Derek Wolfe hasn’t even begun his second NFL season, but he’s already a leader on the defense.

“We needed guys to step up in that role. He has accepted it,” said 12-time Pro Bowler Champ Bailey, a leader in his own right. “I like it. He works hard, he’s here every day. He thinks he is going to be the best at his position and I love that confidence about him.”

Wolfe said he leads best through his effort on the field and doing things “the right way.”

Von Miller agreed, saying that leadership “comes with experience and making plays.”

At the same time, Bailey has long said his style has never been that of a vocal leader, and both Wolfe and Miller said Monday that they’re not “big vocal guy(s).”

So that raises the question — are the Broncos lacking the fiery defender that can deliver a pump-up speech at the right time? Is that a weakness of this year’s group?

The University of Cincinnati had a relatively late graduation this year — June 9.

What does that have to do with the Broncos?

The club’s first pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, defensive tackle Derek Wolfe, wasn’t able to participate in the team’s OTAs until after that date.

On Tuesday, the former Bearcat finally took to the practice field at Dove Valley with his teammates for the first day of minicamp.

“It’s good to finally be out here,” Wolfe smiled.

Late last month, Defensive Coordinator Jack Del Rio said he wasn’t upset that Wolfe wasn’t with the team, since it was out of his hands. However, he said there was only so much the rookie could learn without actually participating in practices.

Wolfe found that out first-hand Tuesday, as he said he felt behind for the majority of the practice.

“You’re just trying to catch up the whole time,” he said. “I think I caught up pretty quick and towards the end of practice I started to get it. It’ll come along.”