Denver Broncos: Drew Lock quickly making his way to being the backup

Denver Broncos rookie Drew Lock appears well on his way to being the backup quarterback for this team for the 2019 season.

Drew Lock wears jersey no. 3 and he’s currently the third quarterback on the Denver Broncos’ depth chart, but that might be changing in the near future.

Lock, who played the majority of the Broncos’ second preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks, had some great moments and some not-so-great moments sprinkled together, but the great moments at this point far outweigh his correctable mistakes.

Lock’s ability — or inability — to win the Broncos’ no. 2 quarterback job behind Joe Flacco will be critical for this team in terms of assembling the best 53-man roster possible.

Though Lock’s game and practice reps seem to indicate otherwise, Vic Fangio is not yet publicly saying his official depth chart has changed with the rookie taking Kevin Hogan’s place as the backup QB.

When asked whether or not ‘we’ could say that Lock was now the backup, Fangio responded in classic fashion.

"“I’m not. You said ‘we.’ I’m not. You can, but I’m not.”Vic Fangio (quotes via Broncos PR)"

Obviously, practice reps speak loudly in this regard. We’ll see what the Broncos do ahead of their practices with the San Francisco 49ers here later in the week, but it’s clear that the best outcome for the Broncos would be to have Lock settle into a backup role before the start of the season.

So many people made way too big of a deal out of Fangio’s comments about Lock not being an NFL quarterback, which meant that he wasn’t ready ‘right now’ for a big responsibility.

It is possible, believe it or not, for guys to show growth in just a few weeks time. Lock’s growth from game one to game two was apparent. He made some nice throws under pressure and showed some of the things we saw him do at Missouri that made him a special player there.

Why is Lock winning the no. 2 job beneficial for the Broncos? Why is it beneficial to put Hogan in that spot in the first place?

For starters, with Hogan listed as the backup initially, the Broncos created a competition for the backup spot. Although Lock is certainly getting a roster spot with the team, his standing on the roster will be determined by performance. Hogan’s presence makes that clear.

Second, Lock being the backup is beneficial to the Broncos because it gives them the option to carry only two quarterbacks on the active roster if they so choose (or if it becomes a necessity).

The only issue there is, it seems Brett Rypien is also getting increased reps with the second and third units and the Broncos may be liking what they’ve seen with him enough to the point that they wouldn’t let him get to waivers.

With all due respect to Hogan, who will probably be on someone’s roster this season, maybe even the Broncos’, the team’s plans at quarterback should be to keep the guys they believe can help them now or that they can develop.

Lock and Rypien are the two clear developmental players.

If the Broncos release Hogan, they would save $990,000 against the salary cap as well.

We’ll see what happens in the next couple of weeks. Nothing is set in stone at this point but it seems things are moving towards Lock being the backup when the Broncos open the season against the Oakland Raiders.