Acquiring a 34-year-old quarterback has never been a indication of things to come for NFL teams. But when said quarterback is years removed from being the Super Bowl MVP, there’s a certain narrative that goes along with it.
This is the situation that John Elway and the Denver Broncos find themselves in after they sent a fourth-round pick to the Baltimore Ravens for Joe Flacco on Wednesday.
Seemingly stuck between a rebuild and irrelevance in the AFC West, Denver’s move to acquire the embattled Flacco seemed to be of the win-now variety.
If so, suggestions leading up to the 2019 NFL Draft will lead some to believe that the Broncos will look in another direction outside of quarterback at No. 10 overall.
That’s the narrative we’re seeing thrown around NFL circles hours after the shocking trade. But it couldn’t be further from the truth. Flacco is 34 years old and has not acted the part of a starter-caliber quarterback over the past three seasons.
Now, according to The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, Missouri’s Drew Lock remains an option for Elway and Co. with the 10th selection.
Lock is still an option. I'm sure Elway thinks highly of him. Enough to take him at No. 10? Way too early to know that.
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) February 13, 2019
This makes perfect sense in that Flacco is only a stopgap option in Mile High. Why would the Broncos hang their hats on him being anything more than that?
Questions will certainly be raised about Lock’s entrance in the conversation as a top-10 pick. He’s right there with Duke’s Daniel Jones — behind Dwayne Haskins and Kyler Murray as the consensus top quarterbacks in the draft class.
Though, Elway seemed to take a liking to the 6–foot-4 Lock during the Senior Bowl last month. Lock obviously fits his mold of a traditional drop-back passer.
In any event, this is an interesting thing to look at as the pre-draft process plays out and free agency starts around the league in a month.