Why Rich Scangarello believes in the investment in Drew Lock

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — John Elway. Rich Scangarello. T.C. McCartney.

And Drew Lock.

Before the draft, that was the first, of what will now be many, times those four were in the same room talking ball.

But it wasn’t a sales job by Lock that swayed the Broncos into draft him. In fact, it was nearly the opposite.

The Broncos didn’t want to know how great the 6-foot-4, 228-pound quarterback with a laser-rocket arm was. They already knew.

“Honestly, great quarterbacks that I’ve been around, they know how to see their strengths and their weaknesses and work on their weaknesses. To be able to talk candidly about [someone’s weaknesses] and have someone candidly answer the question and not hide from it says something about that person,” Scangarello said on Saturday at the team’s rookie minicamp, revealing one of the many enticing traits about his new quarterback.

“I value that in an individual. He was very good with that. It was an easy conversation to have.”

Lock himself appreciated the no-B.S. conversation and the fact that the Broncos weren’t afraid to tell him what he needed to work on.

“Honestly, it was a great visit,” the modest Scangarello added about the all-important pre-draft visit in April. “We got to spend some quality time… When you’re investing in an individual, it’s about getting to know them.”

Fast forward one month and Lock’s honesty and critique of himself hasn’t changed one bit.

“The language was a little different. It’s tougher spitting the play out than it is actually going out there and knowing what the play is,” Lock said on Friday after the team’s first rookie minicamp practice, admitting to a new challenge he has to overcome.

“That is going to be a little adjustment for me, but nothing that a little saying the word and the plays in the mirror isn’t going to fix tonight. I’ll have to dive into that a little bit.”

Drew’s Friday night plan was to look himself in the mirror and practice the difficult verbiage for three and a half hours.

“He’s got the mind for it. It won’t be a problem in the long run,” Scangarello said, endorsing Lock’s ability to pick up the playbook, as well as pointing to his larger mental capabilities.

“The good ones always find a way to figure out what it’s going to take to be the best they can be. I think that’s what he realized yesterday and he went back and realized ‘Hey, this is what I’ve got to get real good at in the next coming days and the rest of my career.’ He was up for the challenge.”

Lock’s a perfect 1-for-1 off the field in the eyes of his new offensive coordinator. The former Missouri quarterback’s mental makeup and drive isn’t a surprise to Scangarello.

“They’re competitive, they have the mind for it, they are processors,” the first-time coordinator said about Lock and undrafted free agent Brett Rypien. “I think that’s what it takes to play in this league.”

“Drew’s done a great job. Like a lot of the rookies, he’s come in here prepared in that time before they got here to get a leg up on the playbook.”

Lock’s obvious cannon of an arm—or “hose,” as he would put it—was the reason he was rated so highly by those around the league during the draft process, according to Scangarello.

But it was his mental makeup, honesty, passion, commitment and the work ethic that really stuck out to Denver.

“As a person, as an individual, meeting him, getting to know him, all those characteristics, you add up the sum of it, you see a lot of upside. That’s the kind of person you want to invest in,” Scangarello stated with passion.

Additionally, one other trait popped off the paper about Lock that Scangarello values “greatly.”

“The one thing I really coveted about a lot of guys in this draft is there’s a lot of multi-year starters in this draft with a lot of production over their careers. Drew was one of them. He had a lot of starts. He played a lot of football. That experience, in the SEC, goes a long way,” Scangarello said.

Over his four-year career at Missouri, the three-year captain played in a whopping 50 games.

For now, Lock will sit and learn behind Joe Flacco. But there’s no question Lock’s the future.

And the Broncos believe that future is very bright with No. 3.