Broncos’ quarterback competition heating up in OTAs
4 min readSo far it appears to be Teddy Bridgewater with that early lead in the competition. However, a lead in an open QB competition in June means absolutely nothing.
We have a first bit of very early impressions on how the quarterback competition is going during Denver Broncos OTA’s. This should all be taken with a grain of salt, because training camp is still a long ways away here, however, it does appear as though Teddy Bridgewater has the better start over Drew Lock so far.
Head Coach Vic Fangio heard about some interceptions during practice, but wasn’t sure who threw them.
“Overall, it was good,” Fangio said. “I saw that we had a pick or two on defense. I’m not sure who threw it, but I’ll watch the tape. It was good to get 11-on-11. We did about 20 plays of team [work]. [We] kept the same amount we’ve been doing so far as plays go. We did a little less ‘skelly,’ but it was good. It’s really good for the lines to get involved. It’s really good for the defense to have to figure out if it’s a run or a pass, [which is the] most fundamental and important thing you have to do on defense. It was great work and I was pleased with it. I’ll take a look at the tape and see how it looked totally.”
The boots on the ground confirmed they were Lock picks, with one being a pick six by Justin Simmons. Meanwhile, Bridgewater was throwing dimes to Jerry Jeudy for big plays during the same practice period.
Both quarterbacks threw interceptions on the day. Bridgewater had a very poor pass intercepted by rookie safety Jamar Johnson. Lock threw those two picks and almost had two others intercepted as well. As Troy Renck said of the day’s interceptions, ‘this is one day in June.’
And not all of the day was bad for Lock as is evident form the day’s highlight reels.
Picked it up a notch. #BroncosOTAs pic.twitter.com/cW0nEqQ7gH
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) June 8, 2021
One really good questions asked of Fangio on Monday was whether or not Lock was second guessing himself as he worked through his progressions. Unfortunately it seemed as though Fangio was unwilling to come to any early conclusions there.
“I think it’s too early to come to any conclusions one way or the other—even a small conclusion. [Quarterbacks Coach] Mike [Shula] and [Offensive Coordinator] Pat [Shurmur] are working with him on that stuff. I’m not worried about it at this point.”
He’s right that its too early to draw any conclusions, but it is interesting that media attending OTA’s seemed to key into some issues with Lock progressing through his reads. The good news is that the coaching staff is trying to work on that with him here in June and not in September. All other reports have pointed towards Lock working his tail off to get better in this critical area. It’ll be interesting to see how far he comes when training camp begins in a few months.
Horse Tracks
Longtime NFL coach Jim Fassel dies at 71
Jim Fassel, an Anaheim High grad who was a longtime NFL offensive coach and the league’s coach of the year in 1997, has died at 71.
Julio Jones trade turns the Titans into a Super Bowl contender
An already good team becomes fearsome. The Tennessee Titans emerged out of nowhere Sunday to complete a trade for Julio Jones, sending a 2022 second and fourth round pick to Atlanta for one of the league’s most talented receivers.
Every NFL starting QB, ranked for the 2021 season
From Zach Wilson to the league’s big three passers, we’re here to rank every projected starting QB for the 2021 NFL season.
Ja’Wuan James files $15 million grievance against Denver Broncos
Offensive tackle Ja’Wuan James has filed a $15 million grievance against the Broncos, a source confirmed to ESPN. He also has agreed to a two-year contract with the Ravens, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Bridgewater, blistered Lock compete against full team defense
As Broncos quarterback Drew Lock occasionally looked at his passing hand during OTA practice Monday only to stay in and pass with some inconsistency.
Drew Lock, Teddy Bridgewater in spotlight as Broncos begin 11-on-11 work
With the starting offensive and defensive lines on the field with the team’s skill players, both sides of the ball were able to get solid work.
