ESPN's Louis Riddick Slams Belief in Broncos QB Drew Lock as a 'Pipe Dream'
For all the Aaron Rodgers hype within Broncos Country, it remains a very real possibility that Drew Lock could still be the Day 1 starter in 2022. That would, to some, present a worst-case scenario for the Denver Broncos, but up to this point, the team's new coaching staff has been determined to cautiously protect Lock by saying only positive things about him.
This week, highly respected ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, a long-time NFL front-office executive and ex-director of pro personnel for Washington and Philadelphia, called into question Lock's wherewithal to compete with the AFC West's quarterbacks.
“Drew Lock has shown he is not a guy that right now can compete with Patrick Mahomes, he is not a guy who can compete with Justin Herbert, and we don’t know how Derek Carr is going to look under Josh McDaniels at Las Vegas, but that is not how they want to go into this season and going forward at the quarterback position. Obviously, yeah, you’re right, quarterback coaches, head coaches, offensive coordinators are going to say all the right things because they don’t know whether that guy is going to be on their team, or whether or not they are going to use them as a trade piece for the next team in order to acquire someone… so he is going to say all the positive things.”
Clearly, the power play for Broncos GM George Paton remains trying to put a deal together for Rodgers, if the reigning MVP finally announces that he wants to move on from the Green Bay Packers. Either way, landing Rodgers via trade won’t be any kind of walk in the park as it would require blockbuster resources and considerable assets.
Riddick strongly believes that given the strength of the Broncos' roster, Paton and new head coach Nathaniel Hackett have be all-in on winning now, and that spells out boldly the letters: A-ROD.
“This is a team that is set up to win. This is a team that has a strong offensive line, has a strong running game, has one of the better young tight ends in the NFL in Noah Fant. Has Tim Patrick at wide receiver, has Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, has a defense that can rush the passer, people that can pick the ball off, [Justin] Simmons is one of the best safeties in the NFL. Patrick Surtain, one of the best young corners in the NFL. They have a lot of nice pieces now; you don’t want to have it all go to waste because you are sitting there, you know, selling pipe dreams about a quarterback that you know can’t get the job done. When they know that they have to make a swing, and a big swing at getting the big fish, and the big fish for this football team is that guy that we talk about who is going on 12 day cleanses.”
Maybe Rodgers will interrupt his offseason routine to reveal his intentions to the expectant NFL public, which will set off a chain reaction of teams clambering over each other to make a deal to land that "big fish" Riddick mentioned.
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