Broncos Must Plan for Post-Manning Era, Extend Brock Osweiler This Season

The Denver Broncos are building for what they hope is a Super Bowl championship season with Peyton Manning leading the way. This team has been in a championship window ever since Manning signed a contract with the team in 2012. They’ve won the AFC West each season with Manning as the starter, but they’ve fallen short in the postseason—twice in the first playoff game they played.

Time is running out on this era for the Broncos. They made a bold move to acquire Manning after multiple neck procedures that put his future and NFL career in doubt. Manning has produced at a high level for them every single year, but this team knows they must be better in the postseason.

They also know that time is winding down for Manning. In the second round of the 2012 NFL draft, the Broncos added Brock Osweiler to develop as their heir apparent behind Manning.

Osweiler signed a four-year contract with the team, and that contract runs out after the 2015 season. Manning still has two years left on his contract, and this leaves Denver’s future quarterback situation in doubt.

The Broncos must plan for the post-Manning era, and that means Osweiler needs to get a contract extension this season.

Best Attributes

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Osweiler’s best attribute as a quarterback has to be his rocket arm. He has such a strong arm that he can fire it 50 or more yards downfield without properly stepping into his throw. These kind of “off-platform” throws are not recommended, but it’s a nice tool to have if the pressure proves to be too great and the pocket area is too small.

When he steps into his throws, Osweiler can zip a pass about 70 yards downfield. There’s no question that he has one of the strongest arms in the league.

The best comparison for his arm strength (and overall skill set) is arguably Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco. Last year, Flacco thrived under then-Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak. It’s easy to see how Osweiler could thrive under Kubiak in Denver.

Osweiler is also a fine athlete who can accurately throw on the run. When plays break down, he is a threat to pick up yards with his feet if need be. He’s not going to break anybody’s ankles with elusiveness, but Osweiler’s long gait can eat up chunks of yards in a hurry.

This athleticism helps him when dropping back from under center as well.

His work from under center has been outstanding this offseason. In the Kubiak system, the quarterback is going to be asked to work less out of the shotgun. Osweiler enjoys either formation.

“In fact, it’s more under center since probably little guy football when you didn’t do shotgun," Osweiler said. "It’s good. I like it. You get your hand on the ball a little quicker. You’re able to make some reads that maybe would have taken a little bit more time than gun. There are obviously a lot of new things going on, but there are a lot of good things going on.”

Improvements Made

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Over the last three years, Osweiler has worked diligently to improve his game. Coming out of Arizona State, Osweiler had a low release point as a passer. He would also throw flat-footed when inside a clean pocket.

The Broncos have worked closely with Osweiler since he was drafted to be more light-footed when throwing from a clean pocket. Now, Osweiler is ready to throw or take off to run by properly putting enough weight on the balls of his feet. This helps the quickness of his throwing motion, and it also aids his ability to escape pressure in a collapsed pocket.

After practice on Monday, Osweiler commented on the importance of proper footwork in this offense.

“It entails everything. Everything about this offense—your feet tie into your progression. You guys have probably seen a coach on us pretty good about that. It’s telling you on one hitch the ball should be going here.” Osweiler explained, “If you’re taking one, you should be moving to here. If you’re taking two, you should be moving to here. Once again, it’s one of those newer things. I think it’s going to be a really great thing in the long run.”

Osweiler’s throwing motion is also cleaned up from what it was during his college career. He regularly throws today with a high release point over his head. Standing at 6’7”, even J.J. Watt on a stepladder would be hard-pressed to bat down one of his passes.

He can still drop his shoulder to deliver a pass if needed. When oncoming defenders have their hands up to disrupt passing lanes, Osweiler can sidearm a pass to an awaiting receiver.

His mechanics are better as a passer, and his improved footwork helps him throw with better accuracy.

Improvements Needed

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With all his progress as a pro passer, there are still some things Osweiler could work on. An improved part of his skill set is throwing with touch. However, there are still throws where Osweiler tries to rocket in passes instead of throwing with proper velocity.

Osweiler can throw deep with touch. Watching his deep passes rise and fall while leading a receiver to the right spot is a thing of beauty. He’s also good enough with his pass placement to throw passes to the correct shoulder where only his man has a chance to make a play on a long bomb.

