DeMarcus Ware Calls Broncos' QB Drew Lock 'a Force to be Reckoned With'
Drew Lock didn't just step in Week 13 and lead the Denver Broncos to a 4-1 finish; he did so after an 11-week exile on injured reserve and as a rookie to boot.
That's why NFL veterans and former star players were blown away by the impact Lock made. On Wednesday, former Bronco and Dallas Cowboys all-time great pass rusher DeMarcus Ware spoke to 104.3 The FAN's Schlereth and Evans and was asked about his impressions of Lock.
"He was one of those guys that—I didn't think that he could play like he played. I'm being honest with you," Ware told hosts Mark Schlereth and Mike Evans. "Like, I didn't think that he was going to impact the team like he did... That dude, he's a force to be reckoned with right now."
Ware is only three seasons removed from retiring as a Bronco. He's still very plugged in with the locker room, especially with Von Miller and Bradley Chubb, whom he coached as a pass-rush consultant in 2018 under ex-head coach Vance Joseph.
Ware certainly watched Lock play with his own eyes, but my guess is that a lot of the impression Ware has of the young signal-caller comes from what he's been told by current Broncos players.
Lock galvanized and ignited the locker room, which is one the reasons the team was able to win four of their last five games. A bonafide NFL QB is supposed to be that tide that raises all ships. Ware views Lock as being just that for the Broncos.
"You know how guys when they first come in, either they're going to be a bust or they're going to essentially become a good player but not a great player," Ware told Schlereth and Evans. "But when he came in and automatically started scoring touchdowns, automatically, all the guys around him started picking up the pieces and wanted to jump on his bandwagon. That's what you want from a quarterback. They started winning a lot more football games once he came in there and it was the spark that they needed. So now, I feel like that's going to carry over into the next season—actually, this season."
Ware also hinted at the Broncos' draft haul as another reason why Lock could be poised to continue his winning ways in 2020. Two stud wideouts in Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler, plus a starting-caliber center who blocked for Heisman Winner and National Champion Joe Burrow in Lloyd Cushenberry, and Lock's former Missouri teammate with 4.49 speed as a tight end in Albert Okwuegbunam?
Throw in Pat Shurmur as OC and Mike Shula as QBs Coach and Lock is loaded for bear on this hunt. That's not the first time I've said that and it won't be the last.
It's going to be fun to see how it all unfolds for the second-year QB in 2020.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.
