Case Keenum’s offseason has produced nothing but excitement in Denver. For the first time since Peyton Manning’s tenure, the Broncos know who their starting quarterback is, and Keenum has made an effort to create a cohesion between the offense that the team’s signal caller has lacked in previous years.
Chris Harris went as far as saying that Keenum brought the same work ethic this offseason that Manning did. Still, Keenum’s inconsistent track record as a professional landed him as Pro Football Focus’ 29th-best starting quarterback in the NFL.
As a Minnesota Viking last season, Keenum posted by far his most successful season in the NFL. He completed 67.6 percent of his passes for 3,547 yards, 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Before that, Keenum eclipsed 2,000 passing yards just once in his six-year career and threw for double-digit touchdowns (11) only in 2016.
Keenum’s success last year went beyond visible stats, too. According to PFF, he ranked seventh in avoiding turnover-worthy plays while only surrendering a sack on 10.3 percent of pressured snaps, the second-best mark in the NFL.
Despite earning a PFF grade of 81.4 last season – which ranked eighth among all quarterbacks – Keenum’s slide in predicted success is due to his lack of sustained accomplishments. PFF cites his move from a passing-friendly dome to the conditions in Denver as another cause for concern with Keenum.
Keenum is ranked higher than only Joe Flacco (No. 30 Baltimore Ravens), Josh McCown (No. 31, New York Jets) and A.J. McCarron (No. 32, Buffalo Bills). All of those players, however, could easily be replaced by first-round draft picks at some point in the season.
In the AFC West, Chargers’ quarterback Philip Rivers received the highest honors as the ninth-best quarterback in the league. Derek Carr (No. 13) and Patrick Mahomes (No. 25) represented the Raiders and Chiefs, respectively. For the second consecutive year, Tom Brady was ranked as PFF’s No. 1 quarterback heading into the season.
