Brock Osweiler, drafted before Russell Wilson, stays ready behind Peyton

• Osweiler was drafted 18 spots ahead of Russell Wilson
• However second-year Broncos backup could see his contract expire before Peyton Manning is ready to retire

JERSEY CITY — Brock Osweiler so easily could have been disgruntled by all of this.

He didn't leave Arizona State a year early to come to the NFL and sit on the bench, especially when so many rookies and second-year quarterbacks find themselves with starting jobs.

Yet Osweiler might be the happiest backup in the league, despite spending Super Bowl week on the Denver Broncos scout team acting like Russell Wilson, the Seattle Seahawks starter who was selected 18 spots after Osweiler in the 2012 draft.

Yes, the 6-8 Osweiler is mimicking 5-11 (maybe) Wilson.

"I do my best to help the defense out in that aspect, do whatever our staff needs me to do," Osweiler said Thursday.

It can be tough being patient in the NFL, but for Osweiler and No. 3 Denver quarterback Zac Dysert, who shares those scout team snaps, it has helped knowing that if they have to sit on Sundays, they at least get to watch Peyton Manning. On the days in between, they work with quarterbacks coach Greg Knapp to help the Broncos prepare for the future without Manning, whenever that might come.

It almost surely won't be in 2014 after Manning said repeatedly this week that he wants to continue playing next season at age 38. Should he decide to play out the entirety of the five-year contract he signed with the Broncos in 2012, Osweiler's four-year rookie deal could expire without him ever starting for Denver.

Osweiler and Knapp don't want to think about those sort of what-ifs, because that won't help Osweiler develop. The Broncos think of Osweiler as a future starter.

But Knapp told Osweiler this spring they aren't trying to make him a clone of Manning. That would be impossible. And unfair.

Osweiler found that reassuring.

"Unbelievable thing for a coach, when you have Peyton in the room, for him to come and say that to me. It really meant a lot to me," Osweiler said.

"I don't even know if words can describe what (Knapp has) done for me this season as far as becoming a professional quarterback. He's taken me from black to white, white to black, however you want to look at it, and I've grown tremendously because of it."

Indeed, it's a challenging job for Knapp, a longtime NFL assistant who joined the Denver staff this season, as he splits his time between the veteran who seems to know it all and has experienced nearly everything in his 16-year career, to a pair of 23-year-olds.

Though Knapp has coached quarterbacks like Steve Young, Jeff Garcia and Carson Palmer, his first season with Manning has been unique. He quickly learned never to be far from his cell phone after leaving the office so he doesn't miss any of the frequent after-dinner text messages from Manning.

The quarterback is obsessive about his practice tape, which is loaded onto his team-issued iPad every afternoon. The Broncos film every snap Manning and the other quarterbacks take. Knapp can't always review them all, especially the repetitions taken during individual drills, but Manning does.

"He'll say, 'In individual period, when I was working that out-route to the left, did you see my left foot open enough? Or do I need to make sure I have a better hitch that way?'" Knapp said. "That's the stuff I teach. He wants that constant communication. Is his game improving? Is he staying on top of his game? That's the benefit of the technology these days, (I) can pull it right up on my iPad."

Those are the things Knapp is hoping Osweiler and Dysert learn and will emulate in their own careers, whether that's in their backup roles, or later as starters — in Denver or elsewhere.

"It's more important that you build a foundation than you learn from trial by fire, I believe. It's so important to be in the right environment to grow. I've seen as many times when guys are in the wrong place, don't make it and don't ever get a second chance because the stigma comes in — can't get it done, doesn't work hard enough," Knapp said. "The best thing that can happen right now is you build this foundation for the future for yourself, so when you get that chance to the be the starter, you won't be thrown into the fire."

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Follow Lindsay H. Jones on Twitter @bylindsayhjones