Broncos OC Justin Outten on Drew Lock & his 'Powerful Arm': 'Let's See how he Fits'
On Tuesday, the Denver Broncos held a press conference at UCHealth Training Center to introduce the team's new trio of coordinators. It was Broncos Country's first chance to hear from offensive coordinator Justin Outten, defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, and special teams coordinator Dwayne Stukes — outside of pre-curated team website videos.
Finally, in an open press conference, someone was bold enough to ask one of Denver's new offensive-minded coaches about Drew Lock. Hat tip to 104.3 The FAN's Darren McKee, who put Outten on the spot on his evaluation of Denver's enigmatic fourth-year quarterback.
"As far as Drew, he’s got a powerful arm," Outten said. "He’s done a really good job as far as using his legs and being an athlete. As far as that, I want to see how he fits in the system a little bit more once he gets the playbook under him, and then we’ll go from there.”
Guarded. Cautious. Circumspect.
Outten chose his words carefully and barely threw in a few remarks on Lock after waxing poetic about Matt Schaub and Matt Ryan for a minute or two first. But what can we divine from Outten's take on Lock?
Truthfully, not much. What I take away, more than anything, is a reluctance to say something that would in any way be interpreted as an anointing or words that would hint at what the Broncos actually plan to do at quarterback in 2022.
As it stands, the Broncos are in limbo until a certain four-time MVP makes his decision on whether he's going to retire, stay in Green Bay, or force his way out West to the Mile High City. Aaron Rodgers remains cagey for now, outside of cryptic Instagram posts that media and fans alike are reading a bit too far into.
If Rodgers retires or stays put, the Broncos will consider other veteran QB options but the only ones really worth pursuing are under contract with a current NFL team. Barring that, it's a very less-than-inspiring free-agent class, and then, the NFL draft.
It's possible the Broncos will eventually turn to Lock as a Plan B, C, or D. Until then, no Denver coach is going to say anything that would hold his feet to the fire on Lock.
However, it's worth noting that Denver's new passing game coordinator/QBs coach Klint Kubiak had some glowing words for Lock in the safe environment of a BroncosTV feature. Kubiak referenced Lock's arm strength and athleticism and the rare combination of those tools but stopped well short of anointing him as this team's starter.
Outten's remarks are similar. The Broncos' new offensive coordinator boiled down his philosophy to being "all about the ball" — in other words, no turnovers — and "ending every drive with a kick."
In a scheme that prioritizes ball security and deploys the familiar wide-zone rushing attack, if the Broncos turned to Lock, it's possible he could be more of an answer than we might think — especially if Hackett, Outten, and Kubiak are the coaches GM George Paton thinks they are.
When asked what his ideal quarterback room looks like, that's when Outten opted to reference the two Matts.
“The quarterback position is the leader of this organization in a sense," Outten said. "They’re the guy that you have to lean on. It doesn’t matter if you’re on offense or defense or special teams. As far as the quarterback room itself, it’s got to be a supportive group. You’re working together. Being with [Falcons QB] Matt Ryan in Atlanta and having [Falcons QB] Matt Schaub as his counterpart, they would test each other every single day. Now, Matt Schaub knew that was his responsibility to make sure Matt Ryan was right each and every day of practice. It was just a collaborative situation, no different than the coaching style right now."
Then Outten brought up Rodgers.
"Getting into the quarterback room with Aaron and his counterparts in there," Outten said. "They were keeping each other accountable, making sure things were light during the middle of the season and keeping each other fresh. It was also a collaborative situation where they would shoot ideas off each other. I think that’s really important. It’s not just, this guy’s getting more reps than I am, so I’m just going to pout and do this. It should be: how can we make each other better? Having competitions within practice. They’ll take five minutes and throw a ball in a net 50 yards away. Keeping it competitive and having one up on each other, that’s the fun part of being in any room. It’s the competitive nature, while still being able to work together for the common good of the team, which is exciting."
Clear as mud.
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