Siemian named starting QB

With less than two weeks left before the regular season opener against the Panthers, Coach Kubiak has announced which QB will be the starter to begin the 2016 season. To many, his decision may be a bit of a surprise. To me, this was a day I’ve expected for a long time. Follow along as I explain why I thought Trevor Siemian could be the Broncos starting QB.

It was spring 2015. The Broncos were about to begin the fourth(and final) year of the Peyton Manning era. Many expected that then back up Brock Osweiler would be the successor to “the sheriff”. So many people thought that it was a foregone conclusion,  few pondered the idea of another QB being added to the stable.  Fortunately for Broncos Country, Kubiak and the coaching staff had another plan in mind.

It started with one game. The winds were whipping the ground with furious intent. The opponent was a program with a celebrated history. His team was an underperforming, often overlooked program. None of that mattered to Gary Kubiak. All that mattered to him was the arm talent  displayed by some unknown QB for a little known program.  That unknown QB was Trevor Siemian.

Against the 15th ranked Notre Dame, Siemian led his team to a 43-40 win in which Siemian

completed 62% percent of his passes and scored two TD’s in that game (one passing, one running).

Against all odds, Siemian willed his team to a win and in the process, piqued the interest of the Broncos coaching staff.  Despite an ACL injury and pedestrian college resume (27/24 TD/INT ratio), Siemian displayed the necessary traits that the Broncos were looking for in a development QB.

With the 250th pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the Broncos selected Siemian with the intentions of him being a developmental QB behind Manning/Osweiler. That was just the beginning..

With his poise, arm talent and knowledge of the offense, Siemian quickly beat out Zac Dysert to be the #3 QB and forced the Broncos to keep him on the 53 man roster for the 2015 season. He proceeded to be Brock’s back up when Manning was injured and in the process, proved to the Broncos coaching staff that he can be a capable player if his number was called on. That confidence carried over into the off-season more than they ever expected.

With Manning’s retirement and Brock’s sudden departure to Houston, the Broncos were left in a  quandary at the most important position.  Fans and analysts alike wondered who the Broncos would bring in to replace Manning.  While they traded for an established veteran and drafted a talented prospect in the first round, it turns out that their starting QB to begin the 2016 season was on their roster the entire off-season.

Today, that news was made official…

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) August 29, 2016

If you had told Broncos Country that Trevor Siemian would become the starting QB the day we drafted him, 99.9 percent of us would have denied that notion. As it turns out, I can proudly say that I was part of the minority that thought he could. I can clearly remember telling friend and colleague Sayre Bedinger that I thought Siemian had starting potential and that he was a player to keep an eye on in the future. Fast forward about 18 months later and here we are, Siemian is the starter.  Many will say that Sanchez did more to lose the job than Siemian did to win it but I would disagree.

From the beginning, Siemian showed the intelligence, poise and arm talent necessary to take this job.  He rarely gets rattled and always stays level headed.  It didn’t matter which level of competition he played with. He was consistent with his approach and made the most of his opportunities.  Broncos Country, we should be happy with this news for two reasons.

1. It shows that Siemian could be a potential diamond in the rough and become a steal of a draft pick.
2. It shows that the Broncos are doing a fantastic job of developing their young talent.

Whether he can keep the job long term or eventually gives way to Paxton Lynch remains to be seen, let’s appreciate how far Siemian has come up to this point and give him our full support as we begin our title defense in the 2016 season.

Congrats to Trevor Siemian and I wish you all the best this season.

GO BRONCOS!!