The Denver Broncos are close to wrapping up mandatory minicamp, which means it will be the last work the coaches and players will get with each other until training camp in mid-July. It’s also the last chance some players have to getting a lead on a roster spot, especially for players who have struggled to start their careers.

One such player would be defensive lineman DeMarcus Walker. His experience in the NFL has consisted of questionable coaching and having the young player learn new positions and play positions he’d never played before. In many ways, it hurt his development in the NFL.

Under Vic Fangio, guys like Walker have a chance to turn the corner and it is clear in his interview with Ryan Edwards, Andrew Mason, and Steve Atwater on First and 10 at 10 that he intends to work towards doing just that.

Early on in OTA’s, Fangio was asked about Walker and he had already noticed that the young player was working his tail off and while Fangio wasn’t sure where Walker would end up on the depth chart he was careful to note the positives in his development.

“I’m not sure yet, but I do think that he’s working extremely hard,” Fangio said on May 21st. “I think he’s making progress and ultimately with D-Line and O-Line you have to have the pads on to see. I like where he’s at. I like where he’s at emotionally too. I think he’s in a good spot emotionally. He’s probably matured in the last couple of years and were going to see what he has or doesn’t have here come training camp.”

It’s nice to see that Fangio is reserving judgement on players for training camp. What is important to him in this phase of the offseason program is how hard each player works both on the field and in the film room. It seems like that will factor into his final 53-man roster decisions more heavily than it may have under the previous regime.