The Denver Broncos couldn’t get a reliable quarterback after Peyton Manning retired. He may have long passed his best days, but John Elway still couldn’t land a winning replacement. Not in Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch or Brock Osweiler. Nor in Case Keenum or Joe Flacco – both brought in as answers to a very desperate call. But in just two career starts, Drew Lock may be the Denver Broncos lock-in quarterback.
Is Drew Lock Denver Broncos Lock-In Quarterback?
Elway lost the faith of many a fan by consistently making the wrong choices at the quarterback position. He had a specific type and he wasn’t willing to stray. But in Drew Lock, he may have finally stumbled upon the right guy. Yes, it is early. We’d be silly to assume so soon that Lock is the ultimate answer. Lock has only started twice after missing the first half of the season with a hand injury. But his potential is evident.
So what if he was the 42nd overall pick in The 2019 NFL draft? He led the Broncos to a 38-24 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday. Completing 22 of 27 pass attempts for 309 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, it was easy to forget the Texans are a possible playoff contender.
Lock’s Arm Is a Huge Help
His arm strength was one of his most talked-about traits around Draft time. And Lock didn’t disappoint when he easily slung passes right into tight windows that the Texans set up to no avail. As Riley McAtee of The Ringer observed, “there’s so much zip on Lock’s throws that it looks like the football is practically generating its own lift. He is able to rocket the ball past defenders, getting it to where it needs to go – like he did with Noah Fant several times. All of Lock’s best plays center around his arm, and we can only hope it stays in good working order.
One of the Year’s Best Rookies?
Just two games into his career, he has already outplayed two other rookie quarterbacks. The Washington Redskins drafted Dwayne Haskins and the New York Giants took Daniel Jones in the round above him.
2019 has been a rollercoaster in terms of how we see our quarterbacks. Baltimore Ravens Lamar Jackson overtook Cleveland Browns Baker Mayfield to become a front-runner in the race for the MVP award. Mayfield shocked everyone by not living up to expectations this season. Meanwhile Buffalo Bills Josh Allen showed some real talent in his passing. Even Jacksonville Jaguars Gardner Minshew II put up numbers greater than Nick Foles. While some rookies were exactly as we expected, like Kyler Murray, others like Lock have surpassed expectations:
Drew Lock posted a 98.7 QBR today 👀
That’s the highest QBR by any quarterback not named Lamar Jackson this season.
It’s also the highest QBR by any Broncos quarterback since 2007.
— RK (@RyanKoenigsberg) December 9, 2019
He Does Need to Improve on Some Things
We need a little more film to observe, but it seems Lock relies a little too much on his great arm, thinking it will be all he needs. In doing so, he makes mistakes that could’ve been avoided. It was most obvious when he forced a throw to Courtland Sutton, who clearly had a cornerback and safety on him.
Any issues that Lock has can remain minor if he works at them and is guided appropriately by coaching personnel. With the amount of progress he’s already made and the flashes of talent he’s displayed, it won’t be long before he’s past the ‘project’ phase.
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