Drew Lock's Struggle is Balancing his Gunslinger Mindset with an Aversion to Turnovers

Ask any quarterback and they'll tell you that it's not easy to balance being aggressive with the football while trying to protect it from getting picked off. Such is the mandate for Denver Broncos' second-year QB Drew Lock.

Now entering training camp as the incumbent starter, Lock is turning heads with his performance during practice. The Broncos kicked off their first padded practice on Monday and while head coach Vic Fangio classified the proceedings as "just okay", Lock was one of the stand-out performers of the day.

Following practice, Lock talked about the tight-rope walk of maintaining that gunslinger mentality of aggressiveness with the coaches' sacrosanct commandment of protecting the ball.

“Yeah, it’s going to be an equal balance of both," Lock said. "Kind of reminding myself, taking the shots when they’re there and fitting it into some windows if need be, [while] also understanding that taking care of the ball is the No. 1 thing for us. If we can take care of the ball, we’ll be well off."

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Coach Fangio would prefer Lock err on the side of protecting the ball, if he must err, but he aslo emphasized that training camp is the time for testing the limits of what the young quarterback can do with that strong right arm in this new Pat Shurmur offense.

“You always want your quarterback to have the attitude to stretch the limits with obviously the caution and the knowing in the back of his mind that we do not want to turn the ball over," Fangio said following Monday's practice. "We don’t want to have the mentality of not turning the ball over to the point where we never push the ball downfield either."

Fangio's philosophy is the right one and might be a little surprising considering the 'conservative' stereotypes of defensive-minded coaches. Testing the limits during camp can pay dividends.

Look no further back than training camp 2018. Patrick Mahomes was entering his first camp as the starting quarterback in Kansas City and the storylines that predominated the headlines went something like: 'Mahomes is Throwing Too Many Interceptions'.

He would go on to throw 50 touchdown passes on the way to an unprecedented MVP award in just his first year as a full-time starter. Lock has been compared to Mahomes at times, and could perhaps take some inspiration from the first $500-million athlete in the history of professional sports.

Lock still has to walk that razor's edge of pushing the ball and giving his receivers opportunities to make big plays downfield with a constant eye on protecting the ball. It's no easy task but Lock isn't letting the dichotomy rend his QB psyche asunder.

"It’s not going to take away from who I am as a quarterback," Lock said. "It does have times in [Offensive Coordinator Pat] Shurmur’s offense where we can’t show that. I’ve had a blast learning this offense and getting back out there with the guys and trying to put it all together. One step at a time.”

There's more than one utility to Lock being aggressive during training camp. It helps hone his ability to discern when to put the pedal to the metal as well as gives the defense live-bullet exposure to what they're likely to see come the regular season. However, Coach Fangio qualified that with a mandate on protecting possession of the ball.

"We’re trying to challenge the defense in some tight throwing lanes," Fangio said. "We have to be able to do that without turning the ball over. Yeah, I do want to see him do that both for our offense and his learning experience—what can he fit in and what can’t he fit in at different times.”

So far, Lock has been quite crisp and sharp as the triggerman. He's thrown a few interceptions but overall, the young quarterback has this fledgling Broncos offense operating on more cylinders than was expected this early on.

Lock attributes whatever success the offense has had thus far to the coaching of Pat Shurmur and Mike Shula, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the additional reps the players received by holding unofficial workout sessions away from the team facility during the offseason have played a role as well.

“I think it’s a testament to all the coaches on the offensive side of the ball and the defensive side of the ball," Lock said. "They didn’t have a lot of time to get us ready, and for how young we are, [it’s] the first time learning an NFL offense for a lot of these guys. This is a brand new offense for the whole offense. It’s literally been a culmination of one little baby step at a time. We’ve done a great job of prepping beforehand."

Lock isn't getting too far ahead of himself because he can remember that one year ago, he felt 10 feet tall two installs into learning the new offense. Before reality came crashing down on him.

"That’s what I did last year," Lock said. "When we came out and ran the first couple installs, I thought I was the man. Then we got to the last couple installs and I’m like, ‘Wow, these are kind of starting to pile up.’"

That's where having the coaching acumen and combined experience of Shurmur and Shula can really pay dividends for Lock and set him up for future success.

"I think our coaches are doing a good job of keeping us ahead of schedule on these scripts and plays in general," Lock said. "We’ve just got to keep piling it on and not let it overwhelm us as a young offense.”

If the early returns are any indication, the defense might not have to carry the load for the Broncos like it has in recent years. Lock and the offense are teeming with talent.

Combined with the coaching impact of Shurmur and Shula, there's no telling what the limits of this offense could be. Sky's really the limit for Lock and company.

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHudde.