Drew Lock Acknowledges he Gave Broncos a Pre-Draft Shopping List
After Drew Lock's five-game rookie audition yielded four wins down the stretch, the Denver Broncos were buzzing about their young quarterback heading into the 2020 offseason. The enthusiasm in the Broncos' ranks has only mounted as GM John Elway has clearly built the roster with Lock as the centerpiece.
Further proof of how much Elway is buying into Lock’s leadership has come in the form of the Broncos' offensive coordinator using the young signal-caller as a sounding board during the information-gathering process leading up to the NFL Draft.
On Friday, the young signal-caller was a guest on 104.3 The Fan’s flagship show The Drive where he revealed that new Broncos' OC Pat Shurmur asked for his input ahead of last week’s draft.
"The night before the draft, it might have been two nights before the draft, I just had my weekly call with Coach Shurms, saying 'Hey, what's up? How's everything going?' Just checking in on how my family is and whatnot," Lock told The Drive host Darren McKee. "And he was like, 'Going into the draft, man, what are you thinking?' I was like, 'You know what, when you look around the league, when teams have speed, they tend to score a lot of points.' I was like, 'You know what, if you could just grab some speed here and there, I think we're going to be pretty.'"
Don't read too much into Lock's admission, however, because what the Broncos' ultimately had planned they tried to keep on the down-low. NFL teams keep their draft plans extremely close to the vest, even with trusted players.
"But other than that, it was pretty hush-hush on what decisions they were going to be making," Lock told The Drive.
Shurmur must have successfully passed the shopping list up the chain of command to Elway because back-to-back premium receivers were promptly delivered in round one and two of the draft to meet Lock’s wishlist. Elway also picked up the phone to ask Lock for a final recommendation on Missouri TE Albert Okwuegbunam. Lock's recommendation for his former Tigers teammate must have been a glowing one because Elway spent a fourth-round pick on him.
The pair spent two successful years together at Missouri and Lock’s inside knowledge of his friend clearly helped make up Elway’s mind to add another tight end to what was already a very crowded positional group. It's little wonder the freakishly fast Albert O. is now a Bronco, especially when you learn just how highly Lock believes in the character and intangibles of his old college buddy.
“I tried to surround myself with the best people at Missouri. Albert Okwuegbunam was one of those people,” Lock told The Drive.
In recent years, Elway has emphasized targeting motivated, high-character prospects as he builds up the Broncos' roster via the draft. Many of his picks have been team captains in collegiate ranks who are then asked to provide crucial leadership at the professional level.
While Lock represents the most obvious example of Elway's tact paying dividends, the drafting of workaholic WR Jerry Jeudy in round one proves that it’s a formula the GM has fully embraced. Back in April, before the draft, Elway revealed why leadership and other intangible traits matter when adding new blood into the team’s locker room.
“When you go through tough years like we’ve been going through the last couple of years, your locker room is very, very important,” Elway said in late April. “The influences that you have in your locker room when things are tough, you need those guys to…lead that locker room through the tough times and you’ll be able to get back on the winning way. I think we’ve suffered a little bit there. We haven’t had that leadership in the locker room that has been able to dig us out of this hole.”
Ever since Peyton Manning rode off into the sunset and the Broncos' Super Bowl 50 roster was slowly dismantled, the leadership void has been difficult to fill. Lock’s brand of infectious enthusiasm and positive mindset, with equal parts swagger and confidence, has already garnered the faith and belief of his teammates in Denver.
Elway has also had to face the fact that Lock’s unique personality traits would simply not be enough on their own to get the Broncos over the hump and back into the playoffs. Elway had to go all-in during the draft to surround the emerging franchise QB with speed and explosive offensive complements who can buy into what it means to be a Bronco.
Adding to Lock’s arsenal is exactly what the doctor ordered as far as the 23-year-old is concerned, but the feeling is that the Broncos' hopes will still live and die on his powerful right arm. Organizationally, the Broncos are buying into the fact that they finally believe they have found their franchise QB, and Lock himself is fully aware of how the team seems to be investing in him. And counting on him.
Elway’s faith and commitment to his QB has been made evident through his approach to the draft and free agency. Elway brought home some premium groceries but now it’s up to the coaches like Vic Fangio, Shurmur, Mike Munchak and Mike Shula to mix all the right ingredients into one heck of a tasty meal.
Check out the full conversation with Lock and his father Andy at The Fan's website.
Follow Keith on Twitter @KeithC_NFL and @MileHighHuddle.
