Broncos' Ben DiNucci Gushes on 'Refreshing' New QBs Coach Davis Webb

The Denver Broncos are inching closer to training camp. Rookies will begin reporting on Tuesday, July 25. 

The real thing kicks off on July 28. 

From there, Broncos fans will begin to catch first-hand observations of new quarterbacks coach Davis Webb, who, despite few exposures to media, has become a hot-button topic of interest this offseason. Webb was an intriguing hire — not just because he's a first-year coach (as in, he's never coached before at any level of football) — but also because he started an NFL game as a quarterback as recently as the 2022 season finale.

A few weeks later, in January, the Broncos hired Sean Payton, and the new head coach set about filling out his coaching staff in Denver. After multiple calls and texts with contacts around the league, Payton ultimately opted to hire Webb, who viewed the prospect of serving as Russell Wilson's position coach as a "good first step" in advancing his goals in a "new profession." 

Considering the abject need for the Broncos to salvage Wilson after an alarmingly bad first year in Denver, Payton hiring a first-timer to coach him raised some eyebrows.

In an excellent piece by Yahoo Sports' Jori Epstein, we learned quite a lot about Webb's approach to playing quarterback, and, by extension, to coaching the position. Ben DiNucci, a former Dallas Cowboys' seventh-round draft pick and XFL starter, was signed by the Broncos after a try-out during rookie minicamp.

DiNucci shared with Epstein some insight into Webb's unique approach to coaching and his comprehensive eye for quarterbacking. 

“He’s able to see how this new wave of quarterback approaches mechanics,” DiNucci said via Epstein. “He’s trained it himself the past few years and now is applying some of that stuff to our individual periods in practice and watching film.

“It’s very refreshing.” 

Epstein provided some additional context to DiNucci's comment. 

Before game plans roll out, Webb is weighing in on concept installation and fundamental development. During OTAs, he sent Broncos quarterbacks detailed markups of installs the night before they would arrive at practice, quarterback Ben DiNucci told Yahoo Sports. Which concepts indicate pure progressions for which the quarterback must consider only his receivers, and which come with an alert and thus require more attention to the defensive alignment? Overemphasis is a good problem to have.

Webb also has an Instagram group chat with Wilson, Jarrett Stidham and DiNucci in which he sends clips of rotational work aimed to hone lower-body passing considerations like hip fluidity. Exercise recommendations from University of Virginia strength coach Drew McDuffie and performance coach Nic Shimonek (who played at Tech with Webb) land in their DMs.

The Broncos were woefully unprepared for the 2022 season, and Wilson was one of the greatest perpetrators, as was the offense in nearly every critical situation the team faced. Whether it was a crucial third down, a red-zone possession, or an end-of-game sequence, Wilson and company were in over their heads when the chips were down. 

It seemed to be the result of a gross lack of preparation. So when Epstein writes that "overemphasis is a good problem to have," she's hitting the nail on the head. 

Payton's high standards and near-maniacal focus on the nuances football alone will go a long way toward the Broncos' offense being vastly more prepared and effective come 2023. Add to that a QBs coach with a similar flair for the details, and Broncos fans should be greatly encouraged moving forward.

Webb might literally be new to coaching, but as Epstein elucidates in her excellent article, his former teammates and fellow quarterbacks have long viewed him as a coach on the field. One of Webb's best attributes, according to multiple sources from around the NFL, and Payton's own remarks, is his communication skills. 

In the Epstein piece, one former coach praised Webb's ability to take a complex issue and boil it down to an easily understandable bottom line for people to assimilate. That's communication, but it also showcases adept teaching skills. 

Wilson, when asked about Webb back in May, highlighted both traits.

“Coach Webb... he’s been in different offenses, he’s understood how to play the quarterback position," Wilson said on May 25. "He’s an incredible teacher, too. A great communicator. So I’m really looking forward to being with Coach Webb and what he’s able to communicate and do for us. He’s great out here. He’s been on the field. He’s strapped on the pads and scored touchdowns in the National Football League, so he’s got a great presence.” 

Indeed, Webb has "scored touchdowns" in the NFL. It takes at least two to pluralize touchdown(s), and that's exactly how many Webb scored as a pro, both of which came in his one-and-only NFL start. Last year, Webb punctuated the playoff-bound New York Giants' regular season as the starter in place of Daniel Jones, whom the team opted to rest ahead of postseason action. 

Webb went 23-of-40 passing for a rather pedestrian 168 yards and a touchdown, but he also rushed for a score. Thus we reach our threshold for "touchdowns."

It was the career backup's first and last NFL start, and although his numbers weren't anything to write home about, and the Giants did lose the game (resting guys, remember), Webb acquitted himself well. Only a few weeks later, he abandoned his playing career when the opportunity to coach under Payton and work with Wilson knocked. 

Again, there have been some who've questioned Payton's decision to hire Webb. But that's how it goes for risk-takers and innovators from all walks of life. 

That's not to say that by virtue of hiring a first-time QBs coach alone, Payton is an innovator, per se, but he is taking a risk and bucking NFL convention. However, Payton is widely viewed as an NFL coaching innovator, and one Hall-of-Fame for head coach by the name of Dick Vermeil, put Payton alongside Andy Reid as the NFL's two best offensive head coaches of the last decade. 

So maybe skeptics should give Payton the benefit of the doubt on the Webb hire, and wait to see how it plays out before racing to fire off a hot take for social media clout.