On Tuesday, during mandatory minicamp, the Denver Broncos quarterback situation went from a completely open competition to a structured competition with a clear number one, two and three quarterback.
Veteran Mark Sanchez, the number one quarterback, took the majority of the snaps with the first team offense and impressed head coach Gary Kubiak.
“Mark had a really good day,” Kubiak said after the first day of mandatory minicamps on Tuesday.
After Sanchez, it was second-year pro Trevor Siemian followed by rookie first-round pick Paxton Lynch as the third.
However, this is by no means set in stone for the future, or even an official depth chart. When speaking with the media on Tuesday Kubiak was very careful not to call this a depth chart, but more trying to establish some stability.
“Trying to settle down a little bit this week and work that way,” said Kubiak. “That was our priority this week, try to settle down.”
Before this week, during OTAs, the quarterback situation had no declared order, which created an almost “musical chairs” type scenario of what quarterback was going to be under center. Kubiak knew that the rest of the offense needed some sort of balance and sense of normalcy from the quarterback position, so he put this unofficial depth chart in place.
“Going into this week we wanted to set a precedent for how we work and not work too many guys in — centers and those type of things — so we are going to work this way for three days,” said Kubiak. “I may change next week, I don’t know.”
Next week is the last week of Broncos OTAs and the last time the players will have contact with the team until training camp six weeks later. Kubiak will have an official depth chart by the time training camp rolls around, but that still doesn’t mean the quarterback competition will be set.
“I’ll have a depth chart going into training camp. That doesn’t mean we won’t operate totally evenly. But they will be listed somehow,” said Kubiak. “They’re all going to rep. They are all very talented, they’re all going to rep so we will see who wins the job.”
As for now, all of the quarterbacks know it is still a competition that can be won by any one of them. Even with having the number one spot during minicamp, Sanchez knows the competition is hardly over.
“Everybody is working hard to earn a spot, that’s myself included,” said Sanchez.
However, that doesn’t mean that Sanchez isn’t confident that he will be the starter going into training camp. When asked if he expected to be the starter, Sanchez had no doubt in his mind.
“Of course, I think you have to expect that, that’s the way you have to compete,” said Sanchez. “There’s no second-guessing yourself when you get on the field. You have to be the best and play your butt off.”
After having no shot of starting last year, sitting behind Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler, Siemian knows that there is still plenty of time for him to earn the starting job this season.
“I don’t read too much into it; it’s early,” said Siemian. “Take the reps your getting and make the most of them and things will work themselves out.”
Lynch — who no doubt has the most difficult path to becoming the starter due to his inexperience with the playbook and the league — wasn’t too pleased with being last in the competition, but knows that all he can do is continue to work and improve.
“I’m not sure if this is permanent or what, but I am where I am,” said Lynch. “I’m still getting my reps, but even when I’m not in I’m watching those guys and getting reps when I can.”
While today’s news on the quarterback development provided somewhat of a temporary solution, Kubiak made one thing certain — the quarterback competition is hardly over.
