Ranking every Denver Broncos quarterback since Peyton Manning

10 of 12

Denver Broncos quarterback Drew Lock (3) sets to pass in the second half the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

Denver Broncos QBs since Peyton: The next Heir Apparent

Drew Lock (2019-2021): 4740 Pass Yards, 25 TD, 20 Int. 285 Rush Yards, 5 TD.

It was little secret in the 2019 draft process that John Elway had his eyes on two quarterbacks. Justin Herbert, and Drew Lock.

But when Herbert stayed for his senior year at Oregon, Lock was his guy. Drew did some big things in the SEC at Mizzou, including a 44 TD season in 2017.

We nabbed him in the 2nd round of the Draft, and it wasn’t hard to like the guy. He had charisma, a huge arm, and Von Miller thought he was a rockstar.

A thumb injury held him out early in his rookie year, but he came in and posted a really good five-game run to close out the season. He went 4-1, and we got to see a heck of a ceiling in his win over Houston.

He completed 81% of his passes for 309 yards, 3 TDs, and a pick in that game, and I was hyped up about the quarterback he could become with the Broncos.

That offseason, I will not confirm or deny whether I put $100 on 20,000:1 odds that he’d win MVP. And if I did, it’s because I wanted a new car.

In the 2020 offseason, we swapped out his OC Rich Scangarello for Pat Shurmur. It was Drew’s year to be the man, and we now had Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, Jerry Jeudy, and Noah Fant, not to mention Melvin Gordon and Phillip Lindsay.

This offense was loaded.

Covid hit hard in the offseason, and 2020 was a tough year for everyone. Yet Drew regressed from his rookie campaign, no matter which way you slice it. It was rough going, though we did still get to see flashes, like his 280 yard, 4 TD win over Carolina.

Yet, after such a sophomore campaign, the Broncos explored options in the offseason. There were rumors tying us to every quarterback on (or off) the market.

We ended up with Teddy in 2021, and though Drew got multiple opportunities throughout the season, none of them turned into wins.

His inclusion in the Russell Wilson trade shows that other teams in the league still see his potential, but it just didn’t turn kinetic often enough in Denver. Wish him the best in Seattle though!