With nearly a third of the vaunted Broncos starting defense off the field, the quarterbacks vying for the starting job had an opportunity to let it fly during Thursday’s training camp practice.

Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch took advantage at times, leading at least four combined scoring drives that began near midfield.

Siemian began the first 11-on-11 session with the first team in impressive fashion. He completed all three of his passes, including a touchdown of roughly 15 yards to Emmanuel Sanders. Siemian also delivered a deep ball to Bennie Fowler on his third set of first-team, midfield series, a play that ended inside the 10-yard line.

Lynch began practice, the seventh of camp, by leading the second-team offense into the red zone, a drive highlighted by an on-target throw deep down the left sideline to rookie Carlos Henderson, who made several impressive catches during Thursday’s practice. It was the team’s fourth straight practice in full pads.

When Lynch took his turn guiding the first-team offense, he began the drive with a well-placed throw down the right sideline to running back Jamaal Charles, who snuck out of the backfield on a wheel route to make the catch. Related Articles September 19, 2020 Jackson: Silence at empty Broncos, NFL stadiums never sounded so terrible

September 18, 2020 Broncos’ Phillip Lindsay ruled out for Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh as running back deals with toe injury

September 18, 2020 Broncos Journal: Pat Shurmur, Drew Lock hope sticking to script produces better first-quarter production

September 18, 2020 Broncos expect rookie cornerbacks Michael Ojemudia, Essang Bassey to build on debuts

September 17, 2020 Broncos’ Von Miller gives fans “Mile High Salute” while sharing photo of leg in cast

Each of Lynch’s first two drives ended in what would have been chip-shot field goals. Perhaps most importantly, neither quarterback threw an interception during full-team periods Thursday.

“It’s training camp, so it’s going to be some ups and downs with those guys,” coach Vance Joseph said. “Everyone is still learning. Defensively, they’re making plays. We have multiple pressures in, multiple coverages in. So it’s the ups and downs of practice. It’s a normal deal.”

The longest throw of the day was made by third-team quarterback Kyle Sloter, who found the speedy Henderson down the left seam for about 40 yards. The third-round pick out of Louisiana Tech made one swift move to avoid a defensive back and then sprinted into the end zone.

“He’s finally getting into NFL shape,” Joseph said of Henderson. “He wasn’t in great shape in the spring and early on in training camp. You can finally see the guy getting in great shape. He’s figured out what to do, and that’s always important for a rookie to do. But he can make plays.”

Veterans Demaryius Thomas, Aqib Talib, T.J. Ward, Domata Peko, Virgil Green and Brandon McManus were held out of practice for scheduled rest. The Broncos will rest more veterans Friday.

“This is a tough week,” Joseph said. “We’ve had pads on for the last (four practices). I’m just being smart with our veteran players who we know more about. We can rest those guys. We’ll rest the other half (Friday). We didn’t want to do the entire group in one day — it would kind of affect both sides of the ball — so we split them into two groups.”

Joseph said all of the veterans will be available for Saturday’s scrimmage.

Running back Bernard Pierce missed his fourth practice with a hamstring injury. Offensive guard Ron Leary and cornerback Marcus Rios, who have been nursing groin injuries, returned to practice Thursday.