Broncos Roundtable: How will Drew Lock do in his hometown return?

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Drew Lock has quickly become the most popular guy in the Mile High City as he’s carried the Broncos to a 2-0 record, rewrote the history book in the process and fully embraced his teammates jokingly calling him Buzz Lightyear.

Welcome to the Drew Lock era—where football, and the Broncos, are fun again.

But now Drew takes on the toughest challenge he’ll face his entire rookie season as he goes back home to Kansas City.

Will Lock shock the world by leaving his hometown with a devastating loss as he elevates his new home a mile high?

The DNVR Broncos Crew breaks it down.

WHAT WILL DREW LOCK’S STAT LINE BE IN HIS HOMETOWN RETURN?

Ryan

24/35, 278 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception — Drew Lock is feelin’ it right now and while they will likely bring a lot of pressure, I don’t think the Chiefs don’t have the quality of defense to slow him down. Lock will get his and, regardless of the result in the game, the hype train will roll right along.

Zac

23/35, 254 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception, 3 sacks — Just another day in the office for Drew. But despite having to keep up with Patrick Mahomes, this game won’t be all on Lock’s shoulders, which will help him have another great day.

Unlike last week, Denver will have a productive day on the ground, limiting Lock’s yards just a bit. Not even that, however, will keep Lock out of the endzone.

Drew won’t back down to his hometown return. In fact, he’ll elevate his game for it.

Mase

19/31, 260 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 3 sacks, 6 carries for 26 yards — The Broncos want to establish the run, and they will. But at some point their front-seven injuries on defense could reach a tipping point. With Adam Gotsis, DeMarcus Walker and Dre’Mont Jones’ injuries piling on earlier season-ending injuries to Bradley Chubb and Derek Wolfe, that moment could finally be upon the Broncos. This could force the Broncos to play from behind and go away from the run

CAN GARETT BOLLES EARN THE FIFTH-YEAR OPTION BASED ON THE REST OF THIS SEASON?

Ryan

Absolutely — Look, Bolles has struggled mightily throughout his career and has certainly not lived up to the billing of a first-round pick, but the fact of the matter is, he was a first-round pick and first-round picks get preferential treatment.

If Bolles can string together five solid games to coincide with Drew Lock’s first five starts, it will be easy for Elway and Co. to attribute his struggles to the quarterbacks he was playing with, and there might be some real merit to that. As I wrote after last Sunday’s game, a good quarterback raises all boats and it could certainly earn Bolles another couple years.

Zac

Certainly — This is not what I would do, but the Broncos could absolutely still pick up Bolles’ fifth-year option. Ideally, John Elway doesn’t want another one of his first-round picks being labeled as a bust.

After two and a half rough seasons as Denver’s starting left tackle, Bolles has been passable since Drew Lock took over. Three more similar games to close out the season could convince Elway he doesn’t need to use another first-round pick to protect Lock.

To me, this would be a massive mistake for many reasons. First, this would commit the team to Bolles for two more years as the fifth-year option doesn’t kick in for one more season. Secondly, it would significantly increase Bolles’ salary in 2021.

Finally, I’m not even close to being sold that Bolles has turned a corner and is a franchise left tackle. Through 13 games, Bolles averages nearly one holding penalty per game and his 12 holdings are the most in the league by four.

Mase

Not quite — And this is a matter of semantics. It’s possible that Bolles could do just enough to eventually land the fifth-year option. But the deadline is on May 5. So the Broncos have time to explore their options, most likely in a tackle-rich draft. The fact that he would be in consideration for the option would be based on his improved form in recent weeks.

But to use the parlance of Vic Fangio, Bolles has had “false positives” before. Last season, he went eight consecutive games without a holding penalty and five straight contests without any kind of flag. Then he was called for nine penalties — including eight holding infractions over the next four games — the last two of the 2018 campaign and the first two of this season.

If the Broncos add a left tackle in the first two days of the draft, the Broncos could do so with a plan of making that pick their starter in 2021, thus declining the fifth-year option while committing to Bolles at the position for 2020.

The outlook is brighter than ever for Bolles being the left tackle next season. Beyond that, it’s still foggy.

RESULT AT CHIEFS (-10)

Ryan

Broncos 27, Chiefs 24 — I called the win over the Chargers, I called the win over the Texans, I’m calling the win over the Chiefs.

While Drew Lock will play well and get most of the attention in this one, the story behind the story will be the Broncos defense. I think Vic Fangio took it personally as Andy Reid and Matt More dropped a 30-piece on his defense at home earlier in the season, and he’s going to bring his A-game.

Also, I don’t know when it will happen, but I have a feeling Drew Lock makes a really big play with his feet in this one.

Zac

Broncos 27, Chiefs 26 — What the heck—I’m all in on the Drew Lock Era. Throughout the draft process and the season, no one has been higher on Drew Lock than me. And he’s even blown the doors off my expectations.

So why not. Why won’t he be the first quarterback since Peyton Manning to beat the Chiefs, not just in Kansas City, but period.

Over the first two weeks of his career, Drew’s displayed that he has all of the tools to be a successful quarterback, as his league-best 83.3 QBR would suggest.

But what gives the Broncos a legitimate chance at an upset is Drew’s mental makeup. Outside of the first series in his first game, Lock has been unphased by the big stage. Instead of shrinking to the moment in Kansas City, he’ll rise up to it. Additionally, his teammates now believe, and we all know what that looked like against the Texans.

Belief is a magical thing. And the Broncos will ride that high for at least one more game for Drew.

Oh, the Chiefs’ defense is nothing to write home about, either.

Mase

Chiefs 35, Broncos 24 — You can expect the Broncos to try and put the game in the hands of Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman, thus capitalizing off of Kansas City’s shaky run defense. But the Broncos’ front seven is shredded by injuries, and their offensive line will be without both Ja’Wuan James and Ron Leary.

While the Broncos have played without James for much of the season, his work in the first half at Houston offered a glimpse of why the Broncos made him the highest-paid right tackle in the sport. Austin Schlottman filled in for Leary last week and had his moments, but the Chiefs’ defensive line, led by Chris Jones, offers the potential for more disruption than the Texans mounted.

Lock will make some dazzling throws, but he could be harassed into mistakes by the Chiefs, who have a chance to chase down the Patriots for a first-round bye and will possess plenty of incentive, even with the AFC West salted away.