Quarterback Chad Kelly may have been “Mr. Irrelevant” in the 2017 NFL draft but for the Denver Broncos, he’s anything but that.

After missing the 2017 season to completely recover from a wrist injury he sustained on his pro day, Kelly had a relatively impressive preseason showing that saw him achieve a quarterback rating (QBR) of 92.8 after he completed 66.7 percent of his passes for 466 total yards and three touchdowns (to two interceptions). He gained another 42 yards on the ground, averaging 8.4 yards per carry and showing off the athleticism he was known for at Ole Miss.

In his first career preseason game, fans could be heard chanting Kelly’s name after watching the quarterbacks in front of him struggling in the first half. Still, there were signs in training camp that Kelly would be a player fans would take joy in watching Kelly, whom Broncos head coach Vance Vance dubbed “a playmaker.”

“Chad is different,” Joseph said. “He’s a playmaker. If it’s a dirty play, he makes it look clean. That’s his strength. He’s just a playmaker, so if it looks really muddy, he comes out and makes a play. That’s what he does.”

Though preseason stats aren’t predictive of regular season success, as Mile High Sports’ Joe Mahoney illustrates here, the visible differences between how Kelly and Paxton Lynch operated on the field allowed the 2016 Sugar Bowl MVP to ascend to the backup quarterback role previously held by Lynch.

With Lynch, a first-round pick in 2016 who was released in September, Denver would watch a player who struggled to make pre-snap reads in an anemic offense. Kelly, on the other hand, has shown both an intimate understanding of how to read NFL-caliber defenses and natural anticipatory instincts.

Unfortunately, despite the Broncos replacing quarterback Trevor Siemian with Case Keenum, their offense is still mediocre and seemingly even more so.

After five games, Keenum has thrown for 1,365 yards (ranked 16th in the NFL) and has a QBR of 34.6 (ranked 30th in the NFL). With an elite quarterback and high-volume scoring teams going hand-in-hand, it should come as no surprise that Denver only scores 20.0 points per game (ranked 28th in the NFL).

Kelly is a player with an arm that should allow the Broncos to play more vertical than they have in quite some time and take advantage of underutilized deep threats like Demaryius Thomas, who averages 10.9 yards per reception (ranked 164th in the NFL). Further, while he’s surely going to make the type of mistakes that inexperienced quarterbacks are known to make, he’s a player with the type of “it” factor that can be found in players like Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield.

Kelly has had plenty of time to learn that being a quarterback in the NFL requires more than talent and film study but leadership. He’ll not only be that spark that Denver has been missing but he’s going to be able to be a leader of men, too.

That said, throwing him into the fire against the undefeated Los Angeles Rams in Week 6 would still be an unfair challenge to give him in his debut. However, starting Kelly against the Arizona Cardinals (1-4) would be a great opportunity to let Kelly get his feet wet.

Win or lose, Keenum’s last week as a starter should be in Week 6. Even in the Broncos two wins, Keenum has been unimpressive with a completion percentage of 59.5 and just three touchdowns (to two interceptions). Between Week 2 and Week 4, Keenum was unable to eclipse 250 passing yards in any game.

Tying themselves to an average-at-best quarterback for another two seasons isn’t going to allow the Broncos to take advantage of the talent they’ve amassed. Kelly can be special and, while he shouldn’t be expected to magically fix everything that’s been wrong with the Broncos this season, at quarterback, he gives them a better chance to succeed both in the present and in the future.