Another year, another quarterback competition for the Denver Broncos. Unlike last year, this one will only be a two-horse race however, as there is no Mark Sanchez around stealing reps. This one will be mano a mano, pitting incumbent Trevor Siemian against former first-round pick Paxton Lynch.

Both Siemian and Lynch spoke to the media on Thursday. Neither seems worried about the competition. Lynch seems excited about it. Siemian at least expected it.

“I think you learn pretty quickly, or at least I did, that you have to earn it every year, every day in this league,” Siemian said. “That goes beyond me and Paxton; that’s everybody.”

Lynch thinks he has a better chance this year. Moving to the NFL from Memphis was a big transition for him. Now, if nothing else, he feels more prepared.

“It’s the same situation that I came into,” Lynch said. “I’ve had a year in the NFL. Kind of a year to adjust. I’m ready to come in here and compete and have an opportunity to go out there and be the starter.

“Obviously, I believe in myself to be the starter this year.”

Both quarterbacks agree that they can be better than they were last year. For the incumbent Simian however, he feels there is a solid foundation to build upon.

“I know I can get better, I have a lot of room to improve, but I think I have some things to build on,” Siemian said, “so I’m really excited.”

Some of the improvement will just come with having more experience. Some more however, may come from the addition of Mike McCoy as offensive coordinator, as he is known for his ability to tailor his offense to his quarterback.

“I’m very glad that we have Mike here, Coach [Bill] Musgraves here,” Lynch said. “They’re two very good coaches. This week, we’ve gone over the playbook with Coach McCoy and the offense. It’s looked good.”

Though they will battle each other for the right to start from now until the end of the preseason, Lynch are still teammates and are still close. Do not expect that to change.

“Obviously, we’re competing against each other; but at the end of the day, we’re still guys, we’re still friends,” Lynch said. “He helps me and I help him as much as I can.”