Making the case for every Denver Broncos quarterback
The Case For: Trevor Siemian
Trevor Siemian is the Denver Broncos’ current starting quarterback, but should he be?
Siemian was quite good in the Broncos’ first two games of this season, racking up seven total touchdowns (six passing, one rushing) and moving the ball efficiently in Mike McCoy’s new offense.
Siemian and the offense were clicking, despite making some critical errors at times. It looked like an offense capable of scoring 50 points in each of the first two games if not for some untimely fumbles or interceptions, and Siemian was doing things we hadn’t seen him do much of in his first year as the Broncos’ quarterback…
1. He was moving the chains on third down.
2. He was converting for touchdowns in the red zone.
Those were two areas the Broncos were absolutely miserable in last season, and Siemian was a key reason why conversions were happening in the first two games. Even his biggest detractors couldn’t deny — Siemian looked pretty good those first two games, despite making some head-scratching throws.
But three games later, Siemian has gotten worse, and worse, and even worse. Adding injury to insult, Siemian was hurt trying to tackle Janoris Jenkins on a pick-six right before halftime against the Giants.
It was embarrassing for Siemian, and a low point of his season, to be certain. The Broncos and their fans have not shown the utmost confidence in Siemian prior to actual on-field competitions happening. John Elway tried in 2016 to bring in Colin Kaepernick before trading up in the first round to select Paxton Lynch.
Not exactly a vote of confidence in Siemian, and understandably so. He hadn’t thrown a pass in the NFL, and was a seventh round pick the year prior.
After Siemian won the competition in 2016 over Mark Sanchez and the rookie Lynch, Elway hired a completely new coaching staff, which gave Lynch every shot to win the job throughout the offseason, splitting reps all the way up until the dress rehearsal in the preseason.
Siemian has never had an offseason full of first team reps, but he’s got over a full season’s worth of work at this point, and while he’s shown flashes at times, the majority of results have been underwhelming for a championship caliber roster.
The Broncos simply can’t afford the constant uncertainty with Siemian, wondering whether or not the offense is going to be clicking one week and then not for another three or four weeks.
Siemian’s best case at the job at this point is the fact that he’s the one who has had it for two seasons now. Production on the field has to be better, but Siemian now has experience and the captain patch he wears on his jersey is a sign that his teammates respect him.
But they need to be able to depend on him.
Can they, at this point?