ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — As the Broncos jogged off the practice field Monday, Head Coach Vance Joseph gathered his players in the team meeting room to announce the captains of this year's team.
Quarterback Case Keenum and center Matt Paradis will lead the offense, linebacker Todd Davis and outside linebacker Von Miller will guide the defense and kicker Brandon McManus and fullback Andy Janovich will represent special teams.
The six players — four of whom are first-time captains with the Broncos — were voted on by their teammates.
"All six guys are deserving of the honor and I'm excited about those guys leading our team," Joseph said.
Davis, a fifth-year player who has a team-high 179 tackles over the last two seasons, didn't downplay the honor when asked about it on Monday.
"For me, it's a huge honor for this great group of guys to see me as somebody that's a leader and somebody that they'll follow into battle," Davis said. "That's huge for me. Now I just have to step up, continue to be that guy that works hard every single day — day in and day out — and do my best for all of my guys in the locker room."
Davis joins Miller — a second-time captain — as a defensive leader.
"I'm proud of Todd," Joseph said. "Todd has done things right since I've been here for two years. He's been a guy that we can count on. I'm really pleased that he became one of our captains."
Paradis joins Davis as a first-year captain, and his durability and toughness are likely reasons why he was chosen by his teammates. In his three seasons with the Broncos, Paradis has not missed a single snap. Only two other NFL players have matched that feat over the last three years.
"He's been a model teammate," said Joseph of Paradis. "He's engaged every day in meetings and on the practice field, so he's also deserving."
And then there's Keenum, who has spent the offseason aiming to earn his teammates' trust. As Joseph said Monday, Keenum has clearly accomplished that task.
"Case won by a long shot," Joseph said. "His teammates really believe in him. He's our quarterback. He's our leader — not just [as the] quarterback, but in the locker room, the man he is. His teammates have respect for him."
Rookie wide receiver Courtland Sutton made that quite clear when asked whether it was an easy decision to vote Keenum as one of the offense's captains.
"One-hundred percent," Sutton said. "Everyone looks at their quarterback as the guy [they] want to be their leader. … You've got a guy that goes out and he works his butt off to prove that point. And it's not just, you're a captain because you're a quarterback. He works his butt off to earn that title, because he comes in and goes to work every single day. And he leads — not only by example — but [through] his words [and] everything he does.
"He's a leader. He's a captain. He's a guy I know I want to follow for sure."
