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Denver Broncos: Case Keenum in similar situation to breakout 2017

By Cody Williams

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 21: Case Keenum #7 of the Minnesota Vikings reacts after throwing a first quarter touchdown to Kyle Rudolph (not pictured) against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship game at Lincoln Financial Field on January 21, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 21: Case Keenum #7 of the Minnesota Vikings reacts after throwing a first quarter touchdown to Kyle Rudolph (not pictured) against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship game at Lincoln Financial Field on January 21, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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The Denver Broncos signed quarterback Case Keenum in free agency, and they provide a similar situation to the one he thrived in with Minnesota.

No one saw the 2017 season coming from Case Keenum. The veteran was forced into action following an injury to Sam Bradford early in the season with the Minnesota Vikings, ultimately making 14 starts and 15 overall appearances in the regular season. In those starts, he went 11-3 and led the Vikings to the NFC North title. Now the Vikes have Kirk Cousins while Keenum has made his way to the Denver Broncos.

Keenum’s performance last season was highly unexpected as he completed 67.6 percent of his throws and ended his campaign with 3,547 yards, 22 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. However, given that he’d never shown that fully before, there are plenty who doubt his ability to lead the Broncos to similar success.

However, if you look at the general construction of the Broncos roster, things look a bit more promising. As it turns out, Keenum will be in a similar situation to the one he was a part of at the helm of the Vikings.

Looking at the talent around him on offense, it’s hard not to see the similarities. In Denver, Keenum will be playing behind a group that isn’t horrible by any stretch, but that is overall an average unit. That’s exactly what he was behind in Minnesota, and he was able to make do with nice mobility in the pocket and playmaking on the move.

Part of the reason he was able to make plays on the move was having the dynamic wide receiver duo of Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen, both of whom had monster seasons and are yards-after-catch monsters. Luckily for Keenum, he’ll have similar weapons with him in Denver in the form of Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. They can be his Diggs-Thielen combo with the Broncos.

Most importantly though, the Vikings last season were a team whose success was predicated on the quality of their defense. Even if Keenum struggled in a given game, Minnesota still had a chance thanks to the play of their defense.

As Keenum heads to the Broncos, it’s a different Denver defense than the one that led the corpse of Peyton Manning to a Super Bowl win. However, they still have a ton of firepower and are one of the league’s elite units when healthy, especially after adding Bradley Chubb with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.

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Considering that Keenum had never completed more than 61 percent of his passes or played in more than 10 games in a season prior to 2017, it’s fair to say that his success with Minnesota is an outlier in his career. With that said, he’s now at the helm of a Broncos team that offers him a very similar set of circumstances. And with that, we could see him replicate some of the success that he had last year and make Denver a contender in the AFC West.

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