‘C.J. and Stokley’: Siemian is Broncos offensive MVP at the bye

As the Denver Broncos head back to the practice field after the bye week, getting ready for ready for AFC West foe Kansas City on Sunday, they do so within striking distance of first place in one of arguably the toughest divisions in the NFL.

And with three games against the Chiefs, who dropped to 7-3 Sunday with a loss to Tampa Bay, and the Oakland Raiders, Denver the final six games of the regular season are of particular importance.

And the pressure will be on the sometimes-injured shoulders of the Broncos player both “C.J. and Stokley” co-host Charles Johnson and Brandon Stokley dubbed the team’s first-half MVP: Trevor Siemian.

On Thursday, both came to a consensus that Siemian, though not necessarily perfect or even great, has mustered seven wins as a second-year quarterback, which few would have conceived before the beginning of training camp.

“You’re talking about a guy that was a seventh-round draft pick out of Northwestern. What did you expect from him two years ago when you drafted him? Did you expect him to be able to come in here this year and help your football team win seven games? Not a chance,” Stokley said.

“Never thrown a pass in the NFL. Never started a game. And now he is the quarterback for the defending Super Bowl champion. He has done a great job of handling the situation, handling himself, handling adversity, everything that’s been thrown at him.”

Johnson made the comparison of Siemian’s campaign through the team’s first 10 games to that of Peyton Manning’s 10 regular season games played while quarterbacking the Broncos on their way to a Super Bowl 50 win.

“Through 10 games last year, the Hall of Famer had nine touchdown passes and 17 interceptions. You place those numbers on this year’s Broncos team, are we 7-3? Are we close to 7-3? No,” Johnson said.

“Trevor Siemian has 12 touchdown passes and 7 interceptions. Production from that position through 10 games … has been flipped on its head, completely turned around. Trevor has held this thing down.”

Siemian does trend toward the bottom third of NFL starting quarterbacks in most passing categories but does rank 15th in touchdown passes. Pro Football Focus grades him as the No. 30 quarterback in the NFL with a 44.1 mark, or poor according to its scale.

But Stokley believes Siemian’s been giving not a whole lot to work with, especially in terms of the ever-important run game and offensive line for a young quarterback.

“Two of the biggest assets for a young quarterback is a good offensive line and a running game, and you’ve got neither, and he’s still doing a good job,” Stokley said. “So you’ve got to give him a lot of credit because you look around at what he has to work with, and it’s not a lot. They haven’t helped him out a lot.”

In the locker room, however, he’s got the back of his teammates, who voted Siemian a midseason captain earlier this month.

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