Drew Lock and Albert O are reunited… and it feels so good

The Broncos had an outstanding draft last week. Their picks in the 2020 NFL Draft should be able to make an instant impact and give them quality depth at other positions.

One of the best picks they made was in the fourth round when they selected tight end Albert Okwuegbunam out of Missouri. Not only is he a quality player with upside, but he was a favorite target of quarterback Drew Lock in college.

“Albert O” (as he is called) loves that fact that he is going to be reunited with his college quarterback.

“It’s awesome. I can’t even explain how fired up I am to get in this new offense. Just to have that kind of chemistry and trust and confidence already established there—obviously going to have to learn new offense and get comfortable in that. As far as that connection already being there, that’s awesome. Just to have that gel, have that confidence, it’s going to be great. I’m excited to see how it all unfolds,” Okwuegbunam said.

So, will this reunion lead to a lot of production at the pro level? Let’s try to answer that question.

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Fant First

There is no doubt that at the top of the tight end depth chart will be 2019 first-round pick Noah Fant. He turned in a solid rookie season in 2019, finishing with 40 catches, 562 yards and three touchdowns. Fant was expected to build on those numbers this year, and perhaps even double that total for yards and touchdown.

With so many weapons added in this draft, including but not exclusive to Okwuegbunam, the idea of Fant approaching 1,000 receiving yards now seems doubtful. The rookie is fired up to line up on the opposite side of Fant in 2020.

“Fant, he’s a good player. He’s really good tight end. He came out last year. I thought about coming out last year. I ultimately didn’t. I had a shoulder injury, so I decided come back. I definitely remember him from the draft process. He’s a great dude and I hear a lot of great things from Drew. It’s going to be fun to see how we elevate each other,” Okwuegbunam said.

Both of these young tight ends should push each other to be the best they can be in 2020 and beyond.

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Red Zone Threat

So how much can Okwuegbunam produce as a rookie? After the draft, Broncos general manager John Elway gave us a clue as to where that specifically could be.

“Plus, to put him on the other side from Noah, he’s a 4.49 guy that can really run at 258 pounds, and so again was able—and a big target, good in the Red Zone. He’s another weapon with great speed that we could add,” Elway said.

Using Okwuegbunam in the red zone is the key. In fact, I feel comfortable saying that Albert O is better in the red zone right now than Fant. While Fant should have more catches than the rookie, and more than he did last year (let’s say around 50-60), we could see Okwuegbunam catch more touchdowns.

In two seasons with Lock tossing him the rock, Albert O scored a whopping 17 touchdowns. He’s a big, physical player who knows how to use his frame like a basketball player on the football field. Okwuegbunam will “box out” smaller defenders and has the athleticism to jump high to play “above the rim” and gather in fade passes in the end zone.

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Speed Force

The Broncos added speed, speed and more speed to their offense in the draft. In fact, this group of receivers, running backs and tight ends should now be referred to as “Speed Force” because of what they’ll bring to the field (and the fact that I’m a huge comic book nerd.)

After day two of the draft, Broncos general manager John Elway explained why adding speed – and so much of it – was a big part of the plan this year.

“We played good defense last year and we’ll continue to play good defense this coming year, but we had to pick things up on the offensive side and that explosiveness and speed factor. We have some good players on the offense already, but we had to add to that. We were able to do that especially with Jerry (Jeudy), as well as K.J. (Hamler), the wide receivers, and then Albert O (Okwuegbunam) today, with great speed at the tight end position. We just feel like we had to add that explosiveness and we were able to get that done,” Elway said.

Okwuegbunam is part of that speed force. He’s faster than Fant and can attack the deep middle seam. We could see Okwuegbunam work as a deep threat for this team in addition to what he can do in the red zone.

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Can’t Teach Chemistry

There is no doubt that Okwuegbunam and Lock have strong chemistry on the field. Off the field, the two are close as well and that’s just going to strengthen their bond even further in the pros. That’s something that can’t be taught and can’t really be duplicated unless you spend as much time practicing as the two already have in college.

“The confidence that we had in each other—off the field we’re brothers. We get along great and I think that really just translated onto the field. Being with him in Missouri, I just felt like a lot of the times in tough situations, I was the guy that he always felt comfortable with just knowing that he always had an open throw in me, regardless of the situation. If we needed a big play, his eyes are coming to me. Just the amount of confidence he had in me, just coming out of routes I feel like we’re always on the same page. I feel like all across the board just that chemistry is there,” Okwuegbunam said.

The chemistry is going to come in handy, especially when the chips are down. When Lock is under duress, he’s going to be looking for his college teammate. He’ll know where Okwuegbunam is going to be and the tight end is going to know where Lock wants him to be. This chemistry could be the best part of this pick and this reunion the Broncos have made with this selection.

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