Before the draft, Broncos GM John Elway said he planned to build the team around second-year quarterback Drew Lock. He sure wasn’t joking.
Elway selected wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler, two offensive linemen and one of Lock’s favorite college targets — tight end Albert Okwuegbunam — during the NFL Draft. It was clear that Denver wanted to set Lock up for success in 2020 and beyond.
“I think with the way Drew played at the end of last year, we saw the signs of a guy that has a chance to be very successful in this league, but to do that, he’s got to have some good people around him,” Elway told reporters during a post-draft Zoom conference call. “The concentration — we felt like we’re still in good shape, defensively, especially with, again, like I said, what we’ve added in the offseason through trades, that we needed to add that explosive feature on the offensive side.
“We [have] the guy we believe over time, as I’ve talked about, that it’s going to take some time, to give him a chance to be successful and us a chance to be successful. We’ve got to put points on the board. Seventeen points a game is not nearly enough, so the first step was this year in the draft.”
Lock went 4-1 as a starter last season playing in an offense that featured Pro Bowl wide receiver Courtland Sutton, tight end Noah Fant and Pro Bowl running back Phillip Lindsay. After adding another Pro Bowl running back — Melvin Gordon — and three offensive weapons in the draft, the Broncos are poised to compete for a playoff spot in 2020.
Lock has been set up for success. Now he has to take advantage of it.
[vertical-gallery id=638498]