Noah Fant and Drew Lock shouldn’t worry Broncos Country
Aug 2, 2019, 10:14 AM
Welcome to Overreaction Friday, where everything from last night’s Hall of Fame Game is analyzed, dissected, reviewed and debated. It’s a frenzy of discussion, with every detail from the Broncos win over the Falcons being placed under the microscope.
During this evaluation, two players are catching the wrath of Broncos Country. A pair of rookies have those who don orange and blue worried after subpar performances in their NFL debuts.
First-round pick Noah Fant didn’t fare well against Atlanta. He was on the field a lot in the first half, but only managed one catch for seven yards. He was targeted three times, but dropped a pass in the flat and couldn’t catch up with a deep ball that was thrown his way.
Those two blunders have people concerned. The first ball thrown to Fant hit him right in the hands, yet it fell incomplete. Then when he had the chance to demonstrate the ability that made him the 20th overall selection in the 2019 NFL Draft, his downfield speed, the announcers were making excuses for his inability to track down a long gain; no one wants to hear about a rookie having “training camp legs.”
Throw in a holding penalty and it was a forgettable night for Fant. He didn’t exactly dazzle in his debut.
Neither did second-round pick Drew Lock. The Broncos “quarterback of the future” finished the game 7-for-11 passing, but only netted 34 yards through the air. It was dink and dunk, and it didn’t move the chains.
In eight drives, Lock led the Broncos to a grand total of two first downs. His group punted six times, fumbled once and turned the ball over on downs, netting 79 yards in two quarters of play. Meanwhile, Kevin Hogan led a touchdown drive in the first quarter, while Brett Rypien put the winning score on the board in the fourth.
It was a performance that was difficult to get excited about. Even Lock’s head coach was less than impressed.
“I was hoping for more, but (I’m) not surprised,” Vic Fangio said after the game. “He’s still got a lot of work to do.”
Yikes.
But before panic sets in, hit the pause button and look at the big picture. The Hall of Fame Game was the NFL debut for both Lock and Fant. They were playing with a hodgepodge of teammates, executing very vanilla game plans throughout their time on the field.
In reality, the Broncos offense was bad all night. Aside from the touchdown drive led by Hogan, they sputtered their way to punt after punt. Colby Wadman was a busy guy, booting it away nine different times when Denver drives stalled.
It was impressive to see Fant stretch the field. Sure, it would’ve been better if he’d hauled in the long pass from Lock, but that was more of a timing issue. The play was there, which is a positive sign.
Speaking of the quarterback, two of his incompletions came on deep balls. One was the previously mentioned throw to Fant, while the other was a pass that sailed over the head of running back Khalfani Muhammad. Lock was just a little too revved up and the ball sailed on him a bit. But taking a deep shot, something neither Hogan or Rypien did, was good to see.
Was it a good night for two of the Broncos most-ballyhooed draft choices? Not by any measure.
But was the Hall of Fame Game a disastrous performance? Not at all.
Overreaction Friday will cause some to worry about Fant and Lock. That’s unnecessary at this point.
