The Indianapolis Colts never spent a lot of resources on the team's backup position behind Peyton Manning. They certainly never used a mid-round draft pick, like the Washington Redskins just did with Kirk Cousins. We'd point out that the strategy hurt the Colts organization last year, but they wound up getting Andrew Luck in the process. So it didn't hurt that much.
The Denver Broncos are handling things differently behind Manning, drafting Brock Osweiler in the second round. They even had approval from Manning on the strategy.
Manning's "friends" started the season 0-14 last year. Denver wouldn't be that bad if Manning couldn't play this year, but they would struggle badly. Caleb Hanie is a below average veteran backup. Osweiler is a bit of a project for someone taken so high.
Picking Osweiler was an investment in the future for the Broncos. For this season, it's Manning or bust.
