Unless something goes down between the Denver Broncos and Green Bay Packers for league MVP Aaron Rodgers, the competition at the quarterback position will be between Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater. Not every Denver Broncos fan is exactly rejoicing over that, but until he’s not on the roster, Lock still has a chance to be “the guy” in Denver regardless of how slim you think that chance actually is.
Until an Aaron Rodgers trade happens, this is the situation the Denver Broncos find themselves in.
Will Lock take a jump in his third NFL season, second as a full starter? Will Teddy Bridgewater have to come in and right the ship?
Could Bridgewater even be a version of what Ryan Tannehill has been to the Tennessee Titans for the Denver Broncos?
There are plenty of scenarios on the table, and the starting job will be decided over the course of the next three months.
Come September, will Drew Lock be back under center as the QB1 for the Denver Broncos? How long will his “leash” be?
At this particular point in time, it seems like Lock has at least somewhat of an edge over Teddy Bridgewater. You could lay out pros and cons for both guys and make a compelling case that Bridgewater should have the edge right now, but let’s walk through some of the main reasons why Lock has more than a few things going for him in the competition with Teddy Bridgewater.
1. Drew Lock is the incumbent
It doesn’t always mean everything, but in the case of the quarterback competition between Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater, Lock being the incumbent means something.
The Denver Broncos brought back offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur for some continuity but there would not be any continuity if Lock is not the starter in 2021, now would there?
Everyone knew that Lock was going to get the job in the 2020 offseason and the Denver Broncos really made no attempt to create any competition. The way Lock finished the 2019 season, John Elway and Vic Fangio probably figured getting an experienced offensive play caller in the building and letting Rich Scangarello find his footing elsewhere was the way to go.
The pandemic had a substantial effect on everyone, but for Drew Lock and the Denver Broncos’ offense, it really threw a wrench in things.
If you think that’s just an excuse and a pro-Drew Lock thing to say, look at the words of Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning:
"I don’t make excuses or defend Drew and he’s been very accountable in his comments and certainly knows what he needs to do and has a plan to do it. But I will say the greatest benefit I had as a player was having the same offensive coordinator (Tom Moore) for my first 13 years. Tom Brady had the same offensive system for every year (in New England) and Tampa last year pretty much got it to his system (later) into the season. It makes a big difference when you have continuity. In Drew’s second year, he was already on his second coordinator and then you add in the COVID offseason. That’s tough for any quarterback. I can tell (during the meetings) that he was excited about getting into the facility, getting with Pat Shurmur and being on the same page because they didn’t get to that last year. They didn’t start meeting until August, which is insane. Peyton Manning via The Denver Post"
In this case, Lock being the incumbent starter at quarterback matters. He spent a year building a rapport with all of the young weapons on the Denver Broncos’ offense. He had a great chemistry going with Courtland Sutton at the end of the 2019 season and into 2020 training camp prior to Sutton’s season-ending injury in week 2 of last year.
If consistency mattered enough to the Denver Broncos to keep Shurmur around, then there’s no doubt that — even just on some level — keeping consistency at QB is something that matters to them as well.
2. Drew Lock has more tools
Although Teddy Bridgewater is an outstanding athlete compared to any average Joe, how does he compare physically and athletically to Drew Lock?
This is a huge advantage in Lock’s favor.
Lock is bigger, faster, and has a stronger arm than Bridgewater.
Although Bridgewater was once a first-round draft pick and Lock was a second-round pick, there is no question who wins the “tools” contest.
Lock has certainly had his fair share of bad moments in the NFL. He’s made some really ugly throws and thrown some untimely interceptions.
One thing that you can’t really knock Lock for, however, is tools. He has a very good arm and athletically he’s right up there with some of the other young quarterbacks that are having success in the league.
Lock may not be as big as Justin Herbert, as fast as Lamar Jackson, or an all-around unicorn like Josh Allen, but he’s got plenty of tools to work with and both general manager George Paton and head coach Vic Fangio have noted that Lock has the physical tools to be a good NFL quarterback.
The ball will noticeably pop out of Drew’s hand more than Bridgewater’s. Lock is more physically impressive and is a better all-around athlete.
3. Drew Lock is more likely a long-term option
Of the two options, Drew Lock is more likely to be a long-term option for the Denver Broncos than Teddy Bridgewater.
At this point in his career and already on his fifth NFL team, Bridgewater could safely be considered a “journeyman” at the quarterback position.
