Broncos Insider Reports Why Drew Lock is 'Still the Favorite' to be 'Day 1' Starting QB
Drew Lock had his chance to stake his claim as the Denver Broncos franchise quarterback this past season and leave no doubt that he was The Guy. Alas, due to a combination of no OTAs, a new playbook, a Week 2 injury to his throwing shoulder, and a traditional dose of hard-knock lumps, Lock left Year 2 with arguably fewer answers than he started it.
Then the floor dropped out from beneath Lock's feat when John Elway suddenly relinquished his GM duties on Monday. The Broncos will hire a new GM who'll have full control of the roster decisions.
Obviously, much will depend on the new GM hire and just how sincere Elway is about not "meddling" in the decisions. I've told the listeners of the Huddle Up Podcast that Lock should still be viewed as the leader in the clubhouse to be the Broncos' starter next year and an insider report on Monday reinforced that perspective.
9NEWS' Mike Klis reported, "Lock is still the favorite to become Broncos' Day 1 starter in 2021."
Lock is sure to face stiffer competition at quarterback this year and my guess is that it'll come in the form of a more established NFL veteran. Sitting with the No. 9 overall pick in the NFL draft, the Broncos could be in position to land one of the top-three quarterbacks in the class, but I doubt it.
In all likelihood, Clemson's Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State's Justin Fields will go No. 1 and 2 overall, respectively. The stock of BYU's Zach Wilson is a bit more mercurial but he could be gone by No. 9, depending on how his pre-draft trajectory takes shape.
Lock did show significant improvement down the stretch but it wasn't good enough to elevate his limping and young squad. Klis illustrated succinctly how Lock stepped forward starting in Week 11.
Overall, Lock ranked No. 32 among 35 qualifying quarterbacks in passing this season. His uninspired overall statistics came out to 16 touchdown passes, 15 interceptions, a league-worst 57.3 completion percentage, 225.6 passing yards per game and a 75.4 rating.
But in his last four games, as Lock became more comfortable reading NFL defenses and first-year offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur’s system, Lock posted a 91.2 rating on 7 TD passes against just 2 interceptions. A 91.2 rating would have computed to No. 23 in the league. Still not where Lock needs to be but getting there. He also threw at an improved 61.2 percentage rate while averaging 253.6 yards per game.
Lock voiced his belief on Monday that he will be The Guy in Denver in 2021 but that was before the Elway cataclysm. Remember how things went for Trevor Siemian when he lost his most vocal supporter Gary Kubiak in 2017? Not well.
That doesn't mean Lock is destined to follow suit, and Elway will at least be around for 2021, though not the point man on all things Broncos decisions. In the face of a groundswell of fan pounding the table to fully clean house, the Broncos stubbornly decided to retain Vic Fangio, Pat Shurmur, and Mike Shula. Continuity was the priority and who benefits most from that? Lock, the quarterback.
In other words, CEO Joe Ellis and Elway kept Fangio and company around, in large part, to benefit this young team and its young signal-caller. When it comes to the social media speculation and offseason rumors about the Broncos' plans at quarterback, Lock is taking a blinders-on approach.
“At first I have to hear them," Lock said Monday. "I can just not listen, stay off of social media and do what I need to do, and that's work hard this offseason—figure out what I need to do better. Get my body right, get my mental side right, but kind of like everything that went on this year, everyone has an opinion and everyone thinks they know what's going on—in one ear and out the other, and that'll be the same thing that happens this year. Control what I can control and just get to work and become the best quarterback I can be.”
Lock should be considered the leader in the clubhouse. He has now two NFL years of experience and the Broncos went through the trial-and-error learning curve with him, suffering the consequences. To throw that away now when Lock could be on the verge of turning the corner in Year 3 would be unwise.
But the new GM's view could be that Lock isn't that close to turning the corner and that the best interest of the Broncos would be to go back to the QB well and start anew. Time will tell.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.
