Has Trevor Siemian earned right to be Broncos’ starting quarterback in 2017?
This Broncos season can be summed up in two words: Bummer, man. The most pleasant surprise, however, has been Trevor Siemian. He was a steal in the seventh round of the 2015 draft. And he’s already better (not to mention cheaper) than Brock Osweiler. There’s about an 80 percent chance the Broncos miss the playoffs, but have they found their QB of the future?
Agree that he was steal, though I’m a little surprised to hear you utter those words. The problem for Siemian is he didn’t — and maybe still doesn’t — fit the narrative of fans. He’s a seventh-rounder from Northwestern. But he’s continuing to improve in this offense, which is no small feat given the state of the offensive line and the lack of a run game.
Siemian throws a sweet deep pass outside the numbers, which gives receivers Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders a real chance to make one or two explosive plays every game. That’s cool. But this is also true: In the pocket, Siemian holds the football far too long. He’s uncomfortable reading defensive traffic in the middle of the field. Those two flaws make Siemian a liability in the red zone. And New England exposed his weaknesses for all to see.
New England exposed his weakness the most. Siemian has made his share of mistakes, few bigger than that interception in the second quarter on Sunday. Holding onto the ball and drifting behind the line is typical of younger quarterbacks but certainly fixable. But look at the numbers: He has averaged 300.2 yards in his last six starts, with eight touchdowns and five interceptions. And Thomas and Sanders have topped 1,000 receiving yards again. Just think what they could do with a little more protection and a run game.
General manager John Elway knows the only way the Broncos are really going to find out if Paxton Lynch can play is to put him in the game and let him learn. So it would be folly for coach Gary Kubiak to hand Siemian the starting job in 2017. I’ll take it one step further: If Lynch isn’t ready to compete next season, then the Broncos need to explore every avenue and every crazy idea in search of a veteran QB, from Philip Rivers to Tony Romo. Jhabvala: I disagree completely. Why would you play a younger quarterback just to play him? If Siemian is the better quarterback, he should play. Siemian should start, but fixing the offensive line should be the top offseason priority. If you completely disregard the salary cap (and I don’t know how you possibly can), Romo sounds like a nice idea. But he had the best offensive line in football in Dallas, and he still kept getting hurt. What makes you think he’d survive behind the Broncos’ line?