What should Broncos Country expect from Drew Lock?

It’s probably cliche to tell you how much I appreciate your support for reading and helping me improve as I study and write about our favorite team but it really is a passion that I consider myself blessed to share. One of the things I’m most thankful for this year is all of the great people I’ve had a chance to get to know, interact with, and learn from as I obsess over the Broncos.

Some of you probably already know Caddy to the Lama for his film cutups. A fellow Bronco fan and film nerd, he used to work for DraftBreakdown and provided a lot of the prospect tape I had a chance to watch last NFL Draft season. When he’s not cutting tape, he’s coaching. When he’s not doing either, he’s sharing his thoughts on prospects.

So of course I had to ask him about a certain rookie quarterback. Our conversation has been lightly edited.

1st and 10

You’ve been vocal about Drew Lock’s pro readiness and have said a number of times that he’s a project. Could you explain why you feel this way?

Caddy: It’s always been Lock’s inconsistency for me. He showed growth in his on-field ability every year at Missouri but remained wildly inconsistent; inconsistent mechanics which led to overthrows and grounders in every single game, inconsistent vision which led to bad interceptions and Lock throwing his wide receivers into big hits, and inconsistency in coaching which has limited his growth.

During the draft, I felt he had one of the higher ceilings because of his physical talent but needed time inside an offensive system to really develop all the other pieces of his game to match his arm talent.

2nd and 7

Is there anything you think the coaching staff will do to help Lock ease into action in his first start?

Caddy: Thankfully, the system Scangarello runs already has some QB friendly elements to it - it leans on the run game, can give Lock a lot of easy single read concepts, and uses a lot of boot action to give him those easier high/low reads on the run.

The best part is that Scangarello has shown adaptability and the willingness to experiment within the system. I wouldn’t be shocked if we also see some RPO game introduced with Lock’s use of it at Missouri. We may have already seen the adaptation of the system in preparation of Lock with the use of the pistol formation.

3rd and 3

There has been some concern in Broncos’ Country that Lock will have trouble because of protection issues. Do you think that’s a reasonable concern?

Caddy: I think there’s a positive and negative outlook to this question. He’s used to playing at a disadvantage at that position. During his time at Missouri, Lock dealt with inconsistent offensive line play, so, he’s used to using his legs to extend plays. Now, how some of those plays turned out is part of the inconsistencies I touched on in the first question, very up and down results.

4th and inches

What should fans expect from the 2019 second round pick in his first start?

Caddy: I think fans can expect ups and downs. He’s going to make a lot of big time throws and have a lot of big time plays, but that’s going to come with some boneheaded, head scratching plays. We just are banking on him growing out of those mistakes with practice, experience, and consistency in coaching.

What do you think Broncos Country?