As frustrating as the 2020 season was for the Broncos, you don’t need binoculars to see reasons for optimism in the year to come. A cluster of young skill-position players who should make the offense more dynamic, the return of wide receiver Courtland Sutton and tight end Albert Okwuegbunam from torn ACLs, an offensive line that should get Ja’Wuan James back at right tackle and a healthier defense should have the Broncos positioned to end their current four-year rut of losing seasons.
But there is one key above all to pulling the Broncos out of the muck of their third double-digit-loss season since 2017 — matching the total that they had in their previous 49 campaign.
It’s the quarterback. And right now, that’s Drew Lock.
“He’s only played so many amount of games. He’s going to get it, it’s going to click for him, and we need it to click for him,” running back Melvin Gordon said. “I feel like we have window with this team and he is the piece that’s going to make or break us.”
It is obvious that Lock’s play is the wave on which the Broncos rise and fall. But it’s also telling to hear such a sentiment from Gordon, who will end the season as the Broncos’ leader in touchdowns and yards from scrimmage unless Jerry Jeudy somehow has the first 300-yard receiving game in the NFL since Atlanta’ Julio Jones on Oct. 2, 2016 against Carolina.
On an offense that is short on experienced voices, Gordon is a relative graybeard as a six-year veteran. What’s more, he knows what having “the guy” at quarterback is like, having played the first five seasons of his career with Philip Rivers.
Lock isn’t at Rivers’ level in terms of huddle presence, but no one expects him to be in just his second NFL season. But has Lock grown in this regard?
Gordon says he has.
“I can’t compare it to last year, but I know from the start of the season to now he’s definitely more confident in the huddle,” Gordon said. “You can see him trying to take that leadership role on, which I like because everyone needs to see it. By nature, the quarterback is just the leadership position, so you got to have it because guys just automatically follow you. It just is what it is. That just comes with the position.”
And it’s something that Gordon believes Lock didn’t necessarily possess earlier.
“You can tell from the start it’s not really what he was comfortable with, but he knows for him to be where he wants to be he has to take that leadership role — breaking down the huddle more when we break as team and as a unit,” Gordon said.
“You see him taking on that, and it’s not easy. It’s not easy for someone who’s just not used to it or it’s just not their personality. It comes easy for some guys. Some guys just have to grow into that role. He’s definitely grown to say the least. He’s definitely grown and I’m definitely proud of where he is now.”
What’s more, Lock says that he can see his leadership taking root in his teammates. The way he addresses the team in the huddle, the manner in which offered encouraging words to wide receiver Jerry Jeudy on the sideline during last Sunday’s loss in which Jeudy dropped five passes … all of these are manifestations of leadership.
“I think it just goes to show in the huddle. It goes to show when we make sideline adjustments from me walking over to the quarterback side, the wide-receiver side — full eyes of attention. Everyone having my back in the huddle, everyone locked in, everyone’s zoomed in during the week,” Lock said. “I think it’s been big for me to establish focus and intensity during the week. Being able to see that replicated in the guys that are around me due to what I’ve been doing, it feels good.
“There’s a lot of possibilities of me coming in and bringing energy and bringing focus and the opposite being reciprocated, and that just shows a lack respect of the leader, and that’s absolutely not what’s going on. It feels good to be able to go into a huddle and know that they’re going to reciprocate the same amount of energy, focus, and concentration that I do.”
From moments like the one Lock describes, he gains more confidence in his leadership ability — and his teammates, such as Gordon, become more confident in him.
“I think once he gets that little swagger to him, I think the sky’s the limit for the kid,” Gordon said. “He’s going to be a good player. I see him every day throwing the football. I think he’s got what it takes. I know he’s got what it takes.”
If the Broncos’ offseason decision-making process were up to Gordon, he’d stick with Lock for 2021.
“We just got to stay with him,” Gordon said. “We’re in his corner regardless of what anybody says outside of what we got. As a family we’re just going to hold strong. We know we have to believe in him regardless of what he feels. I don’t care if he goes out there and throw picks. Phil [Rivers] threw picks and I’d still [say] ‘Hey, look, we need you to make a play. Let’s do it.’
“I don’t care how many mistakes he makes, when he’s out there I believe that he can make every throw that’s needed, every call, every check. I believe that he can do it.”
