Confidence is the key for Drew Lock heading into year two

The Broncos hope they have a real franchise quarterback in second-year pro Drew Lock. He’s the unquestioned starter for Denver, but there are plenty of questions surrounding his game and his future with the team.

He only played in five games as a rookie in 2019, as a preseason thumb injury put him on Injured Reserve for most of the season. When Lock did get into the starting lineup, the Broncos started winning games. The team went 4-1 with Lock as the starter, giving everyone hope for the future with Lock at quarterback.

Broncos head coach Vic Fangio knows that Lock has confidence, but he also must be safe with the football as he works in Pat Shurmur’s offense.

“You always want your quarterback to have to attitude to stretch the limits with obviously the caution and the knowing in the back of his mind that we do not want to turn the ball over. We don’t want to have the mentality of not turning the ball over to the point where we never push the ball downfield, either. We’re trying to challenge the defense in some tight throwing lanes. We have to be able to do that without turning the ball over. Yeah, I do want to see him do that both for our offense and his learning experience—what can he fit in and what can’t he fit in at different times,” Fangio said.

Making those big-time throws takes a lot of confidence. Lock is a confident player, but staying confident in himself – and others on the team – is going to be key if Lock is to prove that he can be the franchise quarterback the Broncos have been looking for.

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Making Progress

It’s been less than a week since the Broncos have kicked off training camp, but you can see improvements in what they do offensively every day. I was out there on Sunday and the Broncos offense had some struggles with protection. However, when things were blocked correctly, this team looked dangerous.

The offense is able to make plays in the passing game with multiple route concepts. These route concepts give Lock a bunch of options when he goes back to pass. The offense also can gash a defense with the rushing attack if things are blocked correctly. Starting running back Melvin Gordon was never used right with the Chargers, but he looks right at home in Shurmur’s offense. He’s making big plays as a runner in this gap scheme and Phillip Lindsay is of course doing his thing as a runner and receiver out of the backfield.

The young players on offense have been able to make progress even though there were no offseason workouts or minicamp due to COVID-19. Lock brought that up talking to the media on Monday.

“I think every day that we go out, get a little bit better with timing with receivers. The one thing—the big thing—is it’s been almost five, six months for a lot of us. That was the first pocket that the (quarterbacks) have been in in a long time. It’s the first time the o-line has had to take on guys fully rushing at them. Same thing with receivers — getting jammed up, having to run five, six routes in a row rather than routes on air where you get to chill out and have the guys in front of you take some reps. The basic thing is that this is the first time in a long time we’ve all been back out there,” Lock admitted.

The team is just getting started on both sides of the ball. We are still early in camp, but the future looks bright if the offense continues to gel and make progress through the rest of the month of August.

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Be Aggressive

Lock needs to be aggressive as a passer. I’ve said it for years; I want a quarterback to have plenty of confidence – borderline cockiness – in order to rally players and play at a high level. Any quarterback that tries to play it safe will not make many plays – especially under pressure or at a key moment in the game.

A quarterback needs to attack a defense down the field, but also take care of the ball. It is a delicate balance that must be maintained but a team cannot win unless a quarterback can master this skill.

Lock knows he needs to maintain this balance.

“Yeah, it’s going to be an equal balance of both. Kind of reminding myself, taking the shots when they’re there and fitting it into some windows if need be, (while) also understanding that taking care of the ball is the No. 1 thing for us.” Lock said.

He’s an aggressive player and likes to challenge a defense down the field. The Broncos have one of the best young receiving corps in the league and Lock should be able to strike fear into opposing defenses – so long as he stays aggressive.

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Language Barrier

Anyone who has covered the NFL or played in the NFL will tell you that the language of an offense can be difficult for a player to pick up. Even Tom Brady with his new team the Buccaneers admits that picking up a new language of an offense can be difficult.

If arguably the greatest quarterback in NFL history admits this is difficult, then it’s going to be difficult for a young player like Lock.

“It has been a journey for me with offensive coordinators. I think as far as Pat goes, (he’s) one of the friendliest OCs I’ve had as far as making it easy. I feel like we’re all picking it up extremely fast. He knows the amount of work that guys have been putting in. I really do enjoy working with Pat and working with (quarterbacks) coach (Mike) Shula,” Lock said.

It sounds like Lock is enjoying the coaches around him and that should help him pick up the offense faster. One sign that Lock is doing just that; he’s no longer wearing the wristband of plays that he did last year as a rookie. Working without the wristband shows that Lock knows the offense and the language in his head.

During the course of a few days of training camp, Lock has showed great command of the offense. He’s not struggling to call plays in the huddle, and there have been no delay of game penalties or plays whistled dead because Lock was taking too long to spit out the play call.

The Shurmur offense has a “friendlier” language than other offenses out there. Lock is clearly working well with Shurmur to learn the language of the system.

Follow @CecilLammey