"We've meshed really, really well": Drew Lock's connection with Pat Shurmur and his offense has "without a doubt" been beneficial

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Drew Lock’s had six different offensive coordinators in his past seven seasons. Since his senior year of high school, only once has the 24-year-old quarterback had the same offensive system for two years in a row.

Make that twice, once the 2021 season officially kicks off.

Despite bringing in Teddy Bridgewater to compete with the third-year quarterback, Vic Fangio and George Paton threw Lock a lifeline by bringing back offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur for the 2021 season.

“It feels very, very good to finally be in the same offense for a second [year in a row],” Lock said after Tuesday’s practice. “It’s just been a really fun offseason to finally be able to fine tune things, get the things we like, maybe talk about some things we’re kind of half and half on, maybe throw that in a couple of practices. Get a couple extra reps on those, where we feel really confident going into the year.”

In December, with Lock and Shurmur’s future in limbo, Drew gave a strong endorsement for Shurmur to return in 2021, saying it would be “awesome” to have the same offensive coordinator two years in a row. Six months after Lock’s wish was granted, he said having Shurmur and his offense back for a second-straight year has “without a doubt” been as beneficial as he could have imagined.

“Without a doubt,” Lock said a second time to emphasize how beneficial being in the same offense for two years in a row has been so far. “[Shurmur and I] talked multiple times going into the last couple of games of the year, even right after. We kind of started figuring each other out. He’s been extremely cooperative with what I say I like or what I say I don’t like. He’s meshed and we’ve meshed really, really well this offseason. Added a couple of new things that he think might fit the style of game that we play.”

The last time Lock had the same offensive coordinator in back-to-back seasons, Drew tossed 44 touchdowns and over 300 yards per game his junior year at Missouri. Since then, Lock’s had three different offensive coordinators the past three years. Unsurprisingly, since, Lock hasn’t had the same type of success he had his junior year at Missouri.

“This is only my second time playing under that same offensive coordinator,” Lock explained after Tuesday’s mandatory minicamp practice. “It just feels comfortable. You feel good going out there. You’re excited every day you go out there because you get to make some sort of stride. You’re not stagnant one day. You’re not taking a couple of steps back. You’re making a stride somewhere. You don’t necessarily get to do that when you’re trying to figure out and learn things for the first time.”

Lock’s comfortability was on full display during Tuesday’s practice. After two shaky 7-on-7 periods to start practice, the second-round pick caught fire and remained hot the rest of the day.

Unlike the three practices open to the media during OTAs, Drew consistently completed passes at least 10 yards downfield on Tuesday. Lock’s best work of the day came during a red zone period where he threw three touchdowns, including a dart to Noah Fant and a rope to a covered Andrew Beck.

“I’m just excited where this is going. I see a lot of things that we’re building on, so to say,” Lock said after his impressive practice. “We get to focus on some minor details now instead of maybe last year focusing on some bigger picture things. I think that’ll help us be 10 times better in the long run.”

Lock began pushing the ball downfield after his first completion in 11-on-11 when he hit a wide-open Fant off a well-designed play action boot. From there, the distance of his passes, as well as his confidence, grew.

“Due to the studying and the work in this offseason, I’ve been able to be a lot more confident out there,” Lock stated after displaying that confidence on the field. “I think after the first couple of weeks we’re going to start seeing grow and grow and grow, including my confidence. My confidence is high right now.”

Thanks to a second year in the same offense, Lock isn’t thinking as much when he’s on the field. Instead, he’s just playing.

“Everyone knows that saying, when you’re not thinking, you’re just playing, that’s when everything goes smooth and that’s when guys start showing who they can be as a player,” Lock explained. “That’s when the game gets fun. That’s when guys instincts can take over.”

If Tuesday’s practice was any indication, Lock’s beginning to do more playing and less thinking thanks in large part to his comfortability in Shurmur’s offense.