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Denver Broncos: Grading each position group from 2020 season

By Travis Wakeman

Nov 1, 2020; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Drew Lock (3) talks with quarterback Brett Rypien (4) in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 1, 2020; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Drew Lock (3) talks with quarterback Brett Rypien (4) in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /
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DENVER, COLORADO – NOVEMBER 01: KJ Hamler #13 of the Denver Broncos celebrates with teammate Jerry Jeudy #10 after scoring a touchdown against the Los Angeles Chargers at the end of the fourth quarter of the game at Empower Field At Mile High on November 01, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. The Denver Broncos won 31-30. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO – NOVEMBER 01: KJ Hamler #13 of the Denver Broncos celebrates with teammate Jerry Jeudy #10 after scoring a touchdown against the Los Angeles Chargers at the end of the fourth quarter of the game at Empower Field At Mile High on November 01, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. The Denver Broncos won 31-30. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

The Denver Broncos had a poor 2020 season, one that was filled with promise.

After a  5-11 finish to the season, the Broncos fell to last place in the AFC West. They were just 1-5 against their own division and missed the playoffs once again.

The team faces some serious questions during the offseason including who will replace John  Elway as the team’s general manager. Aside from that, it appears that the team will move forward with the current coaching staff and with Drew Lock at  quarterback.

Looking back at the year that was, we are going to review each position group on the team from this past season and conclude each with a letter grade. There will be plenty of good, bad and ugly in what is to follow, so let’s see how each position group shakes out.

Quarterback

Denver Broncos QB Drew Lock
Denver Broncos QB Drew Lock (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

With Lock being hurt early in the season, Broncos fans saw a little bit of everything at quarterback this year. Both Jeff Driskel and Brett Rypien started games and then of course, so did Kendall Hinton, but it’s hard to knock him for what was an atrocious performance.

Driskel was largely quite bad while Rypien actually impressed. But the buck stops with Lock and he is the player who will be mainly responsible for this grade.

On the season, he completed just 57.3 percent of his passes and threw just one more touchdown pass (16) than he did interceptions (15). He finished with a quarterback rating of 75.4.

But it’s not just the statistics that Lock will be graded on. You have to go with what you saw on the field as well. And what you see with Lock is a frustrating mix of talented throws and incredibly bad mistakes. He throws off his back foot far too often and believes he can make the impossible throw when it’s just not there.

But he also makes some terrific throws and if you ever question whether or not the talent is there to win in the NFL, just look back to the team’s first win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

Still, there was much more bad than good from the quarterback room and while Hinton did his best when thrown into the mix, it was still the fault of the group as a whole that he was put in that position in the first place, so that brings the grade down a bit more as well.

This may seem harsh but, winning in the NFL starts and stops with this position most of the time.

Grade: D+

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