Good morning, Broncos Country.

It has been an eventful start to the week for the Denver Broncos, who named third-year pro Trevor Siemian their starting quarterback for the 2017 season. Barring injury, Head Coach Vance Joseph went on to declare that the move is a permanent decision.

So folks, if you aren’t on the Siemian bandwagon, you might want to get on it, because few scenarios exist where second-year quarterback Paxton Lynch will be seeing any significant time on the gridiron. That is unless you feel that Siemian doesn’t deserve to leave the team and is a fringe NFL starter with limited upside.

Fans concerned with Siemian’s upside and potential certainly aren’t alone. Well-respected ESPN Senior Writer Mike Sando recently released his annual NFL QB Tier Rankings for the 2017 season, which has Siemian ranked as a Tier 4 quarterback, and the twenty-sixth rated quarterback overall in the league. Sando defines a Tier 4 quarterback as such:

“A Tier 4 quarterback could be an unproven player with some upside, or a veteran that is ultimately best suited as a backup. Teams might not want these guys starting all 16 games.”

Sando’s rankings are in-depth and include quotes from coaches and various NFL personnel staff from across the league. Some of those people praised Siemian for the work he did in his second season, while some where not so friendly in their assessment of him as a player. Let’s begin with a positive quote from Sando’s rankings in respect to Siemian.

"I see him having really good upside," an offensive coordinator said. "I go back to their first game of the year, against Carolina. The first or second play, somebody comes clean off the left edge and he is throwing a little wide receiver screen. For him to shape the ball around that guy and understand that he couldn't throw it over the top, I was like, 'Whoa, that is a big-time play for a guy that is just starting out.'"

While that statement should please some of Siemian’s biggest fans, an unidentified team’s quarterback coach believes Trevor lacks defining traits that would allow him to become a quality starter. He succinctly summed up his thoughts with one quote.

"I would love to play him every week," this coach said.

Regardless of what the analysts say, Siemian is ready to move on after winning the quarterback battle and is focused on doing whatever it takes to lead the offense to greater heights in 2017. Conventional wisdom would state that few players with Siemian’s background will succeed in the NFL, but to date, Trevor has proved everyone wrong and has cemented his status as the team’s starter for two consecutive seasons.

As a betting man, I wouldn’t dare bet against Trevor this season. With a revamped offensive system that focuses on getting the ball out early, an upgraded offensive line and a myriad of additions at various skill positions — Siemian should be poised to have a good season for the team if he stays healthy and keeps grinding, just like he has since he was a seventh-round pick three seasons ago.

As always, thank you for reading and here is today’s offering of Horse Tracks.

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