Lock finished his Mizzou career as one of the most prolific passers in program history with 12,193 passing yards and 99 touchdowns, which both rank second to former quarterback Chase Daniel. Lock became Missouri’s starter five games into and started all 38 games the last three years. Lock said his experience with starting at Missouri will help him in any situation – even being the understudy to Flacco. “I got thrown in the fire at Missouri, so if I need to go in and play early, I’ve been through that and learned a lot from that experience,” Lock said. “And I learned what a good backup was. I learned what it took to push me and what it took to help me in the film room, to where if I needed to be that guy for Joe, then by all means. A Super Bowl-winning quarterback. It’s kind of a prime spot to be in.” Projected as a first-rounder, Lock was among the 23 prospects in the NFL invited to Nashville to attend the draft in person. He was expected by some to go as high as No. 10 to Denver on Thursday, or to one of the other teams in need of a quarterback, like the Raiders and the Giants. But the Broncos traded back their No. 10 pick, chose former Iowa tight end Noah Fant at No. 20 for their first-round pick and Lock ended the first day of the draft without a future team.<doc-sep>For those who have been pounding the table for the Denver Broncos to use a high draft pick on a quarterback, you got your wish on Friday night. Not only did the team draft Drew Lock, but they also moved way up to do it. Using the pick they obtained from the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night (along with this year’s fourth and sixth-round selections), the Broncos came up 10 spots, directly after drafting Kansas State offensive lineman Dalton Risner, to get their guy. Lock comes in with just as many concerns as he does positive traits, but the Broncos felt the risk was worth the potential reward. Lock passed for over 12,000 yards in college at Missouri while tossing 99 touchdown passes. He also posted a 138.8 quarterback rating. But will that translate to the pro level? Lock possesses a strong arm and feels that he can make every throw at any time. But he also displays a frustrating level of inconsistency and his struggles against tough competition are a real concern. The good thing is that the Broncos have Joe Flacco so there will be no rush to get Lock on the field. This is the scenario the Broncos have long needed, a young prospect to sit behind a savvy veteran. John Elway should be applauded for making this move. Grade: A-<doc-sep>Many people believed the Broncos would take Drew Lock in the 2019 NFL draft. Nobody thought it would happen with Denver’s third pick. Broncos president of football operations John Elway stopped Lock’s slide on Friday by trading up to the no. 42 pick in the draft, and the Broncos’ quarterback drought may be over. While Kyler Murray, Daniel Jones (! ), and Dwayne Haskins all went in the top 15 on Thursday, Lock’s name was surprisingly not called. Denver was a popular destination for Lock because Elway has a type when it comes to quarterbacks—tall, athletic, rocket arm—and Lock fits it perfectly. The Broncos traded down with the Steelers to go from no. 10 to no. 20 and then grabbed Iowa tight end Noah Fant at that spot. Lock, who attended the draft and was watching from the green room, fell all the way out of the first round. A run on cornerbacks and offensive lineman pushed him from the 30s into the 40s, and when Denver came up on the clock at 41, it seemed too good to be true that Lock was still waiting. But the Broncos drafted Kansas State tackle Dalton Risner instead. Risner over Lock was a surprise, but it was also a sleight of hand. The Broncos promptly traded up with the Bengals for the no. 42 overall pick and grabbed Lock. The Broncos’ search for a quarterback post-Peyton Manning has become a running joke which peaked with Elway saying earlier this year that the newly acquired Joe Flacco was “just getting into his prime.” But Elway has been consistent in insisting that the Broncos are retooling, never rebuilding, and he does not have the patience for a project quarterback (as the Paxton Lynch debacle showed). That won’t be an issue for Lock, who has embraced being the most experienced quarterback in the 2019 draft. Lock was a four-year starter at Missouri, and in 2017 he was one of the best quarterbacks in the nation. That year, which was his third as a starter, Lock led the country in touchdown passes (44), and finished fourth in yards per attempt (9.5) and in passer rating (165.7). But as a senior in 2018, all of those numbers dropped off. He threw 16 fewer passing touchdowns, lost 1.5 yards per attempt, and chipped nearly 20 points off his passer rating from his junior year into his senior year. That dip in production may be one of the reasons he