ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — As the head coach of the New York Giants, Pat Shurmur passed on Drew Lock last year.
With the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, and desperate for a quarterback, Shurmur and the Giants selected Duke’s Daniel Jones over the 6-foot-4, 228-pound Lock.
But on Thursday, as Shurmur was introduced as the Broncos’ new offensive coordinator, he put some separation between himself and the decision to go with Jones over his new quarterback.
“Last year we were in the quarterback market. Typically, when you draft a quarterback high, those are organizational decisions,” the mild-manner coordinator said on Thursday, subtly dropping a hint. “At that time last year, the best decision—what we felt was best for the Giants—was Daniel Jones.”
The decision to pass on Lock was an organizational one—not a decision made purely by Shurmur, Pat made clear.
“I will say this: we had a very, very high opinion of Drew Lock,” Shurmur said, praising his new quarterback. “We liked him a great deal.”
We—implying himself included—being a keyword.
“There are a lot of similarities between the two players,” Shurmur said, breaking down the two second-year quarterbacks. “They’re young, talented players that had very good college careers. Their skillsets are very similar. They can throw the ball well. They can move around well. You saw flashes of really good football from both of them this year as they played as rookies, so I’m very, very excited to be able to work with Drew Lock and really all the offensive players.”
Broncos Country doesn’t need to be told how Lock faired his rookie season. But it’s always fun to go down memory lane, especially since Lock went 4-1 and had seven touchdowns to only three interceptions.
What isn’t as widely talked about in the Mile High City is the impressive season Jones had as a rookie. Under Shurmur, Jones performed quite admirably, throwing for 24 touchdowns to only 12 interceptions in 12 starts.
Despite having a “very, very high opinion” on Lock going into the draft last year, like a fine wine or tasty cheese, Shurmur has only become fonder of Drew since he’s entered the NFL.
“I think when you come out of a process when you’re evaluating quarterbacks, you think they’re going to do well but you don’t know if it’s going to totally translate to the NFL game,” Shurmur said, speaking on how his opinion has changed on Lock since he evaluated him during the draft. “He had great success. He helped engineer four wins and that’s what we’re looking to do. I’m excited about being able to work with him in year two.”
Shurmur and Lock have already been in communication since Pat officially became Denver’s new offensive coordinator on Jan. 14, but due to NFL rules, the two haven’t been able to talk ball just yet. They aren’t strangers, however, as Shurmur saw Lock six different times last year during the draft process.
It didn’t take long for Vic Fangio to know where Shurmur stood on Lock. During their first phone call before Fangio hired Shurmur, Pat made his feelings on Denver’s young quarterback clear.
“Pat did like him,” Fangio revealed on Thursday.
Pat Shurmur had an opportunity to work with Drew Lock last year. The Giants organization went a different direction. When Shurmur had his choice, after being fired by New York after the season, he chose the Broncos and Drew Lock, despite having multiple different offers on the table.
