Paige: Drew Lock Will be Broncos' Starting QB in 2021

Follow the bouncing ball. The ramp-up to the NFL draft is like a long-form game of poker among general managers around the league.

Smoke signals rule the day and whether you're inclined to believe or disbelieve such overtures, Denver Broncos' GM George Paton has been furiously sending them up. Hot on the trail of Ohio State's Justin Fields and North Dakota State's Trey Lance, the Broncos' GM has most people believing that quarterback is on his draft menu.

Paton even provided a nice missive to ESPN Denver's Jeff Legwold on the subject of the Broncos' No. 9 overall draft pick.

“It is in play for quarterback," Paton said. "Yes, I'll be out a lot looking at all positions, but definitely quarterback.'

But is pick 9 really in play for a QB? As listeners of the Huddle Up Podcast can attest, I've had my doubts about the Broncos' truly pursuing a QB in the 2021 draft. Could I be wrong? Sure.

One of the longest-tenured insiders in Denver, however, has recently reinforced my gut read on Paton's draft maneuverings in an interesting tweet regarding Drew Lock.

I’ve said for months Lock will be starter for Broncos to begin season. I haven’t changed opinion. He will be backed up by a draft choice or a veteran. And nobody knows who that will be, including the Broncos.
— Woody Paige (@woodypaige) April 15, 2021

"I’ve said for months Lock will be [the] starter for [the] Broncos to begin [the] season. I haven’t changed [my] opinion. He will be backed up by a draft choice or a veteran. And nobody knows who that will be, including the Broncos," Woody Paige, he of the Colorado Springs Gazette, tweeted on Wednesday night.

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Remember what Paton said during the Broncos' intro pressers for the recently signed Ronald Darby and Mike Boone.

“We’ve evaluated all the quarterbacks. We like Drew Lock," Paton said. "We have a plan in place and there’s free agency, there’s the draft, there’s trades, there’s a lot of ways to acquire a quarterback. Fortunately, we have a quarterback here and we have a nice quarterback room. We do want to bring in competition. We are not going to force it. We are monitoring the market right now.”

The market never turned out a QB Paton was willing to pull the trigger on. Why? Because he likes Lock.

What's in the best interest of the Broncos is to put on a vaudevillian show to make all the other teams believe they're gunning for a QB. In so doing, it'll force the hand of other rivals and drive up the value of Denver's No. 9 overall pick.

In a perfect world, Paton would probably want to trade back and stockpile additional premium-round picks so that he can provide the hot-seat head coach Vic Fangio with as many arrows in that 2021 quiver as possible.

Paige's report doesn't guarantee that Lock will be The Guy in 2021. Paige could be wrong and so could I. All we can do is tell you what our gut is saying based on what we're hearing and seeing.

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen.

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