ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- To many, it was the video clip that summed up the Denver Broncos' season.

The one with quarterback Brock Osweiler, seemingly trying to ignite the Broncos, screaming to largely unresponsive teammates on the sideline during Denver's Christmas Eve loss to the Washington Redskins. But the aftermath offered a glimpse of the kind of quarterback the Broncos want and what they want that quarterback to do.

Two days after Osweiler’s rage against what appeared to be apathy, Broncos coach Vance Joseph said: “That’s Brock, and one thing about Brock, he provides a leadership quality that we haven’t had on offense from that position, in my opinion. ... We need more of that. We need more players pushing players."

And there it is: the one criticism, veiled or not, that was often levied against the even-keeled Trevor Siemian; the thing the Broncos wanted to see more of, even as he won training-camp battles in back-to-back seasons to be the team’s starter. But last season, all three of the quarterbacks who started games for the Broncos -- Siemian, Osweiler and Paxton Lynch -- often looked to be struggling to lead the locker room when they didn’t know their own status week to week.

In an odd sort of football chicken-and-egg riddle, the Broncos wanted more leadership from the quarterback, and the quarterbacks seemed to be waiting for a vote of confidence that never really came before they would step forward. Osweiler, as the most experienced of the three, tried as the season drew to a close, but by then the Broncos were on the way to a 5-11 finish.

That message, however, did make it to the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, where some of the quarterback hopefuls in the 2018 draft spent last week under the Broncos’ watchful eyes, among them Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield of Oklahoma and Wyoming's Josh Allen.

Denver's coaching staff worked with the North team through the week, with a roster that included Mayfield, Allen, Washington State’s Luke Falk and Nebraska’s Tanner Lee. And one of the things the Broncos -- who hold the No. 5 overall pick -- most wanted to glean from their week of up-close work with those quarterbacks was to see how each handled himself in front of the team, in the huddle and in the meeting room.

Because -- even as Kirk Cousins fever gripped the Rocky Mountains with the veteran poised to hit the market in the wake of the Redskins' trade for Alex Smith -- the Broncos still want to know which of the quarterbacks in the draft class they believe could handle the job if they don’t choose a solution in free agency.

That's why it was worth noting when Joseph said of Mayfield: "I want a guy with confidence. I want a guy with swagger because it’s a hard league. Guys can get broke by this league. I want a guy with great swagger and great confidence in his own abilities."

And Mayfield was astute enough to understand the Broncos, and others, would factor in whether he could be a leader in a locker room where he would be one of the youngest players.

“I think that’s one of the things they want to see about you," Mayfield said. "It’s different, with more experienced players, it’s their job, and as a quarterback [being a leader] would be part of your job."

Mayfield also said "taking control of the huddle" and "letting the guys know that I know what I’m doing back there" were two of the most important things he wanted to show at the Senior Bowl. Allen, who will turn 22 in May, believes that will be part of any NFL learning curve as well.

That would be particularly true if he is chosen at or near the top of the draft board, where teams have earned those picks because of their struggles on the field.

"I’m ready to tackle any situation that’s in front of me," Allen said. "I’m going to embrace any team that takes me. ... This is the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do. ... It’s not going to be perfect, and every day you’ve got to learn."

Whether the Broncos dive in, checkbook in hand, to sign a veteran free agent such as Cousins or use their first-round draft pick on a quarterback, or both, Joseph made it clear that, beyond all the football items on the list, the Broncos want something else.

"You want a guy who is in charge, pushing, leading," Joseph said. "It’s important in this league, and all of the good teams have it."