On Thursday, new general manager George Paton and head coach Vic Fangio took questions from the media for the first time in weeks.
It should be no surprise that quarterback was one of the headlining topics, with Deshaun Watson and Russell Wilson, a bevy of verteran ‘mentor-type-quarterbacks’ and a talented class of quarterbacks in the draft all available, as the ‘Drew Lock debate’ consumes Broncos Country.
One of the bigger bmobshells related to the quarterback position, was Paton saying it wouldn’t be off the table with the team’s first-round selection.
“We’re open to any position with that first pick,” Paton said. “We’re going to take the best player that can help this football team. Quarterback, safety—it doesn’t matter what player and what position. If it’s the best player on the board, we’re going to take him.”
Although Paton wouldn’t dismiss the idea of finding Lock’s successor through the draft, the press conference was mostly suppoortive of the (now) third-year quarterback’s future with the team.
“Like I said in my [introductory] press conference, [he’s] very talented,” Paton said of Lock. “He was inconsistent at times and has a lot to work on, but I’ve spoken with Drew. I see him every day. He’s here early and he’s working. He really wants to be great. We’re always going to try and bring in competition to every position, the quarterback as well. I like the track that Drew is on.”
That falls right in line with everything we’ve seen reported so far in regard to the Broncos and Lock. They’re willing to bring in competition and Lock is far from secure in his job, but they’re also happy to run it back and give him one more season.
“I’m confident that Drew’s going to continue to improve,” Fangio said of the signal-caller. “Drew has had a great offseason up to this point. There’s not a lot you can do, but he’s working hard on his own and coming over here and getting workouts. I know he’s doing a lot at home by himself and watching video by himself. He’s got a good setup over there. He’s doing anything and everything he can to improve, even in February and now in March. I feel like he’ll continue to improve.”
Fangio then briefly touched on the rumors surrounding quarterbacks like Watson and Wilson.
“As it relates to the quarterback carousel that everybody’s talking about going around the league, we’ll see how it turns out,” Fangio explained with his standard cadence. “Right now, it’s just a lot of rumors and innuendoes and everybody proposing this and that. I really don’t know what’s going to happen with some of the names that are being bandied about out there.”
