Denver Broncos: Drew Lock gives Joe Flacco déjà vu
By Randy Gurzi
The Denver Broncos get Drew Lock and Joe Flacco has to be feeling déjà vu as his team trades up for a quarterback for the second season in a row.
There was a time when Joe Flacco ruled the world, but that time has passed. The former Baltimore Ravens quarterback was once one of the highest paid quarterbacks in the NFL. After winning the Super Bowl following the 2012 season with Baltimore, Flacco signed a six-year $120.6 million deal — and then famously went to McDonald’s for some chicken nuggets.
That feels like forever ago and Flacco could be longing for those days now. Or at least he could be longing for any day besides draft night.
For the second season in a row, Flacco watched as his franchise moved up for a rookie quarterback to eventually replace him. In 2018, it was Lamar Jackson, who the Ravens traded up for in the first round and after nine games, Flacco was out.
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In the offseason, he was dealt to the Denver Broncos and looked poised to be the starter for them to finish out his career. Until general manager John Elway started the worlds least secretive love affair with Drew Lock.
Often mocked to Denver at 10, Flacco may have breathed a sigh of relief as the Broncos dropped back in the first round and then took tight end Noah Fant out of Iowa. Then they selected offensive tackle Dalton Risner with the 41st pick. However, the pairing finally happened as Denver traded up to No. 42 and made back-to-back selections with Lock being the second of those.
Ideally, Lock will be behind Flacco for a couple of seasons before taking over — but then again, Flacco heard that last season with Jackson. In the end, this feels like he will once again be fighting for his job before too long.
With all that being said, Elway also needs to be praised. He did a great job moving around in this draft and landed three big-time prospects. And most importantly, he remained patient and landed his man.