Denver Broncos keep building around Drew Lock in 7-round 2021 mock draft.
‘Twas the first of Drew-cember and all throughout Broncos Country questions of Drew Lock’s future have the team in a quandary.
Where do the Denver Broncos go after the three-ring circus that has been their 2020 season? Do they fire the coach? Keep continuity? Chalk this season up as one giant learning experience?
Do they make sweeping changes? If sweeping changes are necessary, should John Elway be out with the bathwater?
There are a lot of fair questions to ask about the Denver Broncos moving forward, especially regarding the quarterback position.
The Broncos have won seven of Drew Lock’s starts, and in games he’s played the whole way through, they have a 7-5 record. That means that in games Drew Lock doesn’t play or doesn’t finish at quarterback, since the start of 2019, the Broncos have a record of 4-11.
Although Lock is certainly not directly responsible for every one of those victories, he’s shown enough to be worth looking at again in 2021 barring an unexpected superstar prospect falling into the Broncos’ laps in the 2021 NFL Draft.
John Elway said that he’s been “excited” about Lock and Elway thinks he’s going to keep getting better with every snap he takes on the field.
With all of that in mind, there is merit to the idea of continuity in the 2021 offseason and using the 2021 NFL Draft to continue building around Lock.
That’s what we’re going to do in this mock draft scenario.
First round: Jaycee Horn, CB, South Carolina
You might be asking yourself how a cornerback helps build around Drew Lock, and the answer is quite simple.
The Denver Broncos have not been creating turnovers defensively at a high enough rate. If it weren’t for Justin Simmons, the Broncos would have just 10 interceptions over the last two seasons combined.
There are a number of factors that go into that, but the Broncos definitely need some young playmakers in the secondary and Jaycee Horn is one of the players who matches their need at corner beyond 2021 as well as their position (12 overall) in this particular draft class.
Horn is the type of tough defender the Broncos love adding, and he has versatility as both a nickel and outside cornerback.
The son of former NFL wide receiver Joe Horn, Jaycee has football in his blood and he has excellent size to match up with bigger receivers.
Along with Michael Ojemudia and Essang Bassey, he could give the Broncos a home-grown trio of starters to build around at cornerback.