Editor’s note: In addition to our overarching observations every day, throughout Broncos’ training camp, we will be picking at least one position battle each practice to focus in on. We’ll give an in-depth look at how the battle looked that day, and where each of the competitors stand in the race.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — “We have a quarterback,” Emmanuel Sanders said with a big smile on his face on Sunday afternoon. “That’s one question we can check off.”

That, as it appears, is true.

But the question directly below that on the list, “Do you have a backup quarterback?” Has no check mark in sight.

After an opening practice that saw Lynch ride his usual rollercoaster while Kelly looked extremely underwhelming all around, Sunday’s practice saw a bit of a shift.

What we saw today

Kelly takes strides

If we’re being honest, for a quarterback who has garnered a lot of hype, Chad Kelly has yet to live up to it since getting back on the field at rookie mini camp in April. On Sunday, though, the de facto rookie seemed to finally get a bit more comfortable.

On his opening series of the team period, Kelly was left with a third-and-short situation. After faking an inside handoff to the right, Kelly kept the ball and took off running to the left, ripping off at least 30 yards and getting up the sideline before the defense finally converged. Had the play been live, Kelly would have had a chance to make a move or break a tackle to get into the end zone.

From the perspective of the sideline, it seemed as if hitting a full sprint with the ball in his hand gave the young quarterback the jolt he needed. It also showed that his knee is most certainly healthy.

After that play, Kelly appeared to operate more confidently, hanging in the pocket when he could and getting outside when he needed to. He seems to struggle a bit with throwing the changeup to receivers on shorter routes—much like Paxton—and can get himself into trouble by overthrowing and causing balls to deflect upwards.

He showed a nice connection with OTA standout John Diarse and rookie tight end Troy Fumagalli on the day.

In the end, Kelly completed more than 60 percent of his passes, with most of those coming within 10 yards or the line of scrimmage. It wasn’t a perfect day by any means, but it was a step in the right direction.

Lynch missing the highs

Being inconsistent is better when you’re consistently inconsistent.

Make sense?

Allow me to explain.

On Saturday, Lynch made multiple big plays, twice dialing up long balls that electrified the crowd on the hill at the UC Health Training Center. Sure, he also had an interception, and multiple balls knocked down at the line, but with the big plays on one side and that bad plays on the other, the seesaw was pretty balanced.

The problem with that inconsistency is that the bad plays are a lot easier to come by than the good plays and when the good plays don’t come, things can get ugly.

On Sunday for Paxton Lynch, the big plays never came.

Overall, it wasn’t an awful day for Lynch, who completed more than 60 percent of his passes, with most of his snaps resulting in modest gains, but when you pair mediocre play with an interception and multiple balls getting tipped at the line, the final grade doesn’t come out so hot.

Lynch’s best work of the day came when targeting Courtland Sutton, who he hit downfield multiple times, the best of which a nice back shoulder throw to the menacing rookie, who used his body to prevent cornerback Tramaine Brock from having any chance to make a play on the ball. Sutton continues to impress early in camp.

All in all, as Kelly took a step forward on the day, Lynch took a step back.

Accuracy drill

In what has become a media favorite this offseason, the three quarterbacks stand 20 yards away from a net that had three small nets in the middle of it and are told by a coach which way to roll in the pocket as well as which of the three pockets to aim for.

On the day, Chad Kelly blew away the competition, hitting his target 60 percent of the time while both of his opponents lagged 40 percent behind. Obviously, Kelly needs to put that accuracy on display more when the bullets are flying, but there’s no doubt that he has the ability to be precise.

How it stands now

As of now, there’s no way to claim anybody but Paxton Lynch is in the lead for the backup job because, well, he’s taken almost, if not all of, the second-team reps.

With that being said, if Kelly continues to improve while Lynch continues his frustrating inconsistency, you woul have to expect that No. 6 will start getting more reps with the second unit.

What they’re saying

“They’re both good; you know what I’m saying?” Tight end Austin Traylor told BSN Denver. “They’re unique in their own ways like every player at every position is. I think they’re both talented.”

“Everybody knows Chad Kelly; everybody knows Paxton Lynch. There isn’t much of a difference; they’re both two leaders out there on the field. The biggest difference is Paxton is 6-foot-8, and Chad is 6-foot-2.”