Eric Goodman and Les Shapiro, longtime Denver journalists and the two closest people to the Broncos here at Mile High Sports, played a game of compare and contrast trying to sort out some recent comments by Broncos head coach Vance Joseph in an effort to determine who has the best shot of starting at quarterback this fall.

The answer seems pretty clear, according to Goodman and Shapiro, when you dissect what Joseph said will be the biggest factor in determining his starter.

Here’s what Joseph told Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated in a story published earlier this week:

“I’d say decision-making is going to be a major factor in who wins the job,” Joseph said. “That’s the position in the NFL—the guy who makes great decisions with the football, not turning the football over, and the guy who lets his teammates play for him, that’s the guy I want to lead our football team. Obviously, ball placement in the pass game, the ability to get us into the best play, those things are important.

“But it comes down to decision-making—that’s the biggest factor in this decision I’m going to make.”

With that in mind, Joseph said this about incumbent starter Trevor Siemian:

“Siemian plays ‘a game of patience, it’s a game of confidence. He is in control. … He’s a smart guy, he throws the ball where it should go most of the time, he’s got a high football IQ.’”

On 2016 first-round draft pick Paxton Lynch, Joseph had this to say:

“The physical ability is there. He’s a first-round pick, great height, great arm talent, great mobility.”

“Isn’t that apparent?” Shapiro said. “Trevor Siemian is the leader in the clubhouse, and it might not even be close.”

Comparing Joseph’s comments on each player, Goodman proceeded to ponder the following:

“Decision-making is going to be a major factor on who wins the job. Do you want the guy with the high football IQ, or the guy who’s a first-round draft pick?

“Do you want the guy, if decision-making is going to cement your decision on who your starting quarterback is, do you want the guy who is in control, or the guy who has great height?

“If the major factor in deciding who the quarterback is, is about decision-making, do you want the guy who’s the smart guy, or the guy who’s got great arm talent?”

With that exercise complete, it seems pretty clear that it’s firmly Trevor Siemian’s job to lose as the team enters the next wave of OTAs and looks ahead to mandatory minicamp in June.

Joseph also told Breer that there is no deadline for deciding on his quarterback, suggesting that it could even go down to the final week of training camp,

Listen to the full discussion, including how Goodman and Shapiro perceive the relationship between Joseph and his quarterbacks to be evolving so far, in the podcast below.

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