Editor’s note: Second of a two-part series featuring Broncos general manager John Elway. Today Elway discusses the team and his expectations. Sunday, we shared his reflections on his first five years in the front office.

John Elway has always had this habit of trying to make the impossible possible. Five years into his tenure as the head of Broncos football operations, little has changed.

Most mornings, about an hour into his team’s training camp practices, he saunters over to the sideline, clad in his usual navy Broncos shorts and aviator sunglasses, and quietly finds a spot at the 30-yard-line. He folds his arms, crosses his legs and sets in to watch drills, occasionally welcoming small talk with assistant coaches and even hosting a few guests, all while keeping his eyes fixated on the 90 men in front of him.

Elway is trying to blend in, an all-but-impossible feat for the face of a franchise.

“Just to be around them, because I don’t get them in meeting rooms,” he says. “I just try to hang, and you get a feel for guys and personalities and how they fit.”

Nearly 20 years after leading the Broncos to back-to-back Super Bowl championships as a quarterback, Elway has a shot at another repeat, this time as a general manager. The man who just wants to blend in is now searching for the perfect blend of talent and character to lead his team out of the Peyton Manning era and into the “To Be Determined” era.

The transition plan that was put in place nearly four years ago fell apart in March when quarterback Brock Osweiler bolted Denver for riches in Houston. The hole at quarterback was filled with the arrival of veteran Mark Sanchez, the rise of second-year pro Trevor Siemian and the first-round draft selection of Paxton Lynch.

“That’s why you can never lock into one solution,” Elway said. “You always have to have several options and go with what’s best. I haven’t talked to Brock about it. I’ve only kind of heard about it, of why he may have been a little bit upset about the way things went.”

Osweiler was benched in the second half of the Broncos’ final regular-season game, against San Diego. Manning took over from that point, taking every snap in the playoffs.

“I can understand that he didn’t want to sit down and have Peyton come back in that San Diego game, but it wasn’t the fact that Brock was playing bad,” Elway said. “We needed a change of something. So I was a little surprised just how he seemed to be a little bent out of shape about that. But he had an opportunity to make a tremendous amount of money in Houston, and for us, it just didn’t fit.”

The right fit at quarterback is still to be decided. Elway and coach Gary Kubiak insist the competition for the starting QB job remains open, dependent on myriad factors from running the huddle to overall grasp of the offense and beyond. But the two leaders in the race were declared early: Sanchez, who arrived with an edge in the form of having played in six postseason games that included a pair of AFC championship games, and Siemian, a Northwestern product whose strong arm and year-over-year leap continue to impress the coaching staff.

“To be able to get Mark and then have Trevor that we drafted last year who’s having a good camp and a guy that we believe can be the future in Paxton — it’s just a matter of him coming along and continuing to improve,” Elway said. “It may not look as good from the outside as people want it to look. But we feel pretty good about how it looks from the inside. We feel good about that spot in the years to come and of what Mark can do. We think he’s got the ability, if we get him in the right situation, to be a very sufficient and adequate quarterback.”

The identity of this year’s offense is still being formed, but the Broncos remain a defense-first group, a dynamic Elway created after taking office in 2011. Although the Broncos lost a pair of starters — defensive end Malik Jackson and inside linebacker Danny Trevathan — their exits as free agents were expected and the core of the defense remains intact, if not improved.

The secondary gained Justin Simmons, an athletic and versatile rookie safety. The line welcomed veterans Jared Crick and promising first-year end Adam Gotsis. And the pass rush still has its star in all-pro outside linebacker Von Miller, Elway’s first draft selection who is now a handsomely paid Super Bowl MVP.

On paper, the Broncos of 2016 may have more talent than their championship roster from only six months ago. But as Elway knows, it’s all about finding the perfect blend.

“That’s how I look at our team this offseason: Did we get better as a football team? I believe we did,” he said. “And the other thing is, when people are doubting you, it adds that incentive. We’re kind of in that situation right now. Hopefully we can continue to use that chip and keep ourselves mentally on the right track.”

Roster movement

General manager John Elway has said he enjoys the challenge of finding the right pieces for a championship roster. Here’s a look at some of the Broncos’ roster moves since winning Super Bowl 50:

Gone

Peyton Manning, QB, retired

Brock Osweiler, QB, free agency

Malik Jackson, DE, free agency

Danny Trevathan, LB, free agency

David Bruton, S, free agency

Ryan Clady, OT, trade

Evan Mathis, G, free agency

Ryan Harris, OT, free agency

Louis Vasquez, G, waived

Owen Daniels, TE, contract expired

Arrived

Mark Sanchez, QB, trade

Paxton Lynch, QB, draft

Donald Stephenson, OT, free agency

Russell Okung, OT, free agency

Jared Crick, DE, free agency

Adam Gotsis, DE, draft

Justin Simmons, S, draft

Devontae Booker, RB, draft