Bye: Chad Kelly outshines top QB picks, Keenum in preseason

Aug 27, 2018, 8:05 AM Updated: 1:46 pm

Quarterback Chad Kelly #6 of the Denver Broncos leading the offense against the Washington Redskins at FedExField stadium in Landover, Maryland. August 24, 2018 (Photo by Joe Amon/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

(Photo by Joe Amon/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

The hype surrounding Denver Broncos backup quarterback Chad Kelly has been strong since the start of training camp, but have the numbers proven it out?

“Stokley and Zach” co-host Zach Bye, on Friday ahead of Denver’s third preseason game, said not only has Kelly outperformed first-round talents Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, and Josh Rosen but also the Broncos own starter Case Keenum.

“If you were just looking at the snapshot of the preseason, and you weren’t taking Case Keenum’s 2017, and you were just looking at them side by side, I’ll be the first one to say it, Chad Kelly has played better than Case Keenum this preseason,” Bye said.

Side by side through three games, Kelly does have a statistical edge while playing against different tiers of competitors.

Kelly has averaged 8.3 yards per play, thrown for three touchdowns, has a 68.3 percent completion percentage, and a 107.8 QB rating. Comparatively, Keenum has 6.6 yards per play, no touchdowns, a 60 percent completion percentage, and a 79.6 QB rating.

“I’m not saying that Chad Kelly is better. I’m saying I don’t think Case Keenum, in the snapshot of 2018, has played that significantly better than Chad Kelly,” Bye said.

Compared to Rosen, Allen, Darnold, and Mayfield, Kelly leads all in each of those passing categories as well.

“To use the old alien analogy, if you came down and you saw the guy play, you wouldn’t be able to distinguish Mr. Irrelevant from a first-round quarterback by the numbers,” Bye said.

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