Denver Broncos: What hiring of George Paton means for Drew Lock

So what exactly does this mean for Drew Lock?

At the end of the day, Lock’s leash might have been short no matter who became the general manager of the Broncos.

There is no question that the Broncos are going to add a quarterback this offseason. However, adding one in the first round would simply spell bad news for Lock immediately.

Do Paton and the Broncos want to immediately move on from Lock and bring in Paton’s own guy?

Taking a look at past drafts, the Vikings didn’t do a whole lot in terms of adding quarterbacks. Bridgewater was the team’s most recent first-round pick (2014) and he was drafted 32nd overall. Ponder was the 12th overall pick in a very poor overall 2011 QB class.

That’s not to say that the Broncos won’t go with a first-round QB with Paton.

Before Paton was even named general manager, there was already talk about when Lock would or might be out in Denver. As a new guy coming into a new organization, it seems likely that Paton would want to bring in his own guy, as new general managers typically do.

The NFL Draft is unpredictable in so many ways. Sitting at the ninth pick in the 2021 draft, it isn’t likely at all that the Broncos take a quarterback, but maybe one of them falls to the ninth spot.

Doubtful, but possible.

Denver Broncos: 4 most critical decisions facing new GM

The Denver Broncos will have a new general manager in 2021. That new GM is going to have to make some critical decisions right away.

At the end of the day, it appears that, with Paton in charge, the Broncos will look to the draft for upgrades at all positions, and that includes quarterback. If the Broncos are going to replace Lock, however, it seems more likely to come through a veteran acquisition.