Fantasy Index

Factoid

Brock Osweiler

Would switch to Osweiler help Denver connect on long passes?

Within the next two weeks, the Broncos will either release Peyton Manning or he’ll retire. That likely will result in the Super Bowl champions re-signing and transitioning to Brock Osweiler. With a much stronger arm, that in theory should help the Broncos have more success throwing deeper balls downfield. Or will it?

Osweiler played almost half of last season, and in that sizeable chunk of action, he wasn’t any better than Manning at driving the ball downfield. In fact, he was even worse.

Osweiler attempted 275 passes last year, yet completed only 17 passes of 20-plus yards. That was the lowest ratio in the league among quarterbacks with at least 200 attempts.

Maybe he’ll be better when given more of a chance from the git-go. But in a couple of years, we might look at Osweiler as more of a Elvis Grbac. The arm and potential are there, but it’s possible that he’ll never quite develop into an above-average NFL starter.

PERCENTAGE OF 20-YARD PASSES
QuarterbackAtt20+Pct
Andy Dalton3865213.47%
Russell Wilson4836012.42%
Carson Palmer5376512.10%
Blake Bortles6067211.88%
Tyrod Taylor3804511.84%
Jay Cutler4835310.97%
Drew Brees6276810.85%
Marcus Mariota3704010.81%
Jameis Winston5355710.65%
Cam Newton4955210.51%
Ben Roethlisberger4694810.23%
Ryan Tannehill586579.73%
Aaron Rodgers572559.62%
Blaine Gabbert282279.57%
Ryan Fitzpatrick562539.43%
Tom Brady624589.29%
Derek Carr573539.25%
Kirk Cousins543509.21%
Teddy Bridgewater447419.17%
Alex Smith470428.94%
Joe Flacco413368.72%
Brian Hoyer369328.67%
Sam Bradford532468.65%
Matt Hasselbeck256228.59%
Johnny Manziel223198.52%
Eli Manning618528.41%
Matthew Stafford592498.28%
Josh McCown292248.22%
Philip Rivers661538.02%
Nick Foles337278.01%
Matt Ryan614497.98%
Colin Kaepernick244197.79%
Andrew Luck293227.51%
Peyton Manning331247.25%
Matt Cassel204136.37%
Brock Osweiler275176.18%

—Ian Allan

Fantasy Index