No. 9 – Brock Osweiler

Peyton Manning has been the buzz around town, and not in a good way. The 18-year vet is posting some of the worst numbers of his career. Even with the Broncos sitting undefeated, with only the Cleveland Browns standing in their way before the bye week, there have already been calls for Osweiler to begin getting some playing time.

Osweiler has the athleticsm to run the bootleg in Gary Kubiak’s offense which could open up options for the running game. He also has a much stronger arm than Manning to open up the deep passing game.

But, as Doug Ottewill pointed out in Tuesday’s Daily column, the backup is seldom the answer for a struggling offense. Brock may be the future, but he could cost the Broncos a playoff appearance now if Gary Kubiak makes the same rash decision Mike Shanahan did with Jake Plummer and Jay Cutler.