When Senior Bowl practices start on Tuesday afternoon in Mobile, Alabama, all eyes will be on the quarterbacks, especially for the Denver Broncos.
As quarterbacks take center stage, this year’s crowded Senior Bowl class looks to sort themselves out. Projected first-round picks Drew Lock and Daniel Jones will be thrust into the spotlight, while Will Grier, Ryan Finley, and Tyree Jackson look to secure their status as top quarterback prospects.
For the Broncos, all eyes will be placed on Lock and Jones, as those two quarterbacks might have the greatest chance of being selecting by Denver at pick number 10. Both quarterbacks have pros and cons, which makes this such a big week for general manager John Elway and the rest of Denver’s front office. Having the opportunity to watch these quarterbacks practice throughout the week and ultimately play in a game on Saturday should hopefully only validate what the Broncos have studied on film.
Really excited to watch Drew Lock throw it around next week at the Senior Bowl. If he can clean up his base, some team could turn him into a solid player. pic.twitter.com/REdzWezhsC
— Jordan Reid (@Jordan_Reid) January 14, 2019
There has been a ton of chatter about Lock and his fit with Denver at pick number 10, and rightfully so. Lock is a prototypical Elway quarterback at 6’4”, 225 pounds, but is he the right fit for Denver? After a solid career at Missouri that saw him throw for 99 touchdowns and 39 interceptions, Lock showcased an arm-strength that is almost unmatched in this draft class. Footwork and inconsistencies with his accuracy is certainly something Lock needs to improve on, but that is what makes this week so big for him and for the Broncos organization.
Not only will Lock be looking to show teams what he can do, but he will be competing against another potential top-10 pick in Jones. The former Duke quarterback comes into the draft after a solid college career in which he threw 52 touchdowns to go along with his 29 interceptions. Like with Lock, Jones is a prototypical Elway quarterback at 6’5”, 215 pounds that can stand in the pocket and deliver the football with ease. The one thing that Jones might have on Lock is his ability to recognize what the defense is giving him and reacting to it post-snap.
"The most important, and advanced, part of Jones’ skill-set are his eyes, in how they pick up openings in the defense pre-snap, and also create openings post-snap."
Check out my #Jaguars scouting report for Duke QB Daniel Jones: https://t.co/tQMBkCBJcH pic.twitter.com/It77MDosP2
— Zach Goodall (@zach_goodall) November 6, 2018
With Lock, he often has to see throws open before he can deliver them, but with Jones his progressions are off the charts. Jones does a tremendous job bouncing off his first, second, and third reads as he really grew in his time as a three-year starter at Duke. What Jones lacks compared to Lock is the arm strength, which could show out during one-on-one drills this week in practices. Either way, these two are at the top of their draft class, and it would not be surprising to see the Broncos interview both Lock and Jones this week in Mobile.
With both Lock and Jones competing on the North team, competition is going to be at an all-time high during practices and in the game. It is likely to come down to either Lock or Jones if the Broncos select a quarterback in the first round, unless Dwayne Haskins falls down the board or if Denver falls in love with Kyler Murray. But neither of those quarterbacks will be in Mobile, which allows the spotlight to flip to some sleepers the Broncos could target in the later rounds.
One of those sleepers is Grier. The former West Virginia quarterback comes into Senior Bowl week as one of the top gunslingers in this year’s class. After a bit of a rocky start to his college career at Florida, Grier bounced back with 71 touchdowns in two seasons at West Virginia. Grier is the son of a coach (Chad Grier) and is a player who has lived and breathed football his entire life. As solid as Grier’s final two seasons at West Virginia were, it has given him a chance to be a first-round pick, or at least a player who hears his name called in the first two days of the draft.
Game on the line and Will Grier throws a DIME…then gets the 2-point conversion 😳 pic.twitter.com/YB1BTYUUlt
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 3, 2018
Grier also comes into the week with a major advantage, considering he will have two of his normal receivers to throw to in Gary Jennings and David Sills V. Both were huge factors in Grier’s success at West Virginia, and he won’t have to build chemistry with unknown receivers. All the other quarterbacks in Mobile will have to become familiar with new wideouts, while Grier already has a leg up.
Another wildcard to keep an eye on is Jackson out of the University of Buffalo. A late add to the Senior Bowl roster, Jackson had a tremendous senior season that saw him throw for 28 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Standing in at 6’7” and weighing in at 245 pounds, Jackson is built like a linebacker that has the ability to throw a football 60 yards down the field.
https://twitter.com/GrindingTheTape/status/1087139263857287168
A guy with that type of body and that big an arm can raise a lot of eyebrows this week, especially those of Elway’s. We have already talked about how Elway loves big quarterbacks and Jackson certainly fits into that mold. With a good week, Jackson could secure himself a spot as a top quarterback prospect, which could make him of interest to Denver on day two of the draft or beyond.
Trace McSorley, Gardner Minshew II, Jarret Stidham, Clayton Thorson, and Finley round out the quarterback group, but the players to watch are the ones listed above. Lock and Jones should steal the show this week, but it would not be surprising to see Grier or Jackson have big weeks as well. One thing is for certain, and that is Elway and the Broncos’ brass will be doing their due diligence on the quarterback position this week as plenty of names will be thrust into the spotlight.