Denver Broncos had ‘Dummy Down’ Playbook for Drew Lock according to NFL Rumor Insider

No NFL Combine this year due to the pandemic, it is unclear what kind of information insiders will gather, given the story of how loose lips (influenced by drinking adults in downtown Indianapolis late at night) have historically been the reason for the off-season rumor.

Fortunately for the NFL news cycle, the Senior Bowl still took place this year. Although it is not yet a normal year, much of the NFL, coaching and media people descended on the Alabama Gulf Coast for an entire week to watch senior recruiting candidates participate in friendly games and practice and exchange rumors and information over all 32 teams.

One of those people who participated in this year’s Senior Bowl was Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline.

In a conversation earlier this week covering the QB rumor, Pauline was asked what information he gathered on Mobile about Drew Lock and the current situation as a quarterback for the Denver Broncos. Pauline’s response included some negative comments about Lock.

“I heard everything from ‘people are not convinced of Drew Lock’ to ‘people are under Drew Lock’ … we know that Drew Lock had flashes and had his moments. He also had many injuries. What I discovered at the Senior Bowl is that the Denver Broncos had to shrink the playbook, take things out of the playbook that Drew Lock cannot manage … They (the Broncos offensive technical team) almost had to tap the manual so that Drew Lock can handle this. This is a major concern. “

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There have been rumors for some time around Lock’s mental acumen to absorb Pat Shurmur’s handbook, but to be completely fair to the young quarterback, this was an extremely strange off-season in an entirely new system (again). Installing a West Coast Offense is historically difficult and teams from across the league have started “manipulating” playbooks to help get their young defenders on the field early to gain experience and boost their confidence.

If true, it is a major concern. If the Broncos did not believe that Lock had the mental acumen to execute the attack and had to adjust to make it work, this is a two-way street between the offensive technical team and the defender.

Connecting some points, the Broncos’ attack seemed much more competent to end the 2020 season. Was it due to Lock’s growth or was it the schedule that saw Denver tie up some of the league’s worst pass defenses?

Perhaps the modest offensive improvement of the Broncos in the final stretch is due to the simplification of the scheme by the technicians so that Lock could handle it. Honestly, the truth probably includes a little bit of everything, but to what extent is the real question that the new GM George Paton and the Broncos must answer.

Pauline would remain on Lock.

“This is basically ‘you know what’ or get out of the market for Drew Lock. The people at the Senior Bowl basically feel that the Broncos will have to move on mainly because Drew Lock can’t handle a complex attack. “

The Broncos have already proven themselves involved in the quarterback market this off season by calling the Detroit Lions at Matthew Stafford. The Broncos’ involvement in the business and what Paton offered varies depending on who you believe or ask, but the fact that Paton paid means that Denver is evaluating upgrades in the quarterback position.

Lock is not unemployed (yet), but his position as the Broncos’ full-back is anything but secure. While Pauline’s comments raise concerns about whether or not Lock may become the QB that Denver needs him to be in order to regain relevance in AFC West, Pauline gave credit to the Broncos’ process of selecting him in the 2019 draft.

Even if it doesn’t work, it’s hard to blame the way Denver hit Lock.

“Lock’s problem was that it was a good choice for the Denver Broncos. You cannot blame them. A lot of people, if you remember, were making fun of Drew Lock as a choice in the top 10 for the Denver Broncos, the Broncos made some deals in that draft and ended up taking Drew Lock in the middle of round 2. At the time, it seemed like a choice fantastic. You cannot blame them for the selection if the quarterback fails or shows no signs of success, you just have to move on. “

It doesn’t look like the Broncos are going to leave Lock yet (except for a miraculous exchange by Deshaun Watson or something crazy), but it looks like fans are looking at the barrel of another quarterback competition in 2021. Lock is the starter, but the Broncos is going to bring another viable option to compete with him.

Pauline suggested that Denver, among some other teams, might be interested in the former Chicago Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky. Despite being the second overall choice in the 2017 draft, Trubisky never really took off in Chicago, which now looks set to move on. If Lock was a good process / bad result for a quarterback draft, Bears negotiating a draft class with Watson and Patrick Mahomes is bad process/bad result.

Trubisky or another veteran hedge option like Andy Dalton, Tyrod Taylor or Ryan Fitzpatrick vs. Lock would be a field battle that doesn’t move the needle much, but it could be the best process for Paton and the Broncos in this off-season. Lock is still young and has the tools to succeed, but his footwork and mental processing are in question as far as they were leaving Missouri.

If there are intelligence issues surrounding Lock and his ability to handle an NFL handbook, the tools can only take him so far. He must be able to master the mental side of the game.

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