Why the Denver Broncos Drafted Drew Lock

Joe Flacco has seen this before. In 2018, the Baltimore Ravens traded back up into the first round of the draft with the Philadelphia Eagles to select QB Lamar Jackson with the 32nd overall pick. Flacco had to bat away rumors that his starting quarterback job was slipping into the hands of Jackson, until the rumors turned into facts on November 18, 2018. Injuries and lack of production seemingly forced the Ravens into making the decision to go with Jackson, and now Flacco’s fate in Denver doesn’t appear to be much different.

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Enter 6’4”, 225-lb. QB Drew Lock out of Missouri. Fresh off a senior season that came nowhere close to the stat production of his junior year, Lock had taken a hit to his draft stock. The Denver Broncos saw an opportunity and took it, trading with Cincinnati to move into the 42nd slot to grab the top QB on John Elway’s draft board. The temptation was irresistible.

Lock has since said all the right things. He knows he is the backup, yet his confidence and appearance have drawn comparisons to former Broncos’ QB Jay Cutler. Since trading up to snag Dalton Risner and Drew Lock back-to-back, the Broncos’ Day 2 haul has built momentum as one of the best in 2019.

Drew Lock on people saying he reminds them of Jay Cutler:

The Missouri product seems pumped and excited to get to work. The fact that Denver nabbed Lock in the second round of the 2019 draft, instead of the first, alleviates some of the pressure on Elway and Fangio to play Lock right away. This should give Flacco plenty of time to pick up the system and make a name for himself here in Denver early on, if he’s ever going to.

Lock is anxious to embrace his new orange and blue threads, after growing up in Missouri and learning to hate those colors as a Chiefs’ fan. There will be doubters, as shown in the draft when Lock fell all the way to 42nd overall, after being seen as a sure-fire first rounder merely a season ago. Lock is ready to prove them wrong. The dynamic between how Denver uses Flacco and Lock will be closely monitored, and Flacco has made it known that he believes this is his team.

It must be tough keeping a level head as you wait and watch teams pick other players, not knowing when your name will be called. However, Lock is embracing the opportunity in Denver, and there may not have been a better fit. Elway has compared the Broncos’ plan with their QBs to Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. Broncos Country is willing to be patient with that plan, as long as it results in a Super Bowl win, as it did for Rodgers in 2010.

Five years is an awfully long time for Denver to wait for a Super Bowl. Some wonder if Elway will be around as the GM to see his final plan through, but a pattern is becoming clear in the way the Broncos draft their players. Joe Flacco’s task this year may be just as daunting as the one he faced a year ago, but the veteran Super Bowl MVP is not one to shy away from competition, and it doesn’t sound like the young Drew Lock is, either. This should be fun.