“The 60-yard checkdowns”: Drew Lock’s added dimension that he’ll be encouraged to use

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Drew Lock surely isn’t Lamar Jackson. But make no mistake, he’ll be displaying his wheels often in 2020.

The difference between Lock and the reigning MVP is Lock won’t be turning upfield as often as Jackson. Instead, he’ll be taking off and scrambling to buy more time to launch the ball downfield.

“His mobility and scrambling ability is important,” Vic Fangio stated after watching Lock run around in the backfield throughout the start of training camp. “It’s an added dimension to any offense. That’s part of his game that we like.”

It’s so much part of his game, Lock’s mobility already has a nickname.

“This is part of his nature—I call them the 60-yard checkdowns, where he can break out of the pocket and keep his eyes downfield,” Pat Shurmur said on Sunday after the team’s eighth practice of camp.

The 60-yard checkdown. It’s hard to imagine a more fitting checkdown than one for 60 yards for a self-proclaimed gunslinger.

Through the first eight practices of camp, Lock has received plenty of reps throwing on the move. Some of it has been by design through play-action, while other times have been out of necessity to keep the play alive when pressure is beating down on him. The initital reviews are encouraging.

“He does a good job of keeping his eyes downfield, which I think is part of being youthful,” Shurmur said about the second-year quarterback. “[Scrambling is] him trying to continue to make plays. Sometimes your biggest plays come on scrambles because it’s not always perfect. I think he’s doing a good job there.”

The days of statues standing and planting themselves in the pocket are in the rearview mirror for the Broncos. With Lock, the Broncos traded in concrete cinderblocks for 4.69 40-yard speed at Q, as Drew would call it. In fact, it’ll be a welcome new dimension to Denver’s offense.

“We encourage him to use it when the opportunity presents itself or when he’s forced to,” Fangio stated. “I know he’ll make some plays off of that when he’s scrambling around.”

When nothing opens up downfield, Lock has proved he has success tucking and running with the ball. In his five starts his rookie season, Lock averaged 14.4 yards per game on the ground. While that doesn’t even come close to touching Jackson’s incredible 80.4 rushing yards per game he racked up last year, it blows the doors off what Denver has had recently.

Since the Tim Tebow days, not one Broncos quarterback has averaged more rushing yards per game than Lock. In fact, even running quarterback Paxton Lynch only averaged 11 yards per game during his time in Denver.

Joe Flacco (2.5 rushing yards per game), Brandon Allen (3.3), Case Keenum (5.8), Trevor Siemian (6.8) and Brock Osweiler (4.2) all fell significantly short of Lock’s 14.4.

Peyton Manning averaged a hilarious -0.9 rushing yards per game during his tenure with the Broncos. For many reasons, it’s fair to say Drew isn’t Peyton.

The Broncos aren’t lacking weapons on the offensive side of the ball. Drew Lock’s mobility will help unlock those weapons as he buys time in the backfield. At times, Lock’s legs will even be a weapon of their own.