Denver Broncos: Vic Fangio encourages Drew Lock to run more

Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio said on Tuesday that the coaches encourage Drew Lock to use his legs when opportunities present themselves.

The Denver Broncos want to protect Drew Lock as much as possible. But that may be the team’s biggest struggle on offense during the 2020 season.

The team lost Ja’Wuan James at right tackle due to the opt-out option and questions remain at almost all of the other offensive line spots (minus left guard, where Dalton Risner is locked in).

Because of the problems on the offensive line, it is a guarantee that Lock is going to have to use his legs to run away from pressure. During practice on Tuesday, Lock had a lot of pressure in his face, which prompted Fangio to answer a question regarding how the quarterback handled that pressure.

"“I think he did good from my vantage point on the field. That’s one thing Drew—as you saw some of those times—now obviously we’ll never know if we would have gotten him down before he takes off, but his mobility and scrambling ability are important. It’s an added dimension to any offense. That’s part of his game that we like. We encourage him to use it when the opportunity presents itself or when he’s forced to. I know he’ll make some plays off of that when he’s scrambling around.”— Broncos coach Vic Fangio (quotes from Broncos PR)"

That was one of the important things in Lock’s game that the Broncos like. Anytime you get a quarterback who has the ability to make plays with both his arm and his legs, it’s risky, but it can also be very useful.

We will get a better comparison following the 2020 season when Lock has more than five games under his belt, but here is the fascinating stat:

Broncos quarterbacks times sacked in 2019

The Broncos started three quarterbacks in 2019. Here are the number of times each was sacked.

Joe Flacco (8 games): sacked 26 times
Brandon Allen (3 games): sacked 9 times
Drew Lock (5 games): sacked 5 times

The Broncos absolutely need that quarterback with Lock’s skill set. The difference from Flacco and Allen to Lock was very noticeable.

It is a scary thought that Lock will have to run more (fear of getting hurt). But if he can make a lot of plays with both his arm and his feet, that will have a great impact on the offense. It would force defenses to be on their toes.

Lock is not the fastest guy at the quarterback position, but he doesn’t need to be. All he needs to do is take shots down the field, and run when necessary.

Most importantly, being smart with the football is crucial.