Winning teams enjoy stability at the quarterback position. At least, that’s the way it usually works in the National Football League. Although the Denver Broncos didn’t enjoy elite quarterback play last season, the duo of Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler made enough plays to secure the team a Super Bowl championship, with enormous help from the league’s best defense. Thing were looking up for the franchise as a whole.
And then everything changed.
2016 Denver Broncos Quarterback Watch
Manning, one of the NFL’s all-time greatest passers, retired on the heels of his second Lombardi victory, after setting virtually every passing record imaginable during his Hall of Fame career. Osweiler, on the other hand, signed a big deal with the Houston Texans in free agency. So what happens to the Broncos now? With both Manning and Osweiler out of the equation, who will step up and lead this team?
This is not an easy question to answer but first, let’s start with the positive news. The franchise feels comfortable that they have found their quarterback of the future after selecting former Memphis standout Paxton Lynch in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Lynch has big-time talent with size, athleticism, and arm strength to spare, but is seen as a project and is unlikely to be ready to start in the early portion of the season. While it’s only a matter of time until Lynch is under center, that amount of time is currently undetermined.
Who is the Immediate Solution?
That’s hard to say. When the Broncos acquired veteran signal caller Mark Sanchez back in March, it was unclear what his role would be in 2016. Would he be an experienced backup? A bridge quarterback to a draft pick such as Lynch? A season-long starter?
Unfortunately for Broncos fans, the situation remains just as unclear now as it was four months ago. There was a time when it appeared clear that Sanchez would be a stop-gap solution until Lynch was ready, but a new wrinkle has emerged in the form of sophomore signal caller Trevor Siemian.
Siemian played behind Manning and Osweiler in 2015 and is familiar with head coach Gary Kubiak‘s system. A former seventh-round pick out of Northwestern, he managed to make the Broncos’ final roster as a rookie. Like Lynch, he has never thrown a pass in a regular season NFL contest. This profile might not seem all that impressive, but the coaching staff clearly likes something about the youngster. In fact, word has emerged that Siemian is a candidate to be the team’s Week One starter. Recent reports indicate Sanchez has only a slight leg up in the competition with Siemian.
While this may seem strange, it appears that the Broncos are content to allow this situation to play out. In spite of some hand-wringing from the public, the team was comfortable allowing Osweiler to walk while neglecting to seriously pursue free agents like Robert Griffin III and the still-unsigned Ryan Fitzpatrick. They are ready to roll with Sanchez or Siemian while Lynch picks up the system.
Really, this isn’t such an outlandish plan. This is a team that won a Super Bowl because of truly elite defense. While there were some key departures, the Broncos’ shutdown unit returns largely intact. The club is expected to run the ball more in 2016, implementing a fullback into the game plan more often and relying on C.J. Anderson to take a larger share of the workload. This is an offense that doesn’t intend to put a great deal of responsibility on it’s signal caller. Additionally, Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders comprise one of the NFL’s better pass-catching duos and will be more than capable of making plays for their quarterback.
Certainly the Broncos won’t enjoy the sort of play that Manning delivered prior to 2015. However, that can also be said of practically any other NFL franchise. Great teams adapt to changes in personnel and the Broncos will do just that. Will it be enough to secure another Lombardi trophy? That’s hard to say, but don’t count them out before the season even begins. This team has been through a lot this off-season, but they clearly have a plan, so let’s watch it play out. It won’t be long now.
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