For a team with a former seventh-round draft pick starting at quarterback (Trevor Siemian) a former undrafted player who is a Pro Bowl player at cornerback (Chris Harris Jr.) and a sixth-rounder starting at center (Matt Paradis), the fact that the Denver Broncos sent a fifth-round pick during the season to an AFC rival to get A.J. Derby says it all.

It says the Broncos had a need big enough that they didn’t want to wait until next year to fill it. Which is why Derby was a New England backup one day, and a Broncos tight end poised for playing time the next.

"I’m definitely lucky there, both teams, New England and Denver, have Super Bowl experience," Derby said. "I can’t complain there at all. You obviously know the success they’ve had in New England, and to then come to a team that won the Super Bowl (to close out 2015 season), so I was surprised when they said 'you’re traded,' but at the same time, when they tell you Denver, just excited for the opportunity."

Related players: Virgil Green

Derby's playing time has reflected his work. He was inactive for the Broncos' Oct. 30 game against the Chargers, played five plays in the Broncos’ loss to the Raiders the next week, and was on the field for 44 plays in the Broncos' win this past Sunday in New Orleans. Derby finished the game with two catches for 22 yards, and flashed the speed the Broncos traded to acquire. He's probably hard to trust in lineups right now, but seems as if he's trending up and may be poised for a break out game.

Broncos HC Gary Kubiak insists on a heavy dose of passes to begin a game. In their past five games, the Broncos have passed the ball on 67 percent of their opening 15 plays from scrimmage, which does not include punts. They are 2-3 over that stretch. And with Trevor Siemian under center, that pass-to-run ratio jumps to 72 percent.

Rookie backup quarterback Paxton Lynch threw on seven of his first 15 plays in a loss to Atlanta last month. In three games, Siemian threw on 10 of his first 15 plays, including Sunday at Oakland, and 13 of 15 against the Chargers in Denver.

“We have to find a way to stay on the damn football field,” Kubiak said, defending his play-calling.

Related players: Devontae Booker

Against the Raiders, the Broncos stumbled through their first four possessions without a first down. They rushed for only 23 yards in the first half and 33 yards in the game. Nearly half of their first half total came on one run, Kapri Bibbs’ 10-yard scamper on a third-and-1 in the second quarter. No. 1 running back Devontae Booker, with only seven carries, gained 13 yards, a 1.9 yard per-carry average.

The Broncos won’t be making a quarterback change, coach Gary Kubiak told reporters Monday.

First-year starter Trevor Siemian has struggled in recent weeks, and first-round pick Paxton Lynch is waiting in the wings. But Kubiak said the team is sticking with Siemian.

“I feel really good about what Trevor is doing,” Kubiak said. “But Trevor is like any other player. He has to get better.”

Siemian was 18-of-37 passing in Sunday night’s loss at the Raiders, his third straight game completing under 60 percent of his passes. He threw two touchdown passes and one interception and was sacked twice.