ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- As roster cuts loomed and Denver Broncos coach Gary Kubiak wanted to make a point to younger players about hard work, confidence and dreams, he had the perfect example.

And that was Kubiak's newly minted starting quarterback. Trevor Siemian was a seventh-round draft pick by the Broncos in 2015, arriving to the team with a bit of a limp as he still was recovering from surgery to repair a torn ACL. Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler were the Broncos quarterbacks last season, and Siemian’s playing time as a rookie consisted of one regular-season snap -- a kneel-down at that.

"This is the start of Trevor’s career," Kubiak said. "I want him to have a good career. What an opportunity. I told the young players … as a coach you go down there and preach to your team about work and great things can happen. I told these young kids, this guy was a seventh-round pick and came in here last year hurt. He’s the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos. That’s pretty good stuff. That’s really exciting for me. I’m excited for him."

The Broncos have put the guy-who-follows-Manning job in the hands of Siemian because he not only won the job but they liked how he went about doing it. He was chosen over prized first-round pick Paxton Lynch and eight-year veteran in Mark Sanchez, who has 72 regular-season and six playoff starts.

In addition to having a rare arm, Siemian won the job because the Broncos believe he can handle it. And that carried plenty of weight in the decision-making process given Kubiak and John Elway, the Broncos’ executive vice president of football operations/general manager, both have done the job, Elway as a Hall of Famer with the Broncos when Kubiak was his backup.

"I like Trevor," Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall said. "I liked him last year; I was telling people that I think he can be good. His accuracy is really good. He’s poised. I think he’s really calm. I think he’s confident. He has like a quiet confidence about him, so I’m looking forward to seeing him play."

Elway was asked if a veteran quarterback -- the Broncos signed Austin Davis -- was coming in to help Siemian and Lynch or to compete for the starting job. Elway threw his considerable vocational power behind Siemian.

"Trevor is the guy," Elway said. "We have a lot of confidence in Trevor and believe that he can do the job. It's Trevor's job, but he's not going to be looking over his shoulder. He's got a lot of support. Trevor earned the job. I'm excited about it. I'm excited to see him play and I think we're in good shape there."

Kubiak told players in a team meeting Siemian would be the starter. Kubiak spent the offseason workouts, training camp and preseason games wrestling with the decision. For much of the spring and summer work, Kubiak split the practice plays evenly among Siemian, Lynch and Sanchez for weeks at a time.

"Somebody asked me when I felt like Trevor looked like he had a chance to get to this point and really, I thought it was through the offseason, OTAs," Kubiak said. "I knew he was a good kid. I knew he worked hard. I knew he watched Peyton go about his business. … I think every day he showed us, I can do this, I’m going to be competitive in this situation and I believe in myself."

Which is why the Broncos have put Siemian in the lineup. And his debut comes on a huge stage -- a Super Bowl rematch with the Carolina Panthers, in prime time, on a Thursday night with no other game to provide any sort of cover for what happens in downtown Denver.

Siemian’s teammates believe he can handle it -- wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders has called him a "cool customer" -- and have referenced Siemian’s level-headed approach to the job. Broncos running back C.J. Anderson was asked what his confidence level in Siemian is standing on the doorstep of the season.

"Super," Anderson said. "As confident as he is. That’s a guy I’m going to go play for. [No.] 13 knows I’ve got his back."

As he moves through the week leading up to his biggest football moment, Siemian has tried to stay focused. And save for answering a few text messages from his mom, he plans to concentrate on getting ready for the Panthers.

"I’ve got some great teammates to lean on in the huddle," Siemian said. "You can’t be trigger shy playing quarterback, especially with our group and the players we have. I have a good opportunity to get those guys the ball, whether it’s [Demaryius Thomas], Emmanuel [Sanders], whoever it is, so I feel good about everything, really have a lot of confidence in guys I’m working with, so I’m really excited for Thursday to come around."