ENGLEWOOD -- The Broncos reintroduced their quarterback Tuesday. Case Keenum is their guy. The team’s No. 1 target.
Meanwhile, who was walking around team headquarters Tuesday? Baker Mayfield. The Heisman Trophy winner was in on a pre-draft visit.
Keenum said that as of early Tuesday afternoon, he had not met Mayfield. Apparently, the UCHealth Training Center is bigger than it looks.
Tell the truth, Case. You can’t possibly want the Broncos to draft Baker Mayfield No. 5 overall?
“Well, it’s not my decision,’’ Keenum said in an interview with 9NEWS. “It’s not. It really doesn’t matter what I want. But I know the guys upstairs. And I trust those guys. They’re bringing in exactly who they need to bring in in the draft and then afterwards to try and make this team the best team it can be.
“For me, I always love competition. Nothing’s ever been handed to me. I know whoever comes in here is going to be somebody who can add to our team and make our team better.’’
Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. Let’s say what he won’t: If the Broncos do take Mayfield, or Josh Allen, or Sam Darnold, or Josh Rosen with their No. 5 pick, it would not help Keenum.
And it would likely hurt him. The guys in the locker room would not look at him as their leader. They would look at him as a seat warmer.
What would make Keenum the quarterback of a better team in 2018 than the Broncos’ version that went 5-11 last year is if the Broncos picked up Penn State running back Saquon Barkley or Notre Dame guard Quenton Nelson with their No. 5 pick.
“Honestly, I don’t watch a lot of television,’’ Keenum said.
If he did, he’d known the town’s the sports talking heads have been obsessed with the possibility of the Broncos taking a quarterback with their No. 5 draft pick. The possibility appears to be at least 50-50 given general manager John Elway’s numerous in-person visits with the Big 4: Mayfield, Darnold, Allen and Rosen.
“I know, that’s your job,’’ Keenum said. “For me, it’s in here watching film. I couldn’t tell you who’s on the Big Board. For me, my evaluation is when we get in here with the team, when we get in here in the locker room. How do we interact with the guys? How are we in the weight room? How are they on the practice field? How are they in some adverse situations?
“That’s when I do my evaluation and can I trust this guy to be at this depth when I need him on this hot route?
“That’s my mindset. I’ll let those guys upstairs do their job.’’
Fair enough. Know this: Even if the Broncos do take a quarterback at No. 5, that rookie will be sitting behind Keenum in 2018. Keenum, who is guaranteed to make $18 million this season, is guaranteed to be the starter.
Was he a little anxious joining his new teammates for the first time for the start of the Broncos’ offseason workout program this week as a hired gun of sorts?
“I wouldn’t say anxious is the word,’’ he said. “I was excited. There may have been a little bit of first-day-of-school nerves. But that’s normal, that’s fun. It’s new and exciting. It’s another step in my journey and my family’s journey, my wife and I and we’re excited to come to Denver and make an impact here and play football. And not only represent this great organization but represent the city of Denver and state of Colorado. I’m excited.’’
Keenum said he would get outside and throw the football around Wednesday. Maybe, Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders will catch a few of his spirals for the first time.
“Just being around them, getting to know them today, eating lunch or breakfast, it’s been great,’’ Keenum said. “I look forward to building that relationship and form that bond, that chemistry. I think it’s very important.’’
Keenum is still a Bronco. Mayfield left Tuesday afternoon for a visit with the Arizona Cardinals.
Awkward situation averted. For now.