fell to the second round. (That, and also that NFL coaches told him at the Senior Bowl to “cut his bieber hair,” and based on the photos of him at the draft, he did not.) Drew Lock, who was projected to be the No. 1 overall pick by many at the start of the college football season, told @PATRIOTSdotCOM that he’d rather go No. 32 to a good team than No. 1 to a bad team. He wasn’t taken last night. pic.twitter.com/BB4eZzNXmA — Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) April 26, 2019 Lock, who looks like the third Franco brother, has the biggest arm in the draft class. He’s been compared to Jay Cutler for trusting his ability to squeeze balls into tight (and sometimes nonexistent) windows, even when he is under pressure or scrambling. His arm is so strong that he can often make those tough plays happen, but it’s harder to rely solely on arm strength at the NFL level, when every defensive back is faster, and the schemes are more complicated. Lock has the physical ability to be a top-tier starter, but the footwork, accuracy, and decision-making Lock demonstrated in college are not consistent enough to be successful in the NFL. Yet there’s reason to believe he can improve on all three. In Lock’s time at Missouri, he went through two head coaches and three offensive coordinators, so it’s fair to attribute some of his unease to the constant shuffling on the coaching staff. It’s also catnip for an NFL team to hear a talented player was poorly coached and they can correct his mistakes, and it will fall on offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello to turn Lock into a top-tier passer. With last year’s second-rounder Courtland Sutton, emerging receivers DaeSean Hamilton and Tim Patrick, running backs Phillip Lindsay and Royce Smith, plus tight end Jeff Heuerman, the Broncos have a talented young core of skill players for Lock to target, and Risner can slide in alongside free agent tackle Ja’Wuan James, who is perhaps the best tackle signed in free agency this year. Lock has the experience Elway is looking for in a poised quarterback, and he could either push Flacco for the Week 1 starting job, replace him midseason, or take over next year. The last time Elway built the Broncos into a contender, he did it in free agency by getting Peyton Manning, DeMarcus Ware, and Aqib Talib. When the Broncos won the Super Bowl in 2016 and Manning retired, there was a wandering of the QB desert: Brock Osweiler, Lynch, Trevor Siemian, Osweiler again, Case Keenum, and most recently the trade for Flacco. Our apologies go out to Flacco, who preferred the Broncos take a win-now player in 2019. Be careful what you wish for. It took Elway some time, but he may have finally found a quarterback that is part of Denver’s future, rather than one that addresses its immediate short-term needs. He has already surrounded that quarterback with a young, talented offense built through the draft, and that may be a sign his strategy was wiser than we thought. Denver may soon be one of the most dynamic offenses in football. All they need to do now is get Lock to cut his hair.<doc-sep>MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE - DECEMBER 31: Drew Lock #3 of the Missouri Tigers reacts during the first half of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium on December 31, 2018 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) It took longer than some of us anticipated, but the smoke became fire as the Denver Broncos selected quarterback Drew Lock. We do not know the exact number of meetings the Denver Broncos had with Drew Lock, but including game sightings, the interest has clearly been strong. Lock has a gift. This kid can really throw the football. There are flaws in his game and that may explain why Lock was taken in the second round. While there are footwork concerns and some accuracy inconsistencies, it is smart to have Lock sit under Joe Flacco for a year. Lock has drawn comparisons to Jay Cutler, but we can all put the personality similarities to bed. They are vastly different. Lock understands his role in entering the NFL. More specifically, sitting under Joe Flacco this season. Lock will sit under Flacco to learn offensive coordinator’s Rich Scangarello system, a blend of the new and old Mike Shanahan offense. It is one that will suit Lock long term. This particular move of back-to-back picks of Drew Lock and Dalton Risner signals a sense of win now and from now on. New Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio saw firsthand the impact of a new wave at quarterback in Chicago. Not to mention, he understands it’s a new era in the NFL. Elway has even said it himself. In my opinion, this is going down about as well as you would expect or want it to go if you are building for the here and now. So what are the experts saying about the Drew Lock