Broncos Film Room: Can Jeff Driskel be more than a run-of-the-mill backup?

There’s a new backup in town, folks.

Jeff Driskel comes to Denver as a journeymen signal-caller with nothing more than second-string aspirations. But recent NFL history, unfortunately, suggests that at some point the Broncos backup will see the field.

Studying tape through that lens, here’s every reason why you should be both excited and scared if Driskel were forced into the driver’s seat of Pat Shurmur’s offense.

What to expect

Driskel is a high-end athlete for the position with prototypical size and raw arm strength—all skills that have made him a highly-touted prospect from his time as a five-star recruit.

With 4.56 speed at 6-foot-4 and 234 pounds, the big Oviedo, Florida product must be respected on RPOs or as a runner on play-action bootlegs, as he’s a legitimate threat as a runner for his combination of size and speed, regardless of position.

That threat he presents as a runner opens up space in coverage, as linebackers are hesitant to drop in coverage knowing the QB can easily extend drives with his legs and outrun them to the corner.

That simple threat and the spacing it inherently opens up in coverage, while implementing more simplistic concepts, are a big selling point for Driskel to be able to keep the offense afloat if called upon.

That same raw athleticism shows up when the 26-year old is evading pressure, with his knack for escaping sacks and extending plays.

Driskel consistently keeps plays alive and is a cool customer under duress, refusing to give up on plays, yet still making fairly solid decisions and tending to err on the side of caution—which is what you want from your backup.

As a passer, Driskel possesses a strong arm, allowing him to zip balls over the middle of the field and squeeze passes into tight windows, though he doesn’t always showcase his power due to his safer approach.

He has a quick release and is fairly accurate on his primary reads in the short passing game, showing decent ball placement to lead receivers on short, easy rhythm throws.

That combination of skills makes Driskel fairly effective on running up-tempo, spread attacks.

Where he can be more of a risk-taker is throwing on the run, especially when plays breakdown. Driskel has thrown up some prayers but with a combination of touch and placement, he’s found ways to succeed more often than not on wild, off-script passes.

Driskel looked sharper, more assertive in 2018 starting for the Cincinnati Bengals where the talent around him was also better than the depleted Detroit Lions were by the time Driskel got the start. His best-case scenario is one where he finds the perfect balance between staying aggressive while picking his spots and not making dumb decisions.

What not to expect

As far as conventional quarterbacking skills, Driskel is still very raw. From not engaging his lower half with inconsistent, awkward footwork to lacking touch on intermediate throws and lacking pin-point accuracy in tighter space like the red zone, Driskel can’t be asked to do everything or run every system.

Maybe a bigger issue is that Jeff is still at that point in his career where he’s holding onto the ball far too long, waiting for receivers to come open instead of throwing them open. That lack of anticipation is evident as he can really fall apart if asked to go off of his secondary reads. Too often opting to take off and run if his first read isn’t there.

All that led to an extremely high sack percentage the past two seasons, getting sacked 27 times in eight starts.

In two-minute drills, where he had to throw the ball from inside the pocket he struggled to lead his receivers, at times resulting in costly interceptions.

While he has the arm strength, he can leave throws short and lacks consistent accuracy to all levels if he’s going off his secondary reads. Especially outside the numbers, Driskel can leave balls short which can cause major problems.

His propensity to throw up risky 50-50 balls while extending plays can wear on his receivers who have to layout to haul in these wild passes.

Beyond his skills as a quarterback, I’ll be curious to see if Driskel, who is undoubtedly a very good athlete in his own right, is a unique enough athlete, for the NFL’s extremely high standards, to run over or outrun second-level defenders in special packages like Taysom Hill does.

Worth the risk?

If Drew Lock were to get injured, Driskel would seriously test Pat Shurmur’s ability as an offensive coordinator, though he would allow the offense to simplify things and still survive. More naturally skilled than Brandon Allen and polished than Brett Rypien, the former Louisiana Tech graduate transfer gives Denver some options as a backup and maybe more.

Driskel could do a mix of what Case Keenum and Nick Foles, both backups who played very well under Shurmur, had success with in the past. With the quick RPO, spread looks that Foles was good at and having success on play-action boots in short-yardage like Keenum.

As a pocket passer, he’s probably not even a real upgrade over Allen and might not have the upside as a passer that Rypien does, but Driskel’s real appeal is that he brings something different and could even be utilized in a few special packages

Back in his time at Cincinnati, while facing Hill, Driskel was given a special package that he ran successfully, flexing then starting quarterback Andy Dalton out wide.

Driskel has consistently shown through the years that he can do most of what a guy like Hill does—especially if he can catch the ball in space—and that’s where his fit in an offense full of unique size-speed athletes is extra exciting. Now with a unique big back in Melvin Gordon and a towering, blocking-tight end like Nick Vannett, the Broncos are beginning to stack up on physical, YAC weapons.

While Driskel might not be at Hill’s level as a power runner, a few special packages with a quarterback that’s a trustworthy, safe decision-maker and a serviceable passer, could present a nice wrinkle offensively as Denver tries to close the gap with Kansas City, Baltimore and the other top offenses in the AFC. 

The fit as a backup is clear in Denver’s offense and while there are some real questions regarding Driskel’s ability to win more than just a few games by getting by on athleticism, decision making and unique scheme designs, it’s his value as a do-it-all athlete that makes this signing most intriguing.