George Paton says all the right things about Drew Lock. The General Manager’s comments about the Broncos’ quarterback, though, always include a “but.”
The fact is: The Broncos are looking to add a quarterback, because Lock hasn’t proved he’s a franchise quarterback. He might be. It’s too soon after only 18 starts to know for sure.
But. . .
Can the Broncos win Week 1 with Drew Lock as their quarterback, Paton was asked Thursday.
“I don’t know about Week 1,” Paton said, presumably meaning he doesn’t know who will start Week 1. “We’re really high on Drew. I like seeing Drew here every morning when I come in. He’s working hard. He’s trending in the right direction. As you know, he has a lot of talent. I think he’s becoming a better pro. But we’re still going to look at the quarterback position. I’ve said since I got here, we want to bring in competition, and that’s the goal, and we plan on doing that.”
Lock, 24, has completed 59.1 percent of his passes for 3,953 yards with 23 touchdowns and 18 interceptions since the Broncos made him a second-round choice in 2019.
He will face competition to keep his job for this season.
The Broncos could draft a quarterback (Trey Lance? Justin Fields? Mac Jones?), could trade for a quarterback (Teddy Bridgewater?) or potentially could find one after the draft via a team that drafts a quarterback (Jimmy Garoppolo?). The Texans will trade Deshaun Watson sometime, but it might be after the 2021 season starts or during the 2022 offseason depending on what happens with the civil suits against him.
“We do like Drew Lock. . . but we do realize we want competition,” Paton said. “I’ve said that since I’ve gotten here, and that hasn’t changed.”