pick? Let’s take a look. The Broncos did not think Drew Lock would slip as far as he did. Shows why they jumped up 10 spots to grab him. Lock will come in and compete for the back up job. — James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) April 27, 2019 Drew Lock said he enjoyed his visit with @Broncos, particularly talking w/ assistant coaches Rich Scangarello and T.C. McCartney. Lock said he appreciated how Scangarello & McCartney pointed out the areas in which he needed to improve: "They were being real with me right there." — Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) April 27, 2019 "Teams going to regret passing on Drew Lock. Kid has it upstairs. Needs mechanical refinement." ex-NFL QB coach via text — Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) April 26, 2019 Drew Lock was not a Broncos fan growing up. A Kansas City native he was "a Chiefs guy." "I could not be more excited to go back to Kansas City and get some wins with the bad guys." — Lindsay Jones (@bylindsayhjones) April 27, 2019 Drew Lock gets time to learn behind Joe Flacco, something that he needs as he refines his game. 2019 is like 2012 for the #Broncos – they've got Flacco to start (like they did with Peyton) and they've got Lock to groom (like they did with Brock) @1043TheFan — Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) April 27, 2019 The Denver Broncos have Noah Fant, Dalton Risner, and Drew Lock on board through the first two rounds. The draft is going extremely well, to say the least.<doc-sep>
The Denver Broncos have selected former Missouri quarterback Drew Lock with the 42nd overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. The selection came following a trade-up with the Cincinnati Bengals. Denver traded the pick (52nd overall) that they acquired from the Steelers when the two teams swapped first round picks. Lock (6-foot-4, 228 lbs) looks the part of an NFL quarterback. He has a big frame and a big arm, and the gunslinger is mobile enough to pick up first downs with his legs, but he does not look comfortable throwing on the run. He can throw from different arm angles, which is all the rage in today’s NFL. Lock showed his leadership by taking his linemen out to dinner at a pizza place on Thursday nights. The Missouri native throws off his back foot too often rather than driving the ball downfield. Lock’s pocket awareness is poor and his decision-making in general is subpar. He throws into coverage too often and was often stripped of the ball in the pocket. The Missouri product was a rare four-year starter, completing 275-of-437 passes for 3,498 yards, 28 touchdowns and eight interceptions. The previous year, he completed 242-of-419 passes for 3,964 yards, 44 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. In 2016, the quarterback completed 237-of-434 passes for 3,399 yards, 23 touchdowns and ten interceptions. During his freshman season, he completed 129-of-263 passes for 1,332 yards, four touchdowns and eight interceptions. Out of Lee’s Summitt High School in Missouri, Lock was rated a .9553 by the 247Sports Composite. He was considered the nation’s No. 7 pro style quarterback and the No. 98 player overall. (Collegiate and draft profile information provided with assistance from Josh Edwards of 247Sports.) The move is a massive deviation for Broncos general manager John Elway, who acquired Joe Flacco this offseason and, on numerous occasions, dumped his faith in the former Ravens Super Bowl MVP. “Joe’s 34 years old and I think he’s had success in this league," Elway said Tuesday in his pre-draft news conference. "We made that move because we thought that he had a chance to come in here and fit into what we’re going to do offensively and continue his career. At 34 years old, that’s young at that position. Joe has done it. He’s proven he’s done it, he’s won a Super Bowl, and so he knows what it takes. He’s been to that level. Mini camp went well. I thought he did a nice job at mini camp. He showed what he could do out there and what we thought he could do as far as the way he throws the ball. He can make all the throws—still has the strong arm—so Joe was very good in [mini] camp.” But Lock was Elway's guy all along, the prospect he was "smitten" by and most coveted, topping Kyler Murray and Dwayne Haskins. He checks the Duke's boxes: tall with a big arm and plus mobility, offering scintillating long-term upside as the team's potential franchise savior. Flacco should get his wish to remain the Broncos' "understood quarterback" for 2019, however, as Lock requires additional development before he's thrown into the fire. It's an ideal setup, too, giving Flacco the reigns for a win-now team while handing new offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello, whom Denver hired due to his developmental skills, a heavily-invested pet project.