Broncos head coach Vic Fangio announced that the team would be moving forward with Teddy Bridgewater over Drew Lock as the starting quarterback. Bridgewater was acquired from the Panthers in exchange for a sixth round pick this offseason, opening the quarterback competition that he eventually won.
To be honest, neither of them are great options, especially in the division that they play in. While Bridgewater is likely a better quarterback than Lock, they still face an uphill battle against Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, and Derek Carr in their own division. The Broncos should have one of the better defenses in the league and they have a nice skill group that will keep them competitive, but this isn’t a super advantageous position for them to be in.
Fangio seems to be taking the classic defensive-minded head coach selection. Take the guy who, in theory, will keep the ball out of the hands of the other team and try to win games with their running game and defense. Bridgewater won’t take as many chances as Lock down the field and on broken plays, but he might be less turnover prone.
According to Sports Info Solutions, Lock was first in the NFL in average depth of target (9.2) among the 33 quarterbacks with at least 260 passing attempts last season. Bridgwater was 27th (7.2) in the same sample size. Even though the Broncos will be bringing back offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, their offense should look vastly different based on the styles of the quarterback.
If recent sample size is any indication, the Broncos are picking the better quarterback here. According to Ben Baldwin of The Athletic, Bridgewater ranked 19th in expected points per play (0.127) while Lock came in at 28th (0.021).
Bridgewater isn’t the cure to Denver’s problems, but he’s a better option than what they trotted out there last year. He gives the Broncos the best chance for average quarterback production, which is about as good as they’ll be able to do this year given the current personnel. Getting Courtland Sutton back from injury and another year of experience for Jerry Jeudy will be helpful for Bridgewater, but they still face an uphill battle towards winning the division.
Broncos fans will likely be pretty locked in on Justin Fields’ performance in Chicago this season. Stay strong out there.
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