Denver Broncos: Making the case for Trey Lance in round one
How about the football aspect of things?
We haven’t even hardly touched on that yet.
Lance, as a player, is fascinating to watch and try to evaluate. North Dakota State ran an offense that accentuated his strengths. In 17 starts for the team, Lance threw the ball an average of 19 times per game while the team ran the ball 45 times per game.
Justin Fields’ offenses at Ohio State averaged 45 runs per game as well (roughly) in his two seasons as the starter, but he averaged closer to 28/29 pass attempts per game.
The 19 throws per game for Trey Lance is a low figure, but it also proved to be a path to success recently for Josh Allen, who required plenty of patience for the Buffalo Bills.
Although Allen is considered a major outlier in terms of his huge leap as a passer (dead least in the league in completion percentage to an MVP candidate overnight), he was able to help the Buffalo Bills get to the postseason with his playmaking ability as both a passer and runner.
Even if you consider the possibility that Lance could be dead last in the league in completion percentage and still help the Broncos to the playoffs, isn’t that ultimately where everyone wants the team to be?
Again, whether it’s Lock or Lance, returning to the playoffs is goal number one. If the Broncos do it with both guys on the roster, who cares who is the one to get it done?
There is nothing more valuable on an NFL roster than a quarterback. The old adage if you have two quarterbacks you have none is not applicable in this instance because it only applies if you have two guys who are proven to be below-average options.
At this point, Trey Lance and Drew Lock should both be considered options with upside at the game’s most valuable position.
Lance has proven he has elite arm talent and he is unquestionably the best running quarterback in this draft. Yes, that includes Justin Fields. Lance is the premier option when it comes to making plays with his legs.
Even as a passer, Lance put throws on tape that are outstanding. Much has been made of the talent discrepancy at North Dakota State compared to other schools, and there’s no denying that NDSU has been an FCS powerhouse. With that being said, Lance could only make lemonade with the ingredients he was provided.
He showed he can put the ball on a rope and be accurate to all levels of the field. He showed he can go through progressions. He showed areas of weakness as well or poor judgment despite having zero interceptions in 2019 (he threw a pick in NDSU’s showcase game in 2020), but Lance’s talent is too tantalizing to be hung up on his mistakes at the age of 19.