The Denver Broncos have three quarterbacks who are competing for the starting job Week 1 when they play the Carolina Panthers to open the 2016 season. Mark Sanchez, Paxton Lynch and Trevor Siemian are all competing. With three quarterbacks, which should head coach Gary Kubiak go with as his starter? Sanchez has the most NFL experience of the three, but does that necessarily mean he is the front runner?
Broncos Quarterback Competition: Who Should Start?
After being drafted by the New York Jets in the 2009 NFL Draft, Sanchez took the the team to two consecutive AFC Championship games, both of which they lost. Since then, he has been the “butt” of the joke after running into his own teammate on Thanksgiving in 2011 against the New England Patriots, which caused a fumble that was picked up by the Patriots and returned for a touchdown.
By 2014, he was out of New York and was picked up by the Philadelphia Eagles. When Nick Foles broke his collarbone against the Houston Texans in 2014, Sanchez took over a 6-2 squad. The team, led by Sanchez, would lose five of their final eight games to finish the season at 9-7 and miss the playoffs.
In 2015, Sanchez was a second-string quarterback to former St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford and the Eagles finished 6-10 and again missed the playoffs.
Sanchez doesn’t seem like the quarterback who could lead a team after proving that in New York and Philadelphia. The Broncos have a great offense with Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, and C.J. Anderson, but a quarterback like Sanchez can’t lead them to success.
Lynch was drafted by the Broncos with the 31st overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. The Memphis quarterback put up amazing numbers in his three seasons with the Tigers. His stats in passing yards, yards per attempt, and passing touchdowns skyrocketed as each year went on. Not only that, but his interceptions also went down as each year went on. He did all of this without any big name receivers, either. With him passing to Thomas and Sanders, along with the running agility of Anderson, Lynch could be a possible candidate for the starting quarterback job. If he starts, he could even prove to be their next franchise quarterback.
In his NFL career, Siemian has thrown just one pass, which resulted in -1 yard. During his four seasons at Northwestern University, he threw for just 5,931 yards and 27 touchdowns with 24 interceptions. Based on his stats, he does not seem like he could be named the starter, either. But one career pass doesn’t say much for him and what he can do. Kubiak has not counted him out of the starting quarterback job yet, either, saying he has impressed a lot at Broncos OTAs.
So of these three quarterbacks, which one is the best option to start Week 1? It appears that Lynch is the answer. His performance combined with the high-powered Broncos offense could lead to greatness again in the Mile High City. Denver may not be holding the Lombardi Trophy in Houston in 2017, but their offense can prove to be one of the hottest in the NFL.
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