It seems the Denver Broncos made a giant leap at the quarterback position this offseason, from Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch to Case Keenum.
Keenum was recently voted the No. 51 best player in the NFL, a huge honor considering it’s players who vote on those rankings in the NFL’s Top 100.
Coming in at No. 5️⃣1️⃣ on the #NFLTop100 …
Congrats, @casekeenum7!
📰 » https://t.co/NizAGtATpK pic.twitter.com/9wqwfsGQVY
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) May 22, 2018
Keenum enjoyed easily his best season of his five-year career in 2017 with the Minnesota Vikings, helping to push them to the NFC Championship Game before the eventual champion Philadelphia Eagles ended the Vikings magical run. Keenum’s career-highs were staggering: 14 starts, 67.6 completion percentage, 3,547 yards, 22 touchdowns and a 98.3 passer rating were all new bests for the quarterback who looks to just be entering his prime.
So, where does that rank Keenum compared to the rest of the AFC West quarterbacks? First.
Keenum at No. 51 is the highest compared to the divisional rivals’ quarterbacks. Derek Carr of the LA Raiders was ranked No. 60 while Philip Rivers was voted No. 56 in the NFL heading into 2018.
Considering how well Rivers has played for many years, and how Carr has come into the NFL and lit it on fire, having Keenum ranked higher than both of them should have Broncos fans extremely excited for this upcoming season.
With OTAs kicking off today, Keenum will be working out with his new teammates once again, for the next three days, and then in two more stints May 29-31 and June 4-7.
Keenum has one of the most explosive and dynamic receiving duos to throw the ball to in Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. Now, who will emerge as the Broncos No. 3 receiver?
There’s Courtland Sutton and DaeSean Hamilton — rookies from this year’s class — as well as Jordan “Sunshine” Taylor, River Cracraft, Carlos Henderson, Isaiah McKenzie and a whole host of more wideouts looking to make an impression on coaches starting today.
Unfortunately for Taylor, he’ll be held out of OTAs, along with four other Broncos players — most of them starters — according to reports.
Stay tuned to Mile High Sports as we bring you updates from OTAs all week about how Keenum and the rest of his new teammates are performing during workouts.
Note: Chris Harris Jr. was also voted to the Top 100 list, though, at No. 86, was way too far down that list. He’ll use it for motivation.