Denver Broncos: Grading and analyzing the Jeff Driskel signing

The Denver Broncos signed Jeff Driskel to be their backup quarterback in the 2020 season. We grade the move and analyze the pickup for the Broncos.

The Denver Broncos are going to have a new quarterback room for the 2020 season.

Led, obviously, by second-year player Drew Lock, the Broncos have added former Florida Gators and Louisana Tech Bulldogs quarterback Jeff Driskel to the fray.

Driskel was a sixth-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft of the San Francisco 49ers, and he’s since bounced around between the Cincinnati Bengals and Detroit Lions.

In 12 career games (eight starts), Driskel has completed 59.4 percent of his passes for 1,688 yards with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions. He’s also got three rushing touchdowns over the course of his career.

Driskel has played against the Broncos in preseason action (with the 49ers) and in regular season action (with the Bengals) but they narrowly missed playing against him in 2019 when he was with the Lions. He had a nagging hamstring injury that landed him on IR late in the year.

Now, he’s signing on to play for the Broncos, a move that was first reported by Brandon Krisztal.

Let’s take a look at this move and what it means for the Broncos, and give it a grade.

Contract value

Initially, it sounded like this deal was being reported as $4-5 million per year, but with Wilson’s breakdown here, it looks like the Broncos got Driskel for a really good value.

Some backup quarterbacks are signing for upwards of $6-8 million per season, and the Broncos simply don’t need that kind of commitment to a backup right now. Driskel at this contract, which really ends up being a one-year trial with an option for year two, is a tremendous one.

The player

Obviously, the Broncos want to avoid needing Driskel on the field as much as possible, but it’s important to note his skill set in case he is needed.

Driskel has a big-time arm and really good athletic ability. At 6-foot-4, 237 pounds, he ran a 4.56 in the 40-yard dash and that athleticism has translated in his limited action with nice pocket mobility and some good open-field running.

His numbers, when called upon, have been solid even on two pretty terrible teams.

Overall grade: B+

To me, backup quarterbacks are some of the most overpaid athletes in the world.

There are too many NFL teams with backup quarterbacks who are incapable of actually helping the team while being paid a big chunk of money.

There are also too few teams in the NFL actually developing young quarterbacks with talent when they have a possible franchise QB in place.

Driskel is sort of a nice compromise between the two. He’s still young (only 27 this year) and has a combination of talent and experience. He may not be the guy you want starting all 16 games for your team, but his athletic upside and arm can at least make things interesting.

For an average of $2.5 million per year, this is really a solid move by the Broncos getting a younger guy with some actual upside if he has to play.