BOCA RATON, Fla. -- When Dolphins head coach Adam Gase was the Denver quarterbacks coach, he saw a future for Brock Osweiler as the Broncos' next starting quarterback.

"He was very mature for a young kid," Gase said during the NFL owners meetings in Boca Raton. "His biggest thing he was trying to work on was his mechanics and how to be a quarterback. He knew that he had time to do that behind Peyton [Manning]. That was one of the reasons we wanted to draft him, we knew his work ethic was off the charts. We knew he was smart. We knew he understood his role that was going to happen in the organization.

"He was the right guy for that kind of role for us, but we had great confidence he was going to be the next guy for us as well. It just worked out different than probably a lot of people foresaw."

As it worked out, Osweiler spent his rookie contract with the Broncos, then left to join the Houston Texans for a four-year deal worth $72 million, with $37 million guaranteed. Osweiler will be the next guy for the Texans, a team that has struggled to find an answer at the position.

The Broncos drafted him in the second round after just one year of starting at Arizona State. One of the things that impressed Gase in the pre-draft preparation was how much progress Osweiler made in working on his mechanics.

"He was more of a side arm guy coming out of Arizona State and he was really working mechanically to become more of an over-the-top, three-quarters passer," Gase said. "Just to see his development during that time, we felt really good with his throws and his accuracy. And I know it was kind of like a pro-day type mentality, but he showed us enough to where we saw he was making progress."

Once drafted, Osweiler continued to impress Gase.

"All the other guys on the team offense and defense, respected Brock," he said. "For him to do that just shows you what kind of person and what kind of player those guys felt like he was."