Drew Lock seemingly not a threat to start for Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos hope to have found their franchise quarterback in rookie Drew Lock, but his time as a starter is unlikely to come anytime soon.

The Denver Broncos were undoubtedly excited when Drew Lock fell out of the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft and into their laps at the 42nd overall pick. For a team with such an obvious need at the quarterback position, this was a dream scenario.

Lock has all of the arm talent in the world. He has a quick release, a strong arm and can put a proper touch on his passes. Lock also reads defenses well and has impressive mobility both in and outside of the pocket.

Simply put, he is a guy who has the skill set to be the guy who leads the Denver Broncos to the promised land. That being said, he also enters the NFL as an extremely raw prospect who has some work to do.

Joe Flacco is not the most exciting starting quarterback in the NFL, but Lock does not appear to be a threat for his job anytime soon. Barring an injury, Flacco will likely be the starting quarterback for the Broncos throughout the 2019 season.

Lock, however, is the future of the franchise and will certainly command a ton of attention this season. After Friday’s training camp practice, Broncos head coach Vic Fangio explained to reporters where Lock has to improve.

"“If I’m strong in the pocket and there’s nothing, I want to throw over the top, nice and strong,” Fangio told reporters according to Jeremy Bergman of NFL.com. “I don’t want ot rely on side-arms. It’s good that he can do that, but he needs to use when he needs to and not when he doesn’t need to.”“His college offense really had no carryover to pro offenses,” Fangio continued. “He was under duress a lot in college, so a lot of his plays he was running around.”“I don’t think he’s far along as far as being as NFL-ready a quarterback as he could’ve been. That’s what I mean when I say he’s got to get ready. He’s not a quarterback yet — he’s a hard-throwing pitcher that doesn’t know how to pitch yet. The fast he gets that, the better off he’ll be and we’ll be.”"

Clearly, Fangio does not think that his young quarterback is ready to compete at the next level. His talent is obvious, but Lock needs to work to clean up his game a bit. Fangio clearly wants his quarterback to play under control and be steady. Right now, Lock is too sloppy and erratic for his head coach.

However, he showed enough in college that I think he can take those steps to become a more consistent and complete quarterback. In particular, his ability to put touch on his passes stood out at times.

Lock currently does not always understand when to take a little bit off, but he does have that ability. He showed in college that he can drop one in the bucket with tremendous touch at times, but he did not use that weapon in his arsenal often enough. If he can learn that every throw does not have to be a fastball, Lock will naturally become a much more complete quarterback.

The Denver Broncos certainly took a risk when they drafted Lock. He is a true boom or bust prospect who is just as likely to fail as he is to become a viable starting option. However, his natural upside is massive and if that upside ever hits, the Broncos are going to be a legitimate force to be reckoned with.