Training Camp Takes: Will pressure create diamonds for Drew Lock?

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Football was in the air on Friday morning at Denver Broncos Headquarters, as temperatures in the high 60s at the start of practice made one long for the smell of hundreds of grills and freshly-cracked ice-cold beers that can only be found outside of a football stadium in the fall.

For their 11th practice of training camp, the Denver Broncos went in full pads, and DNVR was on the scene to take it all in.

PRESSURE = DIAMONDS?

According to Sarine.com, whose credentials are that they were the first site that came up when I searched this on google, under the duress of approximately 725,000 pounds per square inch, and at temperatures of 2000 – 2200 degrees Fahrenheit, carbon can a begin to form a diamond.

At Friday’s practice, Drew Lock was under plenty of pressure, and the defense certainly brought the heat, but you did see the flashy glimpses of diamonds forming throughout.

Let’s start with the bad news; the offensive line simply did not do their job on the day. It seemed just about every time Lock took a snap, he was immediately forced to evacuate the pocket.

While this is the first day I’ve seen this type of pressure, we know from Zac Stevens’ reports from earlier in camp that this is not the first time it’s happened, and I’m officially concerned about it. While every line is going to give up pressures here and there, an offense simply cannot succeed under the conditions in which they have been under multiple times in camp.

While the main culprit on this day was the right side of the line, all members of the line were responsible for pressure at different points during the day. As the season draws nearer, we’re going to need to see more consistency from this group.

But if you’re the silver linings type, there was a very clear one on the field on Friday. You have to be able to play the cards you’re dealt as best you can, and that’s exactly why Drew Lock did.

Despite constantly bailing from the pocket, Lock made multiple big plays with the combination of his feet and his arm on the day. On his very first throw of the day, Lock scrambled out to his right, unleashed a strike into a tight window, and hit Jerry Jeudy right in the hands. Unfortunately for the offense, Jeudy had the ball ripped out of his hands by A.J. Bouye shortly after that.

Later, while once again evading pressure to the right, Lock lofted a ball perfectly over the head of Issac Yiadom and into the hands of Jeudy, who tapped his toes on the sideline for a nice catch.

Consistently throughout the practice, Lock showed off his ability to make plays on the run and buy time when necessary. You just hope he doesn’t have to use it quite that much.

DNVR STOCK REPORT

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• A.J. Bouye: Aside from his strip/interception on the first throw of the day. Bouye also got a clean pick off of Drew Lock during a 7-on-7 period, when he drifted back from his coverage in the flat and snuck underneath Courtland Sutton’s corner route for the easy takeaway. He also had a nice PBU in the endzone later on.
• Royce Freeman: For the first time since his injury his rookie year, Freeman looks explosive to me. He is bursting through holes and running sharp routes in the passing game. He is going to round out what should be a fantastic running back room for the Broncos.
• Demar Dotson: While Vic Fangio said after practice that the right tackle job is Elijah Wilkinson’s to lose, Dotson got his first reps with the first-string offensive line on Friday, and it may not be a coincidence that those reps came on a day where pressure from the right side was evident.

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• Austin Schlottman and Patrick Morris: While it may not necessarily be because they lost the job, it does appear that Lloyd Cushenberry has locked up the starting center gig, moving Schlottman and Morris to depth roles. Cush received all of the first-team reps on Friday.

INJURY AND AVAILABILITY NOTES

• Mike Purcell, De’Vante Bausby, Tim Patrick and Malik Carney were all back at practice after missing the last session with various minor injuries.
• Todd Davis, K.J. Hamler, Juwann Winfree, Alijah Holder and Michael Ojemudia all worked with trainers on the side.
  • After practice, Vic Fangio said Davis’ injury is not nearly as bad as it was last year and that he expects him back sooner than later.

PLAY OF THE DAY

During a 7-on-7 period, Drew Lock took a deep drop and uncorked a 50-yard bomb to Albert Okwuegbunam, who worked himself behind the defense on a seam route and caught the ball in stride for a touchdown.

Go ahead and add Okwuegbunam to the trending up category as it seems he is making plays with whatever group he is working with and becoming a favorite target for the quarterbacks.

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

• LeVante Bellamy had another nice practice and earned praise from Vic Fangio afterward.
• DaeSean Hamilton seems to be building a nice relationship with Drew Lock on the field. During a situational period, Lock targeted Hamilton twice in a row on big plays.
• Jerry Jeudy left a period favoring his right arm but was back in for the next drill after meeting with trainers briefly.
• Pat Shurmur once again displayed that he is going to use Phillip Lindsay in a myriad of different ways, and that he is willing to get creative to get Lindsay the ball in dangerous positions, an exciting development for the offense.
•  Dre’mont Jones had a nice day, including a TFL on Royce Freeman deep in the backfield.