ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Shortly after they were drafted by the Denver Broncos in May, Bradley Roby and Cody Latimer built a friendship built on mutual experiences. They made a pact to honor that friendship on the field through training camp in July and August.
That was until Latimer beat Roby deep during the very first day of camp. Twice.
“To hell with that,” Roby said about the two’s friendship since then. “He’s not not my friend. We’re enemies. I like that a little better. I’m not friends with receivers during a game, so why do it in practice?”
That might be Roby’s bruised ego talking. Considering he was the team’s first-round draft pick and Latimer was drafted in the second round, most pundits expected Roby would have the better camp.
Instead, it was Latimer who had a sea of reporters around him after the Broncos training camp session on Thursday morning.
Speaking to a smaller audience, Roby wasn’t shy when asked to speculate about the reason behind Latimer’s early camp success.
“Peyton Manning,” Roby said, laughing. “When you’ve got Peyton Manning throwing you the ball it makes life a lot easier.”
To be fair, most of what Roby said about his “ex-friend” was followed by a chuckle. When Latimer spoke to reporters, he echoed those tongue-in-cheek sentiments.
“Off the field, we’re cool,” Latimer said. “On the field, we’re out here for the same goal: to compete, help this team get better and win.”
As for the insinuation that his success is due to Manning?
“Peyton Manning does a good job helping receivers get better,” Latimer said. “But as a receiver, you’ve still got to go up and get the ball.”
And for the record, the one-handed touchdown pass Latimer hauled in Thursday was thrown by Brock Osweiler.
Below, you can listen to our interviews with Roby and Latimer in their entirety, as well as interviews with Demarcus Ware, who was back in pads Thursday, Malik Jackson, who talked about his new relationship with Ware, and Ryan Miller, a Colorado kid who’s trying to make this team as an offensive lineman.
RELATED: Get all of FOX31’s coverage from Broncos training camp
Bradley Roby
In addition to chatting about his relationship with Latimer, Roby chatted about the physicality he thinks both he and fellow newcomer Aqib Talib have brought to the Broncos at corner, typified by a big hit made by Talib during a short yardage drill Thursday.
Cody Latimer
Latimer’s early camp success has also come as a surprise because he was supposed to be nursing a foot injury that required offseason surgery. Latimer talked about why that foot hasn’t really bothered him during training camp.
Demarcus Ware
Back after missing the first half of the week with a leg bruise, Ware talked about the guys who stepped up to replace him the last few days, lauding the depth the Broncos have along the defensive line.
Malik Jackson
Most were interested in finding out what Jackson, a fellow defensive end, had learned in camp thus far from Ware. Jackson was more interested in talking about the impact Ware has had on his life away from the field. “Demarcus has helped me become a better man,” Jackson said.
Ryan Miller
How do you get yourself psyched up to make an NFL roster? For Ryan Miller, a graduate of both Columbine High School and CU, you get married. Apparently the 6-foot-8 offensive guard tied the knot the Saturday before training camp began, and impressed all in attendance with his dance moves.
