Broncos coach shoots down notion of Drew Lock as NFL-ready

Denver Broncos coach Vic Fangio laid to rest any doubts about rookie Drew Lock potentially pushing Joe Flacco for the team’s starting quarterback job.

On Friday, Fangio essentially dismissed Lock’s college offense as inadequately preparing him for the NFL, stating that he needed to learn how to throw better before he could play at that level.

“If I’m strong in the pocket and there’s nothing, I want to throw over the top, nice and strong,” Fangio said, via Jeremy Bergman of NFL.com. “I don’t want to rely on side-arms. It’s good that he can do that, but he needs to use that when he needs to and not when he doesn’t need to. His college offense really had no carryover to pro offenses. He was under duress a lot in college, so a lot of his plays he was running around.

“I don’t think he’s far along as far as being as NFL-ready a quarterback as he could’ve been. That’s what I mean when I say he’s got to get ready. He’s not a quarterback yet — he’s a hard-throwing pitcher that doesn’t know how to pitch yet. The faster he gets that, the better off he’ll be and we’ll be.”

Lock, a second round pick, took a long time to sign. That, combined with the addition of Flacco, ensures that Lock won’t be playing anytime soon unless there’s an emergency. Fangio left no doubt as to why.