It’s not impossible that he could turn things around and become the guy for the Denver Broncos, but it’s more likely that Lock becomes that long-term option and the Broncos have to realize that.
Although Lock seems to be the more likely long-term option right now, it’s certainly not set in stone that he will be.
The Broncos clearly see the long-term potential in Lock, and the moves they made in the 2021 offseason are a clear signal of that. They brought in Bridgewater, but only when the price to acquire him went down to almost nothing.
Lock is still just 24 going on 25 while Bridgewater is 28 going on 29. In quarterback years these days, Bridgewater isn’t exactly ancient, but Lock is younger by a good margin and the upside for him to become the long-term solution still remains.
4. The Broncos passed on the 2021 NFL Draft crop
This point cannot be overstated.
The Denver Broncos sent their heavy hitters to the pro days of Zach Wilson, Justin Fields, Trey Lance, and they also had a presence watching over Mac Jones.
They doubled down and went to multiple pro days for both Lance and Fields.
During the 2021 NFL Draft, the Broncos were staring the opportunity to draft Justin Fields (or Mac Jones) directly in the face, and they passed so they could take Patrick Surtain II instead.
Not only did the Broncos and GM George Paton pass on quarterbacks in the first round, but they passed on the 2021 NFL Draft class at quarterback entirely.
The fact that the Broncos passed on Justin Fields, in particular, should tell us a lot about what the team:
A. Thought of Justin Fields and;
B. Thinks of Drew Lock
Lock represents the upside option on the Denver Broncos’ roster at the quarterback position with Bridgewater representing the veteran fail-safe. If Lock falters, Bridgewater gives the Broncos a much higher floor than what they had last year with the combination of Jeff Driskel and Brett Rypien.
Still, it’s telling that the Broncos did not take Justin Fields when given the opportunity to do exactly that. To some, Fields was considered a potential number one caliber prospect in many draft classes that didn’t include a Trevor Lawrence.
The Denver Broncos clearly did not share that sentiment, and instead preferred what they already had on the roster, which was Drew Lock and Bridgewater.
When you consider all of these first four points together — Lock being the incumbent, Lock having all of the physical tools, and Lock still having long-term prospects along with the team passing on draft prospects — it’s abundantly clear that this is an edge for Lock over Bridgewater.
5. Teddy Bridgewater was not exactly a model of ball security
Drew Lock is certainly deserving of criticism for his poor decision-making and “hero ball” style of play at times. While you could easily make the case that some of his bad mistakes are shared responsibility and that a number of them wouldn’t have happened if not for mistakes made by some of the receivers, the turnover numbers for Lock are what they are — bad.
He had 15 interceptions and eight fumbles last season, and although not every fumble by a quarterback is a lost fumble, that should be considered 23 opportunities for the other team to take the ball away.
That’s not how you play winning football in the NFL, and that’s everyone’s biggest issue with Lock at this point.
When Teddy Bridgewater came in, it was almost as if he was painted as this ultra-accurate passer who would basically wipe turnovers out of the equation for the Denver Broncos’ offense, but that is simply not the case.
Bridgewater, himself, put the ball in harm’s way quite often in 2020 with 11 interceptions and six fumbles.
Those 17 turnover opportunities do not exactly distance Bridgewater from Lock, especially when Lock has the other things on this list — tools, long-term upside, etc — going for him.
6. Drew Lock’s game against Bridgewater himself
Let’s qualify this one by pointing out the obvious — it was a one-game sample.
We get it.
With that being said, the one-game sample of Drew Lock going head-to-head against Teddy Bridgewater is a microcosm of every other point on this list.
Lock’s performance late last season against the Carolina Panthers showed what he is capable of in terms of his tools and tremendous upside, when he and Pat Shurmur are communicating well, when he is making good decisions, and how advantageous those traits all are against a fairly average player like Bridgewater.
The Broncos and Drew Lock dominated the Panthers, and Drew Lock played a game that was literally the best in team history on the road.
His QB rating of 149.5 was the third-highest single-game QB rating in team history and the highest in a road start.
The issue for Lock, of course, has been consistency. He had just two games last season with a QB rating over 100, while Bridgewater had four such games.
Denver Broncos: 7 most heated offseason position battles
The Denver Broncos have a pretty deep all-around roster, which will make for some really fun offseason position battles on both sides of the ball.
The flashes for Lock have been much better than many in the media or even fans in Broncos Country care to acknowledge, and it’s clear that nothing is going to be handed to him, but there are plenty of factors going in his favor heading into this offseason competition.