Denver Broncos: Here is one more reason for Drew Lock to have a chip on his shoulder in 2021

Drew Lock is getting no respect from the national media this offseason, and that may be fair.

But what that should be doing is lighting the competitive fire of the third-year quarterback, who, despite everything that has been talked about this offseason, is still the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos.

According to Bruce Gradkowski of Pro Football Focus, he’s also the worst starting quarterback in the league.

The Broncos have been linked to virtually every quarterback that was available or rumored to be available this offseason, either through trade, free agency or the draft. Most all of those guys ended up being passed on and then the team traded for Teddy Bridgewater.

The trade for Bridgewater is something Gradkowski, a former NFL quarterback himself, points to in his summary.

"“The reason the Broncos acquired veteran quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to compete with Lock for the starting job is because Lock had the 32nd-ranked passing grade (63.4) out of 36 qualifying quarterbacks”, said Gradkowski, in part."

The disrespect for Lock from both the media and the fanbase has been outrageous. Sure, he made some silly mistakes and some really bad throws last season, but this guy has played in just 18 games, barely the equivalent of one full season.

Lock has also shown promise, as he did in the last five games of the 2019 season. If the team can show confidence in him as its starter and provide some stability around him, he has a chance to be a much better option than Gradkowski is giving him credit for.

Either way, it’s far too early to say that he is that bad.

Gradkowski has guys like Daniel Jones, Jalen Hurts and whoever the starter is going to be for the New Orleans Saints higher on the list. Yeah, give me Lock over all of them, at the least.

Depending on the competitive spirit within the 24-year old Lock, this could be a good thing. He could read an article like the one Gradkowski put out, chuckle, and use it as fuel to motivate him in what is sure to be a huge season.

There is no doubt that Lock has heard the chatter since the 2020 season closed. He likely knows he played poorly and much, much more is expected of him. If Bridgewater comes out and wins the quarterback competition, all of the negative talk against Lock can be validated.

But as of right now, he’s the team’s starter and there might not be a better scenario for the Broncos than for him to come out and just blow away all expectations in his third year and put on a show that not only solidifies himself as the team’s starter for years to come but also drowns out the non-believers for good.