ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Ahead of the Broncos' opener against the Los Angeles Chargers, Head Coach Vance Joseph announced his five captains for the 2017 season.

All-Pros Von Miller and Aqib Talib will represent the defense, Demaryius Thomas and Trevor Siemian were voted as the offensive captains and Brandon McManus will be the lone special teams captain.

Joseph outlined his expectations for the five players after Wednesday's practice.

"Well, great leadership," Joseph said. "To be a captain is a lot of responsibility. So I expect great leadership, work every day. I want those guys to be on every day. That's what I expect from those guys."

Miller, who was named a captain for the first time in his career, has taken on an advanced leadership role this offseason.

"Since my time here," Joseph said, "Von has been a great leader as far as how he's worked, how he's helped the young guys. He is a different guy according to the coaches that have been here. So I'm not surprised that Von was voted a captain. I'm not."

But although the honor didn't arrive until this season for Miller, he said he's always tried to operate in a manner that's consistent with a captain's behavior.

"It was cool," Miller said. "I've always felt like I was a captain, it's just official now. It's a great honor. It's voted on by your teammates — the guys that you spend all your time with each and every day. It's an incredible feeling."

Thomas enters his third season as a team captain, while Siemian will begin his second season as a captain. Siemian was voted a captain at midseason in 2016.

"It's an unreal honor for me," Siemian said. "It's really cool. The respect that I have for the locker room, it's cool to see they have some respect for me. We're just a couple of guys that got named, but we've got so many leaders. It's just really cool to be a part of."

McManus and Talib will each represent the Broncos for the first time.

Earlier in the preseason, McManus said one of his goals for the season would be to serve as a captain. That goal became a reality Wednesday as his teammates voted him into the role. As the Broncos head into the season, he said he's ready for the demands of the job.

"Obviously there's multiple types of captains: ones that are vocal and some that [lead] by example," McManus said. "I'm not the biggest speaker. Obviously I'm friends with a lot of these guys, but I will speak up if I need to and there's an issue. I show up to work every day with a great attitude and willing to work and lead by example on the field. I hope they kind of see me as that leader and kind of feed off of me."

The Broncos voted Wednesday ahead of practice on who would represent the team.