Drew Lock: 5 reasons Broncos fans should be keeping the faith

5. Alternatives to Drew Lock are no guarantee

So, you’re done with Drew Lock? What’s your plan, exactly?

The Broncos might yet contend for a top 10 draft pick, but they are not going to get either Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields without a top two pick. Your best options in the 2021 NFL Draft beyond Lawrence and Fields right now look like BYU’s Zach Wilson (who reminds me a lot of Lock, in many ways) and North Dakota State’s Trey Lance.

If you think one of those guys is the next Pat Mahomes or DeShaun Watson, then by all means — make the play.

But what if you mortgage multiple first-round picks to move up for those guys and they struggle badly in their first 11 NFL starts? Are we going to call for the Broncos’ front office to start over again?

What about free agency?

Do you really think the Dallas Cowboys are going to let Dak Prescott go? Do you want to try Philip Rivers? Cam Newton?

Are you going to try to trade for Matthew Stafford or Carson Wentz? Jimmy Garoppolo?

Are the Broncos going to be the team to trade for Sam Darnold and somehow revive his career?

While some of those options might seem preferable in the short-term, it’s critical to remember point number four — the Broncos are rebuilding. This is not a team with a disappearing championship window. This is a team looking to compete over the long haul with the likes of Mahomes and now Herbert and probably Carr.

The Broncos can’t afford year-to-year quarterback rentals. They need someone to be the guy.

Unless Drew Lock absolutely tanks for the remainder of 2020 giving the Broncos no choice but to trade for someone or draft someone else, they have every reason to take the good and learn from the bad with Drew Lock not only through 2020, but through 2021 as well.

As frustrating as it is for Broncos fans to accept because every single throw, every dropback is put under a microscope, sometimes you have to be willing to let a young team take its lumps and put your faith in the fact that they can eventually be great.