Denver Post Broncos writer Nicki Jhabvala posts her Broncos Mailbag weekly during the season.
You can for the Broncos Mailbag here. Follow Nicki for more daily updates on and .
Trevor Siemian isn’t bad, I get it, but he isn’t a top-tier quarterback. All things being equal, why not see what Paxton Lynch, our first-round quarterback, can do since he’s the future of the team?
— Adam, Denver
Adam: At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the Broncos and coach Gary Kubiak like Siemian and believe strongly in his potential. His last outing wasn’t as good as his previous game against Houston, and both Kubiak and Siemian admitted as much. He made some poor decisions and had a lot of near-interceptions before his actual pick-six in the fourth quarter against San Diego.
“They’re teachable really when they’re near,” Kubiak said. “If not, they cost you games, so some of Trevor’s decision-making was not as good as itap been for us as a football team. He got knocked around quite a bit, too, so obviously he got away with some, didn’t get away with one. I think he understood that coming out of the game. We talked about that already so he has to continue to improve. He has seven starts under his belt and there’s going to be eight more big ones coming up here so he’s got to keep improving.”
As for Paxton Lynch, the Broncos believed enough in him to warrant trading up in the draft to get him. But I think itap difficult for outsiders to grasp the extent of the transition from college to the pros for any player, especially one coming from the system they ran at Memphis. Siemian had a year of learning Kubiak’s offense, behind Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler. Lynch has had six months.
And why would you switch quarterbacks when you’re winning?
Why don’t the Broncos use Andy Janovich more with C.J. Anderson out? He is a beast and reminds me of Peyton Hillis.
— Michael Nevins, Jackson, Miss.
Michael: Janovich was on the injury report last week and was limited in practice for two days with the hand injury. He practiced in full Friday and played Sunday with a brace on the hand, but he was still in on 27 snaps, or 42 percent of the offense. Itap fair to wonder if the club hindered his ability. Kubiak certainly did, as he tried to given an explanation for the Broncos’ “nonexistent” run game.
“I have to go figure it out, I know that,” Kubiak said after the game. “We came out throwing, but we did last week, too. Itap when you balance yourself up and all of a sudden I think we were four runs and 16 passes and just totally out of whack in what we were trying to do. I have to go take a look. I know Andy played with a club today. I have to go see if that was a factor. We have to go put all those things together and find out.”
Whatap going on with Jeff Heuerman, and will we see A.J. Derby play Sunday?
— Kat, Broomfield
Kat: Kubiak said he expects Derby to be ready for their game at Oakland on Sunday. He had only a few days of practice since arriving via trade with New England last week, and that wasn’t enough time to be able to execute the gameplan against the Chargers. But Kubiak, as well as general manager John Elway, are on high on the kid, which is why they gave up a fifth-round pick for him when he was originally selected in the sixth round, in 2015. He played four preseason games for the Patriots and recorded 15 catches for 189 yards and a touchdown. He played only 35 snaps in four regular-season games with the Patriots, but didn’t record a catch. Remember who he was playing behind, though: Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett.
If Kubiak’s expectations are met, Derby could be a key contributor to the Broncos’ offense and provide a spark to the tight end group. Kubiak’s offenses have typically relied heavily on tight ends, as well as the run game, and both groups have been lacking since he took over in Denver.
Plus, as the Broncos have found out with other positions, the arrival and potential success of Derby could push Jeff Heuerman. After a string of injuries that derailed his true rookie season, Heuerman has played five games this year, but has only two catches for 48 yards. He’s like a rookie in terms of playing experience, but he knows the system and, now, the Broncos need production.
Would the Broncos consider moving Donald Stephenson inside?
–Bill, Castle Rock
Bill: I was asked this quite a bit before the trading deadline. But Kubiak’s message before Tuesday was reinforced by the Broncos’ inaction at the deadline: They like their line and feel they can improve with the guys they got. The Broncos signed Russell Okung and Stephenson to start at tackle. Had they acquired another veteran tackle, in say, Joe Thomas or Joe Staley, Okung or Stephenson would have had to have shifted. It’s a nonissue now, of course, since the deadline has passed. But Kubiak didn’t feel it was an issue before.
“I need him to play right tackle as good as he can play,” Kubiak said Friday, adding that “we have to do some things offensively to help” Stephenson and Okung. “You put Russell and you put him on an island out there against good players, against (Joey) Bosa, (Melvin Ingram), they’re really good players, and you go out there and do it over and over and over again, itap hard to hold up. How do you help them? You help them by running the ball and you help them by chipping. You have to be able to help those guys, too.”
