Denver Broncos 2021 mock draft: Is Drew Lock still the guy?

Denver Broncos 2021 mock draft: Is Drew Lock still the guy?

The Denver Broncos are seemingly at a very interesting crossroads right now.

Even though there are seven games yet to be played in the 2020 season, quarterback Drew Lock has not shown the type of progression many in the program and observing it thought he might.

Lock has three games with multiple interceptions in his last five, including a whopping four-interception performance on the road against the Las Vegas Raiders.

There have been plenty of positives to take away from Lock’s limited sample size running Pat Shurmur’s offense, but he looks much more reckless out there under Shurmur than he did a season ago under Rich Scangarello.

Lock’s development is crucial to the future of the Denver Broncos’ franchise. How would the team move forward without him in the equation?

The Broncos probably don’t want to think about that right now, but they’re going to have to start keeping one eye on the 2021 NFL Draft class at the quarterback position if they haven’t been already.

The 2020 season has always been about finding out if Lock has what it takes to be the team’s long-term starter option. The Broncos, at this point, need to see Lock go out and seize that role rather than just having it handed to him.

But is a first-round quarterback on the horizon again for this team? I’m not so sure.

There’s a chance of it, certainly, but with seven games left to play, the Broncos are undoubtedly holding out hope that Lock will learn from his variety of mistakes and play much cleaner football down the stretch, hopefully helping the team win more games along the way.

Considering the progression of the rest of the healthy young players on the Broncos’ roster, this is clearly a long-term project that is seeing positive results a few silver linings at a time.

The process has been painful for fans to watch, but if the Broncos can reset in 2021, get a full offseason without COVID limiting to just four weeks of OTAs/training camp, and come into the season healthier, more experienced, and with a fresh influx of players through the draft, free agency, and trades, they might be happy with what they see.

In this four-round mock draft scenario, we will look at a possibility for the Denver Broncos that includes the option of keeping Lock around and finding another hedge via free agency, or possibly even a trade.