Amazing Drew Lock+OL stat from 2019

[Hadez]

So our OL has been bad for years we all know this.

2017 3rd most sacked team. 2016 9th most sacked team. 2018 we actually got to 22 most sacked or 11th in least sacked in large part because one thing CK did was run around like a chicken with his head cut off trying to avoid sacks.

in 2019 in 8 games Flacco was sacked 26 times. It is tricky when we project stats but if we assume that would have added up to 52 sacks in 16 games that would have put us at 4th most sacked team in 2019.

Drew Lock in 5 games played was sacked 5 times. If we do that tricky projection thing again that is 16 sacks for the season. No team in the NFL in 2019 had under 22 sacks.

Doing this for 5 games is one thing but it will be a huge test to be this consistent for 16 games. This does imo show some hope that maybe our OL has turned the corner and maybe we can have some hope in 2020 for a good offense. I think this was in part to the OL playing better but I also think it was in part to Lock playing the role the offense asked of him better than Flacco did it.

[BroncoRy]

I think Lock brings so many positives to the to team. He makes others around him better.
In five games he improved the OL outlook. They definitely need some more linemen, though.
He also improved Hamilton's play.

I'm really excited about next season.

[DenverBlood]

I don’t think it’s completely that clean cut.

It absolutely helps to have a mobile qb who also isn’t afraid to pull the trigger faster and take a risk.

But there were plenty of wiffs on both ends of the tackles that were saved by this faster qb.

I almost think it’s more of a Lock having their potential to mask poor oline play similar to Manning than it is better oline play.

But they definitely look better than with Flacco.

[broncos SB2010]

I don’t think it’s completely that clean cut.

It absolutely helps to have a mobile qb who also isn’t afraid to pull the trigger faster and take a risk.

But there were plenty of wiffs on both ends of the tackles that were saved by this faster qb.

I almost think it’s more of a Lock having their potential to mask poor oline play similar to Manning than it is better oline play.

But they definitely look better than with Flacco.

agreed. I would also throw in that play calling could be a big part of it.

[listopencil]

Drew Lock absolutely did avoid potential sacks that would have been given up by our O-Line, or at least our pass pro - whether that was O-Line or someone from a different position group that was supposed to block a rusher. It should have been fairly obvious to anyone who watched him play that he was out there avoiding the pass rush. He did it with mobility, he did it with anticipation, he did it with quickness, and he did it with escapability. And he got better at this on a game by game basis. There were even some games that you could see him get better during the game. We still need to keep improving the O-Line though.

[Jonny_Quest]

I'm guessing over 16 games Lock would come out to 25-30 sacks.

Once Defensive Coordinators get more tape on him they're going to know what part of the field to push him to for more containment. They're also going to learn his preferred outlets, and start crowding those routes more to buy their pass rushers another second or two.

One thing I find really encouraging is that Lock doesn't seem to have a preferred receiver, and really spreads the ball around nicely. If he keeps that up, he will keep his sack number pretty low.

[Jonny_Quest]

This is also why I don't see tackle and WR as critical as most people on this board.

Lock's mobility, quick reads, and ability to spread the ball really make up for that.

A WR to stretch the field would be nice. I'd rather land a FA for a sure thing, and grab 3rd rounder or two to develop. I'd rather focus the first and second round on G and CB. I'd grab a swing tackle in the late 3rd.

Also hoping we address DL in FA since rookies usually take a few years to hit their stride inside.

[Hadez]

Lock's feet were not the only reason he was sacked less than Flacco on the same season imo. He has said it himself he will take what the defense gives him. I saw Flacco many times not deliver the ball to the wide open short route guy in 1st and 2nd down and hold the ball for the deeper route only to have bad things happen. Lock would take what the defense gave him on 1st and 2nd down and move to the next down with a positive gain.

I do not think the OL as done by any stretch. Been saying in many posts for years our OL and offense is a 2 year project. Finally I think we can say we did enough to be on year 2. We need one more really good starter on the OL and that assumes James stays healthy and plays to his potential in 2020. It would be a good idea to have a solid backup in case James misses any amount of time in 2020 in addition to the really good starter. Also would not hurt to add some more talent in hopes of good competition results in some good options for the coaches. It would be really nice to get another starter and be able to push a 2019 starter into a back up role.

[johnlimburg]

Is McGovern re-signed ? Is Leary kept or cut ? Will James play ? Bolles is what he is, and Risner is the only lock moving forward. I think we are at a crucial point right now. We have some nice young pieces on offense, a veteran, qualified coaching staff to utilise them, and 4 picks inside the top 100 draft choices. This year we need to commit to the area of the team which has been weak for what, 5 years ? Risner was a step in the right direction, and I think James plays next year, but we have question mark, next to question mark, next to question mark. I am not a fan of spending big in free agency on offensive line, but I am a huge supporter of adding 2 offensive lineman in the top 100 picks of the draft with the intention of them starting from day 1. Elway went and got Lock some competent coaches, now go and get him some competent offensive lineman.

[Papa-pwn]

Is McGovern re-signed ? Is Leary kept or cut ? Will James play ? Bolles is what he is, and Risner is the only lock moving forward. I think we are at a crucial point right now. We have some nice young pieces on offense, a veteran, qualified coaching staff to utilise them, and 4 picks inside the top 100 draft choices. This year we need to commit to the area of the team which has been weak for what, 5 years ? Risner was a step in the right direction, and I think James plays next year, but we have question mark, next to question mark, next to question mark. I am not a fan of spending big in free agency on offensive line, but I am a huge supporter of adding 2 offensive lineman in the top 100 picks of the draft with the intention of them starting from day 1. Elway went and got Lock some competent coaches, now go and get him some competent offensive lineman.

