From deep fry to Popeye: Chad Kelly has transformed this offseason

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Thirteen months ago, just hours after the conclusion of the 2016 draft, Denver Broncos’ head coach Vance Joseph declared Chad Kelly was his “favorite quarterback in the draft.”

After what amounted to a redshirt season, sitting on the injured reserve all year, the second-year quarterback took a backseat to Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch last year and even more of a backseat once the team signed and declared Case Keenum their starting quarterback this year.

But it didn’t take long — in fact just the second press conference with Joseph since the start of the team’s offseason conditioning program — for the CK6 hype train to explode into overdrive.

“I’ve been proud of Chad overall. He’s been here every day. He’s worked his butt off,” Joseph said on Saturday during the team’s rookie minicamp in which Kelly was able to attend since he wasn’t active for the entirety of his rookie season.

As the compliments continued to pour out of the head coaches mouth, Joseph was brutally honest — to the point of hilarity — about just how far the 24-year-old has progressed in the past year.

“He’s changed his body. Last year, he was a little tubby kid,” the head coach said, causing stunned laughter within the media contingent. “He’s really lean now. He’s eating right. He’s working hard. He’s definitely put the work in. He’s throwing the ball really well right now. I’ve been really proud of Chad.”

Minutes after his head coach finished touting the young quarterback, Kelly attributed his “New year, new me” figure to eating “a lot” of spinach and chicken, instead of the more delicious fried food and “this and that,” which he turned to last year.

“I came here and knew I needed to move around and get back to my old playing weight back in early college and high school,” No. 6 explained. “Kind of feeling I can move around and do some things with my legs but also being powerful in throwing the ball.”

The glowing praise from Joseph wasn’t the first time the organization has shown a tremendous amount of confidence in Kelly this offseason, either. After the conclusion on the draft, John Elway put his words into actions, stating Kelly would compete with Paxton Lynch for the backup quarterback position.

“At the end of the day, I thought of it as ‘Okay, perfect I can get more reps,’” Kelly stated, explaining his mentality after Elway said he was going to compete for the backup spot. “And that’s what it’s about, being consistent in what you do, being athletic in what you do and going out there and competing — whether it’s in individual drills or team activity. I just look at it as another opportunity to get better each and every day, each and every rep.”

The combination of his work ethic, eating habits and confidence from the organization has translated to the football field so far.

During the minicamp on Saturday, Kelly was leading drills for the first time in his NFL career and throwing bullets reminiscent of his time at Ole Miss when he was consistently shredding SEC defenses.

“He can rip that thing now. Definitely got to wear gloves. He’ll be spinning that bad boy pretty tough,” second-year tight end Jake Butt said with excitement talking about his quarterback. “He’s learning the offense, he’s taking leadership, he’s doing a great job.”

If that ‘bad boy’ keeps spinning in the direction it’s going now, the Chad Kelly hype train will only have just begun.

“The time is here,” Kelly stated.