The fourth-year quarterback needs to improve his touch when throwing short and intermediate routes.

The ball leaves his hand in a hurry, but there are times when a soft touch is needed. Osweiler is better at gliding passes into his receiver’s awaiting arms on short-to-intermediate routes, but he lacks consistency doing so.

A pass rocketed in at warp speed can knife through an unsuspecting receiver’s hands. This can lead to passes that bounce off facemasks or shoulder pads—and into the awaiting arms of a defender.

Osweiler knows he has things to work on, and that’s why he wants as many practice reps as possible.

“Like I said, I love the extra reps. I’ll take as many as they want to give me. In fact, sometimes I try to sneak in a couple extra," he said. "Zac, if I see him not running in there, I try to act like they’re my reps and then I get ripped out (laughing). It’s huge. I think it’s huge for development in a new offense. I’ll take as many as I can get.”

Kubiak has seen some improvements in Osweiler over the last two weeks.

“I’m asking him to read some things differently. I teach guys to read with their feet and how they hitch and how they do things without me going inside.” Kubiak explained, “He’s responding. The thing I like about him is when he does make a mistake and you correct something, the next day he fixes it. He works hard at his craft and this is really a good time for him to get reps.”

OTA Observations

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During the last two weeks, Osweiler has looked fantastic in the practices open to the media. He’s in full control when leading this team, and his bark before the snap can draw defenders offsides regularly. Teammates seem to respond to his leadership, and Osweiler is comfortable enough to move players around before the snap.

He has looked like a natural running the Kubiak system, and Osweiler looks like he’s ready to start in the NFL.

Osweiler looks to be doing a better job of reading the defense before the snap. He can easily scan the field as he’s dropping back because he’s so tall, and this asset gives him an advantage that plenty of other quarterbacks just don’t have.

He’s also doing a better job of leading his receivers. No longer are passes sailing off the mark or receivers put in bad positions to make a play. Now, Osweiler is better at using his eyes to manipulate the defense. This skill helps create space for receivers when running after the catch.

Osweiler is not afraid to challenge a defense. He has no fear when taking deep shots down the field. In fact, the vertical element of his game looks to be the most comfortable. This is really evident when watching him execute a play-action pass. Osweiler does a good job with his fake, and he looks smooth when firing a pass downfield.

Manning was rested on Monday, so Osweiler took all the snaps with the first team, and he was excited to do so.

“First of all, I absolutely love it. I’m getting more reps than I’ve ever gotten as a Bronco. I’m getting twice what I usually get. It’s very valuable to a new player, and especially in a new offense. You can only study so much in the classroom.” Osweiler concluded, “You need to get out to the grass and you need to go out there and run those plays. The more reps you can get, the better you’re going to be.”

Osweiler is clearly miles ahead of the other quarterbacks on the roster.

Zac Dysert looks like the same player he was two years ago. His arm is incredibly strong, but his accuracy and consistency leave a lot to be desired. Trevor Siemian lacks the accuracy and decision-making skills of a backup quarterback—let alone a starting quarterback.

It’s clear the only backup quarterback with starter’s ability and upside is Osweiler.

Summary

Osweiler was added to be the quarterback of the future for the Broncos, and that future is rapidly approaching. They have put a lot of time into him up to this point, and it would be tragic to see all that work benefit another team.

The NFL isn’t a quarterback-driven league—it’s a quarterback desperate league. If Osweiler hits the open market, he’s likely to draw interest from several teams as a starter. Right now, it’s not outlandish to think that Osweiler is better than five (or more) other starters across the league.

This team is likely to win too many games in 2015 to put themselves in position for a high draft pick. The best quarterbacks are likely to be off the board long before Denver is on the clock in the first round. If Denver wanted to move up to get a top quarterback, it would likely take a king’s ransom.

Instead of taking a chance with an inexperienced quarterback, the Broncos should just sign Osweiler to an extension before he hits the open market.

All quotes and injury/practice observations obtained firsthand. Record/statistical information provided via the Broncos' media department unless otherwise noted.

Contract and salary-cap information provided by Spotrac. Transaction history provided by Pro Sports Transactions.