Vic Fangio gives Drew Lock a strong endorsement for playing on Sunday

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — It’s no secret Drew Lock is trending in the right direction to play on Sunday against the New England Patriots.

After his second straight full practice on Thursday, Vic Fangio made it official.

“He definitely could start Sunday, as it looks now,” Fangio stated. “But we’ll hold off on making that final. He had a good practice today, so we’ll see how it goes.”

As long as there are no setbacks, it appears No. 3 will be back for the Broncos on Sunday. And the good news about that is, there were no setbacks on Thursday after Lock “got a bunch of reps” and was a full participant in practice on Wednesday.

Moments after Wednesday’s practice, Lock said his shoulder felt “really good.”

“I think physically he looks good out there running around and throwing,” offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said on Thursday, evaluating his quarterback. “He’s doing a good job of executing what our plan is going to be. I anticipate he’ll do that in a game setting. I think that’s sort of where he’s at.”

Despite Brett Rypien guiding the Broncos to a win over the Jets on Oct. 1, there’s no doubt Lock would be a shot in the arm for the offense both on and off the field.

“I think that Drew brings a sort of confidence to the offense. He has sort of a swagger, which I’m sure you’ve seen,” Dalton Risner stated. “He’s not too high, he’s not too low. And you know that when he’s in there, there is a chance for a big play. And you know that if there is a busted coverage or if there is a seven-man blitz that there is an opportunity for Drew to make a play. I think that gives everybody on the offense a little more confidence.”

Sitting at 1-3, facing the Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs in back-to-back weeks, Denver’s young offense could certainly use all of the confidence they can get.

After suffering a bad bruise on his throwing shoulder in Week 2, Lock missed the next two weeks, in which the Broncos started Jeff Driskel and then Rypien.

Denver could have placed Lock on the injured reserve to open up a roster spot. However, if they had done that, Lock would have had to miss at least three games. If Lock is back on Sunday, which all signs point to being the case, the Broncos gamble would pay off as he would only end up missing two games.

On Wednesday, Lock said he needs to learn the “art” of not getting sacked. In fact, while sidelined by the injury, the second-year quarterback watched a lot of film on experienced players and how they avoid taking sacks.

“I think a better word than art is instinct,” Fangio said on Thursday when asked about Lock learning the “art” of avoiding sacks. “Hopefully, that is something that will come through playing and playing more snaps and being put in that position. Both of the times he’s been hurt have been very similar where he was outside the pocket and going down. I think it becomes instincts. I think it’s good he studies other players than have been able to avoid it.”

Developing those instincts will be crucial for Lock to stay healthy throughout his career. But first he must return to the field. All signs point to that happening on Sunday.