Denver Broncos: Could Chad Kelly be Case Keenum’s full-time backup?
With Denver Broncos quarterback Chad Kelly’s solid performances in limited action during the preseason, the team may not need to bring in a veteran.
Since he started taking snaps with the second-team offense during practice, Chad Kelly has impressed big-time. I might even go as far as saying that he has impressed so much, that the Denver Broncos may consider keeping him as the immediate backup to starter Case Keenum.
That would mean that they would move on from the possibility of signing or trading for a veteran who is available.
Yes, Kelly does have some things he needs to work on, but after Saturday night’s game against the Chicago Bears, he convinced me that he has what it takes to be a safe choice as the team’s backup quarterback.
After watching the game against the Bears, I looked back on Kelly’s performance and couldn’t help but be blown away.
His ability to get the ball through defenders into the hands of his receivers is unbelievable. Kelly almost looked fearless to me. He looked completely comfortable even with pressure in his face.
That’s something we haven’t seen from Paxton Lynch, who was demoted to third-string last week.
Oh, and check out this beautiful throw to rookie wide receiver Courtland Sutton:
That’s exactly it: Chad Kelly has a laser arm.
It wouldn’t surprise me if he would be able to fit the ball into small windows on a regular basis later down the road.
We can’t do anything about the past, and Kelly’s injuries he sustained in college. But I strongly believe that, had Kelly been healthy as a rookie, he could have won the starting quarterback job while competing against Trevor Siemian and Brock Osweiler.
Lynch and Osweiler, both 6’7” quarterbacks, regularly had passes batted down at the line of scrimmage. That is a terrible thing to see from quarterbacks of their height.
The Broncos should really stop considering tall quarterbacks to be on the roster. It just has not panned out for them.
Unfortunately, Lynch just never seems to be comfortable when he takes over as the quarterback. He is always rattled and that’s not something you want from a quarterback to lead your team.
The flaws from Kelly’s play during the preseason are coachable. The biggest thing that stands out to me is when he forces passes where they don’t necessarily belong.
He has made plays while doing this, but it isn’t something that a quarterback can rely on every game. Some of it is luck, but some of it is also talent.
Other times, he is right on target.
So in the end, Kelly has things to work on to become a better quarterback, but thus far, he has been the most impressive quarterback on the Broncos this preseason. I’m excited to see more of him play and see what the Broncos decide to do with him.
He has made a case to be on the active roster for week one.