Just over a month before the NFL’s 2021 Draft, we’ve already seen a big move towards the top of the draft order, but the Denver Broncos didn’t pull the trigger.
The Miami Dolphins, who were involved in both plays on March 26, – first, they ended up falling to 12th place in a deal with the San Francisco 49ers, and then went back to 6th place in a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. But a team that was not involved in this business may have been the biggest loser in the entire flood of plays.
The Broncos entered this offseason with a makeover taking place in their main office, with John Elway stepping down as general manager and bringing in George Patton, who prioritized defensive additions in his first attempt to lead the team. But their attack is lacking, especially in the quarterback, and they would have been smart if they had only thrown their hat to the right for the non-Dolphins. 3 selection.
Drew Lock is currently the starting QB of Denver, a prospect chosen by Elway that was seen as an unspectacular option, but that could, if placed in an advantageous situation, flourish and become one of the first 15 starting players. Lock not only had many chances to prove that he deserves that role for the Broncos, but he also repeatedly failed to provide enough field results to justify that he should not be the starter in the attack.
With a minimum of four QBs designed for this year’s first round (Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Zach Wilson and Trey Lance), combined with the potential of Mac Jones and / or Kyle Trask joining them, the options are certainly there for Patton and the Broncos take advantage. But what has prevented this Broncos team from competing in the AFC West division is their inability to take chances.
Lock did nothing to gain another chance to win the title role, but Patton may be looking to see him on the attack with his full set of weapons before making the final call.
Newcomer Jerry Jeudy was solid last year, but the current top option Courtland Sutton lost the entire year due to an injury, so seeing how the two options coexist will be very important for this attack. Opponent Noah Fant was impressive last year and his connection to Lock certainly grew over the course of the season, but with Lock also losing time on the injury list, there was not a full season with them together.
The offensive line is underestimated and perfectly configured to help a QB rookie acclimate to the league, making this year’s draft the perfect time for the Broncos to take a leap across the board.
With the Jacksonville Jaguars, the New York Jets and now the Niners likely to receive a QB, the first three teams appear to be locked in terms of position. The fourth team that decides to do a QB in the first round, which appears to be between Fields and Lance, should be the Broncos, but Denver will probably need to move up from 9th overall if they want the final flag.
Fighting an uphill battle in a super competitive division of AFC West, the Broncos are hurting themselves by choosing not to make a much needed update to QB. With this draft presenting some franchise change options in the first round, there is no better time than now to make that change happen.
Patton is just putting his fingerprints on this team, and adding a novice QB to that mix puts most offensive weapons on the same trajectory as the timeline – Lock will not be the future holder of this team and has shown nothing to indicate that he is always assuming that function, then this draft is the best time to take advantage of the class’s QB perspectives to ensure that this team is prepared for the future.
For the Denver fan base, you just need to hope that not taking advantage of the Dolphins’ movements doesn’t hurt them in their search for a new option in QB.
