Drew Lock is happy with the growth of Albert Okwuegbunam since their Missouri days.
When the Denver Broncos drafted tight end Albert Okwuegbunam, Drew Lock became one happy person. The two offensive players played together collegiately at Missouri and will continue to build on a strong relationship on the field at the pro level.
While Lock is locked in as the starting quarterback of the Broncos, Okwuegbunam is continuing to prove that he has what it takes to be among the tight ends that Lock will be throwing to during the 2020 season and longer. At Missouri, Okwuegbunam caught 98 passes for 1,187 yards and 23 touchdowns.
In 2017, the two connected on 11 touchdowns. Lock threw a whopping 44 scores that season, at the time an SEC record.
The quarterback is happy to see Okwuegbunam on his side once again and is very pleased with the growth he has shown since their days at Missouri.
Drew Lock: Albert Okwuebugnam is “sneaky fast … I’ve been really impressed with Albert since he’s been here. He’s definitely more of a grown man than when I saw him two years ago."
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) August 29, 2020
That is quite the endorsement for Okwuegbunam. To nobody’s surprise, Lock was a big influence of the Okwuegbunam selection back in April. It is always important to have your quarterback’s say in who the team should select.
Last week, head coach Vic Fangio raved about Okwuegbunam.
Albert Okwuegbunam has a real shot of making the Denver Broncos roster.
The Broncos currently have six tight ends on the roster: Noah Fant, Okwuegbunam, Jake Butt, Nick Vannett, Austin Fort, and Troy Fumagalli. The battle for the third and fourth tight end spots is going to be interesting from now until the team has to cut down to the roster limit.
Fort required arthroscopic knee surgery recently, which you would figure would be bad news in his journey to the opening-day roster. Fant is the clear number one tight end on the roster, and the Broncos signed Vannett to a two-year deal this offseason. Jake Butt, if healthy, is going to make a huge splash this season as well.
Fumagalli has experience at tight end but also as a fullback. The Broncos aren’t likely to use a fullback a whole lot this season with Pat Shurmur, but it would be good to have that flexibility if needed.
You can make a case for any of these guys to make the final roster cut, but I do believe that the chemistry with Lock is going to give Okwuegbunam an edge over somebody.