After an outstanding draft in 2018, John Elway tried to have a repeat performance this year in Nashville. His 2018 class included Bradley Chubb, Courtland Sutton, and most importantly undrafted player Phillip Lindsay. With a new coach and the #10 overall pick in the draft, many wondered if Elway would complete the rebuild by selecting a quarterback. Earlier this year John Elway was rumored to have told Missouri Quarterback, Drew Lock, that he would be a top ten draft pick. And with the Broncos holding a the 10th overall pick, it did not seem like a coincidence. That did turn out to be a lie though.

With the 10th pick in the NFL draft, the Denver Broncos… have traded their pick. The Pittsburgh Steelers were now on the clock. Even though Drew Lock and Dwayne Haskins were both available, the Broncos did not seem interested. Elway now controlled the #20 pick in the draft.

With that pick, the Broncos selected tight end Noah Fant, a value pick with high upside. Most people believed that Fant was worthy of a pick this high. It was now obvious that John Elway, after passing on Drew Lock twice, was all in on Joe Flacco, who he traded for earlier this offseason.

The first night of the draft was over, and Drew Lock still did not have an NFL home. On Friday night, the Broncos used the 41st pick in the draft on offensive lineman Dalton Risner. He will be an immediate starter and a great fit. Risner grew up in a small town in Colorado and told Elway that he would regret passing on him. Elway did not make that mistake.

After filling a need in offensive line, the screen continue to show the Broncos logo. The next pick did not originally belong to the Broncos, but now it did, because the Broncos just traded up for Drew Lock. A trade up means that there is someone on the board that a team believes is worth spending more than just that pick on. That is exactly what John Elway decided to do with Drew Lock. Not the first round, or even his first second round, but it was the 42nd overall pick.

Now the question is, was this a good pick? There is no doubt that Noah Fant and Dalton Risner were quality selections, but is Drew Lock going to be a franchise quarterback? The answer? It doesn’t matter. Nobody wants Lock to be the starter for at least a year (except impatient Broncos fans after Flacco makes one bad throw). If Lock does not turn out to be Denver’s next franchise quarterback, then hopefully the two picks ahead of him will hide that. It’s better to pick a bust at 42 than at 10.

This does not mean that I am convinced that Drew Lock will be a bust. In fact I believe he will be the best quarterback that John Elway ever drafted. I am biased as a Broncos fan, but at least this time it won’t be forced. Lock will not be thrown into an uncomfortable position, and will be able to sit for at least a year before playing. He is in a better scenario than Paxton Lynch, and he is a better player than Trevor Siemian and Brock Osweiler. After failing multiple times, Elway might have finally found the long term formula.

Here is a full list of the Broncos 2019 draft class:

(20) TE Noah Fant

(41) OL Dalton Risner

(42) QB Drew Lock

(71) DL Dre’Mont Jones

(156) LB Justin Hollins

(187) WR Juwann Winfree