Chad Kelly is a former Mr. Irrelevant, while Paxton Lynch is a former first-round draft pick. But there’s little doubt that Kelly is the better of the Broncos’ two backup quarterbacks.
Kelly passed Lynch on the depth chart last week, and in Saturday night’s preseason game Kelly again outplayed Lynch. Kelly went 7-for-9 for 90 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions, while Lynch went 5-for-11 for 39 yards, with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
Kelly’s touchdown pass was a laser to rookie receiver Courtland Sutton, the kind of pass the Broncos just haven’t seen from Lynch since moving up in the draft to take him with the 26th overall pick in 2016.
Lynch was beaten out by former seventh-round draft pick Trevor Siemian last year, and now he’s being beaten out by another former seventh-round pick this year. At this point Lynch looks unlikely to be on the Broncos’ 53-man roster.
Case Keenum is the undisputed starter in Denver, but Kelly is making a strong statement that he’d be ready to go if Keenum gets hurt. Lynch is making a strong statement that he’s just never going to be ready to be an NFL quarterback.