his quarterback.

“With our tight end group, he’s the guy that can win one-on-ones as far as matchups,” coach Vance Joseph said of Derby. “When you’re game-planning and you want to get a guy on a certain linebacker, he would be that guy for us.”

The wild card in the tight end group may be Jeff Heuerman, the third-round pick in the 2015 draft who played, with up-and-down results, for the first time last season. He missed his rookie season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament on the second day of rookie minicamp.

“He’s a big body guy that has deceptive speed, good hands, and long arms,” Joseph said of the 6-foot-5, 255-pound Heuerman. “If he comes on, that’s going to help us.”

Broncos general manager John Elway set a high bar for Heuerman on the eve of training camp.

“We’re waiting for him to take that big step because we drafted him third round a couple of years ago, and obviously he tore the ACL in minicamp the first year,” Elway said. “We’re looking at this year as Jeff’s coming out year. Like I said, he had a good spring. Hopefully he makes that big jump.”