Absolutely. We have plenty of cap space as well, I wouldn't be against going after one of the above average interior OL with some of that.

Dream scenario, for me, that I don't actually think is too implausible-

1) Cut Leary, save 8m in cap space

2) Sign Brandon Scherff 4 years, 56m

3) Tyler Biadasz drops to the second, take him like we did Risner- moving up a little if necessary. Re-signing McGovern to a 2 year, 12m deal wouldn't be a bad idea either, allowing Biadasz to grow into things, but I think he's capable of being a day-1 starter.

4) Nab Trey Adams or Terrance Steele should they fall to the third. Either would be solid swing tackle depth and insurance, capable of being groomed into a starter and taking over if James or Bolled can't get right.

4.5) Bolles takes a step forward with his first year of actual OL coaching consistency. We saw him improve a bit in the second half of 2018 and 2019. He lost his coach after 2018, hopefully retaining Munchak helps him build off of his improvements.

5) Juwan James shows up mentally, physically, and emotionally prepared. When his head is in the game, and his body is on the field, he is above average. We just need to be able to squeeze out some consistent playing time from him in year two.

6) Risner takes a "typical" step forward in his 2nd year. He's a high character, high work ethic sort of guy who is aware of his deficiencies: I wouldn't bet against him making a large improvement, but even a slight improvement would be great.


Six things seem like a lot to hope for, but I really could see things falling similarly to this.

[johnlimburg]

Absolutely. We have plenty of cap space as well, I wouldn't be against going after one of the above average interior OL with some of that.

I am not a fan of signing free agent offensive lineman, they are far too expensive. Look at what Billy Turner got from the Packers, and you could argue as a backup swing tackle he was maybe decent, but he got 7 million dollars per year after starting 11 games. So for me, with even above average offensive lineman, like James a year ago, you are paying an extremely high premium for them. Offensive lineman is a position where a guy can come in as a middle round pick, especially at guard, and play well from day 1.

[Kyousukeneko]

Absolutely. We have plenty of cap space as well, I wouldn't be against going after one of the above average interior OL with some of that.

Dream scenario, for me, that I don't actually think is too implausible-

1) Cut Leary, save 8m in cap space

2) Sign Brandon Scherff 4 years, 56m

3) Tyler Biadasz drops to the second, take him like we did Risner- moving up a little if necessary. Re-signing McGovern to a 2 year, 12m deal wouldn't be a bad idea either, allowing Biadasz to grow into things, but I think he's capable of being a day-1 starter.

4) Nab Trey Adams or Terrance Steele should they fall to the third. Either would be solid swing tackle depth and insurance, capable of being groomed into a starter and taking over if James or Bolled can't get right.

4.5) Bolles takes a step forward with his first year of actual OL coaching consistency. We saw him improve a bit in the second half of 2018 and 2019. He lost his coach after 2018, hopefully retaining Munchak helps him build off of his improvements.

5) Juwan James shows up mentally, physically, and emotionally prepared. When his head is in the game, and his body is on the field, he is above average. We just need to be able to squeeze out some consistent playing time from him in year two.

6) Risner takes a "typical" step forward in his 2nd year. He's a high character, high work ethic sort of guy who is aware of his deficiencies: I wouldn't bet against him making a large improvement, but even a slight improvement would be great.


Six things seem like a lot to hope for, but I really could see things falling similarly to this.

Keep Adams off our team this years tape was bad

[broncos SB2010]

]I am not a fan of signing free agent offensive lineman,[/B] they are far too expensive. Look at what Billy Turner got from the Packers, and you could argue as a backup swing tackle he was maybe decent, but he got 7 million dollars per year after starting 11 games. So for me, with even above average offensive lineman, like James a year ago, you are paying an extremely high premium for them. Offensive lineman is a position where a guy can come in as a middle round pick, especially at guard, and play well from day 1.

totally agree with first bold. Totally disagree with 2nd

Yes, it's possible but the odds are very slim of finding that guy after the 2nd round. This is from 2015, FWIW

Offensive Line
Let's look at one of our biggest areas to fix. Offensive line is typically one of the safest positions to draft because the success rate is greater than almost all the other positions.

Of the 421 players drafted, 147 wound up as starters for at least half their career.
The first round has an 83% success rate. The second round is almost as good with 70%. Even the third and fourth aren't too shabby in comparison to success rates of other positions in the same rounds. (3rd - 40%, 4th - 29%).
The later round success rates hold up well (5th and 6th - 16%, 7th - 9%) but the numbers are driven down due to the higher numbers selected later.
On average, 5 linemen are drafted in the first round. The first and second rounds, on average, draft the fewest offensive linemen.
If you were ranking rounds by the numbers drafted it would run 7th, 6th, 5th, 4th, 3rd, 1st, 2nd

[Sam_Z]

Signing Brandon Sherff and drafting Biadiasz in the second (if available) would be huge. It would solidify the center of Denver’s o-line and possibly open things up for the Broncos to go more defense come draft week.

Something tells me that there is very little intention of replacing Bolles or James at this time. I’d like to see it happen but I doubt it does.

[JPPT1974]

Just hope he can produce. As really think that he just needs to have an O.L. to protect him!