Vannett Compares the 'Fearless' Drew Lock to Seahawks' QB Russell Wilson
At 27 years old, Nick Vannett is on his third NFL team after being drafted in 2016 by the Seattle Seahawks in the third round. The Denver Broncos signed the former Ohio State Buckeye this past spring to a two-year, $5.7 million deal to bolster their tight end room with veteran experience.
While the move sparked debate in training camp as to which tight ends would make the roster on an extremely crowded depth chart, Vannett proved his worth in last Sunday’s 32-27 win over the Carolina Panthers, catching four passes for 20 yards and a touchdown. It was his first score since his Seattle days in 2018.
As a Seahawk, Vannett played in 42 games logging 48 receptions for 463 yards and four touchdowns. But in 2019, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers where he'd go on to catch 17 passes for 166 yards in 16 games.
As a Bronco, Vannett has played in 12 games, totaling 14 receptions for 95 yards and one touchdown while averaging 6.8 yards per catch. He’s largely utilized for his blocking capabilities and responsibilities on the special teams unit, something Vannett prides himself in.
“I just want to be a physically imposing player, and obviously, I was brought in here to help out in the run game," he said. "I know my strengths; I know who I am as a tight end and I know that I do that very well.”
After playing with bonafide NFL quarterbacks like Russell Wilson and Ben Roethlisberger, the fifth-year Vannett was asked how Drew Lock compares to those future Hall-of-Famers on the heels of the Broncos QB's big four-touchdown game in Carolina.
“That's just the competitor he is and that's the similarity I see with him and Russ. That's the way Russ was," Vannett said of Lock. "Whenever we faced adversity, Russ was the guy that kind of kept everybody together. Even if we were down, he always had this belief that we were going to come back. He's as good as anybody out there. Whenever we got behind in the game, he always put us in positions to succeed. We always ended up with these comeback victories and he just preached it all the time and he just talked about it, and he just spoke it into existence. I see similarities with that with Drew Lock as well.”
Vannett's remarks acknowledge the up-and-down second season Lock's had in Denver while highlighting the QB's drive to improve. Headed into the matchup against the Panthers, Lock had thrown an interception in seven consecutive games, four of which saw him toss multiple picks.
Last Sunday, the second-year signal-caller completed nearly 78% of his passes for 280 yards and a career-high four touchdowns. His single-game passer rating of 149.5 was the third-best in Broncos’ history behind only Peyton Manning and John Elway.
“Drew's fearless. He wants to be better, he's hungry to be better,” said Vannett. “He's had some growing pains, every quarterback goes to that, but he attacks every week with the mentality that he's going to do what he can—he's going to get better and better. I think we saw it last game. I think it was a 149 QBR rating, or whatever it was, but that doesn't happen by mistake, especially after the games that we've had, it could have easily went downhill.”
After starter Noah Fant was sidelined in Carolina because of an illness in the first quarter, Vannett and teammate Troy Fumagalli sprang into action for Denver’s offense.
“Honestly, I didn't know what was going on until we showed up into the locker room when we got to the stadium,” Vannett said on Tuesday. “We weren't really prepared for that situation at all, most of those plays are for Noah. We obviously understand our role and we practice our role throughout the week, but that's what happens in football."
Fumagalli, who was a Broncos' fifth-round draft pick 2018, caught four receptions for 53 yards, combining with Vannett to more than stop the gap in relief of Fant.
“It felt so good. It felt like it’s been a while. It was a long drought I had. It just felt good," Vannett said.
Injuries, or in this case, illness, often creates opportunity for depth players to shine in the NFL. It's just a matter of capitalizing when those moments come, as Vannett did on Sunday.
“Like I said, it goes back to the opportunity," Vannett said. "If Noah was healthy, I was playing his spot down there and that would have been him doing that. Like I said, it just goes back to opportunity and whenever you get that opportunity, you have to take full advantage of it.”
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