The Denver Broncos remained patient throughout the first round and the early stages of the second round. In the process, general manager John Elway and Co. received value at need positions.
It started with Iowa tight end Noah Fant at No. 20 overall Thursday night after a trade down with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Denver then added a high-upside offensive tackle in that of Kansas State’s Dalton Risner with the ninth pick of the second round.
Most were wondering where Drew Lock landed in the equation. He had met with the Broncos’ brass pre-draft. Some had even concluded Elway would take the prototypical quarterback at 10th overall.
Once the Risner pick was announced, Denver traded up with the Cincinnati Bengals to land Lock No. 42 overall.
This represents an absolute steal for Elway and Co. That’s especially true given that a quarterback many had ranked behind Lock — Duke’s Daniel Jones — went No. 6 overall to the New York Giants Thursday night.
While definitely a project, the 6-foot-4 Lock represented value and gives Elway the type of quarterback he was looking for. That’s no small thing.
It also lends credence to the idea that the recently acquired Joe Flaggo is nothing more than a mere stop-gap option in Denver. Lock will likely sit behind the former Super Bowl winner for a year or two before he takes over.
Getting someone of Lock’s ability in the second round was an absolute steal. This completed Elway’s first three picks of the 2019 NFL Draft and might have been the best run we’ve seen from the GM since he took over that role.