Stevan Ridley planted his right foot in the grass and burst to his left. The veteran running back made one more athletic move to avoid a would-be tackler and then accelerated toward the end zone, his offensive teammates raising their arms in celebration behind him.

T.J. Ward had seen enough big runs early in the Broncos’ sixth training camp practice Wednesday. The veteran safety called the entire defense into a huddle and delivered a colorful speech with a simple message: step it up.

And so it went during a Broncos practice, the team’s third straight in pads, that focused heavily on the run game. Though the quarterback competition between Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch is the biggest story of camp, the Broncos have been working diligently to improve their ability to run the football and defend the run, two areas that hurt the Broncos in 2016 as they missed the postseason. Related Articles September 19, 2020 Jackson: Silence at empty Broncos, NFL stadiums never sounded so terrible

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Broncos coach Vance Joseph said Monday that the team’s padded practices would skew toward the run to give the staff a better idea of their progress on the ground during the most physical workouts.

“The more we progress (as an offensive line), the more we’re starting to do things,” center Matt Paradis said. “We’ve got a lot of new guys, but we’ve got a really good group. Guys are working hard and we have a physical group that is setting the tone for the offense. I’m excited about it.”

Ridley, who is battling for a roster spot after being signed by the Broncos on the opening day of training camp last week, turned a few sizable holes created by the offensive line into big runs. C.J. Anderson, Juwan Thompson and rookie De’Angelo Henderson also produced strong runs. Jamaal Charles also participated in 11-on-11 drills for the first time.

“I think our run game is going to be explosive this year, and it’s going to open up the pass,” wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders said. “Whereas, when I first got here (in 2014), we said we were going to be able to pass the ball to open up the run. I think our run game is going to be so good with this line if they can just continuously improve.”

Not to be outdone, the Broncos’ inside linebackers made a mark for the defense. Brandon Marshall intercepted a pass over the middle by Siemian. Several plays later, Todd Davis burst into the backfield and stopped Henderson just as the running back collected a handoff.

It was an up-and-down day for the quarterbacks, who continued to split first-team repetitions.

Lynch had one of his best throws of training camp during an 11-on-11 session. His deep ball down the left sideline was perfectly on target for the outstretched hands of Austin Traylor, a free-agent tight end out of Wisconsin.

Lynch also was intercepted late in practice when cornerback Aqib Talib jumped an out route along the right sideline.

Running back Bernard Pierce, offensive guard Ron Leary and cornerback Marcus Rios were held out of practice due to injuries. Broncos coach Vance Joseph said he expects Leary to return to practice Thursday.