Schlereth: Broncos need to be honest with themselves, identify ‘the guy’

The formula that has taken Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs to a 9-1 record thus far in 2018 is one the Denver Broncos can learn from, says Mark Schlereth.

The “Schlereth and Evans” co-host said on Wednesday that he believes the Broncos can take a page out of the Chiefs’ book by being realistic about who they are as a franchise and identifying the quarterback who can take them to the next level.

“I think the Broncos could learn a lot from Kansas City and say this is who we’ve got. We’ve got to pick out the guy in the draft that could take us to the next level and let him get a year underneath his belt,” Schlereth said.

Schlereth said Denver’s current trajectory mimics that of Kansas City, wherein they have found an “efficient” quarterback in Case Keenum who “probably is not going to win you a Super Bowl.”

The Chiefs, Schlereth said, had that in Alex Smith but traded him away once they identified Mahomes as the club’s future.

“They know exactly who they are,” Schlereth said.

Joel Klatt, college football analyst for Fox Sports, echoed those comments when he joined “Schlereth and Evans” on Wednesday morning.

“I think that Case Keenum was a solid placeholder. I think he was a guy who needed to be signed because of what had happened in the last couple of years,” Klatt said. “But, candidly, I don’t see Case being a Super Bowl quarterback. I really don’t.”

Moving forward, Schlereth said the Broncos need to “be honest” about who they are and “go about fixing the most glaring issues, the most glaring needs right off the bat.”

“And if you find that guy,” Schlereth said, “then you’ve got to go after that guy. Those are the things I believe that you have to do. Easy to say. Hard to do. But you’ll never get those things done if you’re not honest with yourself.”

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