Will the Denver Broncos be in the 2021 NFL draft quarterback market?

Denver Broncos NFL draft

Drew Lock was supposed to be the future behind center for the Denver Broncos. His somewhat promising five-game preview as a rookie in 2019 set the bar high for his second year in the league and his first as the unquestioned starter for personnel chief John Elway and the Broncos organization.

Through 12 games this year, Lock has done nothing to suggest he’s the future beyond the next game, let alone next year. And with a strong quarterback class in the 2021 NFL Draft — and the Broncos currently holding the 10th overall pick — Denver could decide it’s already time to part ways with the 24-year-old second-round pick.

“We live in a world where everyone wants everything really fast,” Lock said this week. “Everyone wants it right now. And we get that with our phones. You want to click on an app, it’s going to pop up instantly. It’s the same thing in football. You want greatness really, really fast.”

Lock is right. There’s no doubt that the days of letting quarterbacks grow as professionals are gone. It’s a what have you done for me lately league, and for Lock, what he’s done lately is pretty bad. In fact, he’s been the worst starting quarterback in the NFL by almost any metric.

“It’s going to happen,” Lock said of a breakout. “And it’s slowly happening.”

Unfortunately, time is running out.

Lock has to close the season strong — really strong — to turn Elway’s attention away from the likes of BYU’s Zach Wilson or North Dakota State’s Trey Lance, both of whom could be on the board when the Broncos pick.

Bryan Perez

Bryan is the founder of Pro Football Draft. His work has been featured on The Draft Network, NBC Sports and USA Today. Former CFL scout.

Follow him on Twitter: @BryanPerezNFL