Cure to Broncos red zone woes not just on Keenum, says Schlereth

In 2017 as a member of the Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos quarterback Case Keenum ranked fourth in the NFL among starters in red zone completion percentage.

At a 60 percent clip, Keenum only trailed Drew Brees, Carson Wentz, and Aaron Rodgers, throwing for 16 touchdowns and no interceptions on 33-of-53 passing.

The Vikings as a team ranked ninth in the NFL in red zone scoring efficiency, putting the ball in the end zone 57.9 percent of the time.

Comparatively, Denver’s quarterbacks Trevor Siemian, Brock Osweiler, and Paxton Lynch had red zone completion percentages at or below 45 percent. And the Broncos ranked dead last in red zone efficiency, scoring just 39.6 percent of the time.

And suffice to say, if Keenum can reproduce his 2017 with the Broncos in 2018, Denver 7 Broncos Insider Troy Renck said Friday, it’ll mean an uptick for Denver in terms of red zone scoring.

“If he can duplicate that or have something that resembles a facsimile of that, they’re in a much better position,” Renck said.

However, “Schlereth and Evans” host Mark Schlereth said it’s not all on Keenum to cure the Broncos red zone woes, — a lot of it relies on the teammates surrounding him.

“You expect a lot of net points when you get into the red zone and Case Keenum is your quarterback. Don’t expect net expected points with Case Keenum or anybody else playing quarterback for the Broncos if they don’t fix some issues,” Schlereth said.

Schlereth said Jake Butt or another tight end must step up and give Keenum a “legit red zome seam threat.” Also, Denver needs to “dictate” in the running game, and a running back needs to establish himself as someone who can “make the first guy miss.”

“You want to cure your red zone woes, don’t think a quarterback is going to do that. He’s going to help, but everybody else has to be better. Across the board,” Schlereth said. “That’s how you cure red zone woes.”

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.