Denver Broncos: Who benefits most from a Drew Lock breakout?

1. George Paton, GM

Although year one as the Denver Broncos general manager seemed to be a relatively risk-free year for George Paton, it has quickly become anything but.

Paton inherited a young, talented roster, and has done a good job of adding to the foundation that was already in place.

Although there was no pressure on Paton to draft a quarterback, necessarily, he knew coming in that he had to upgrade the position and he vowed to do that all offseason. He did that by trading for Teddy Bridgewater, but the day after acquiring Bridgewater, Paton had the opportunity to draft Ohio State’s Justin Fields as well as Alabama’s Mac Jones.

Although there has been absolutely zero fan outrage over passing on Jones, there has been plenty for passing on Fields.

Fields was obviously not the consensus QB1 of this year’s draft, but there were plenty of fans, analysts, and pundits singing his praises throughout the pre-draft process. Fields had a really successful couple of years as the Ohio State quarterback but the Broncos flat out passed on him.

If Drew Lock plays poorly in 2021 and Fields plays well (if Fields plays over Andy Dalton at some point), Paton is going to hear about it from the fans.

If Lock has a breakout season? Paton is going to look like an absolute genius for passing on the alternatives.