After entering the offseason scrambling | Forum

ENGLEWOOD Phillip Lindsay Jersey White , Colo. (AP) —  again at quarterback, John Elway emerged from draft weekend set for the present and maybe the future at a position that’s been his Frankenstein ever since Peyton Manning retired three years ago.Drew Lock will be Joe Flacco’s understudy — providing he can beat out Boise State QB Brett Rypien, who was among the undrafted players Denver signed after the draft concluded, for the backup job.Lock, the second-round pick from Missouri will take a wait-and-watch approach like reigning NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes did for a year behind Alex Smith in Kansas City, or even like Aaron Rodgers did for three seasons behind Brett Favre in Green Bay.By taking Lock with the 42nd pick and immediately declaring him Flacco’s apprentice, the Broncos are dodging the kind of QB competition that blew up on them two straight summers with 2016 first-round bust Paxton Lynch.Lock and head coach Vic Fangio also are avoiding the pressure cooker that awaits first-rounders Kyler Murray in Arizona and Dwayne Haskins in Washington, QBs expected to make immediate impacts.“I think it will certainly take pressure off him and it will allow him to sit and learn,” Lock’s father, Andy, a restaurateur from Kansas City, told The Associated Press on Saturday. “And also I think from an organizational standpoint, maybe the Broncos don’t feel as much pressure to get him on the field early.“It’s a great recipe, and I’m excited for that.”So is his son, who realizes he has a lot to learn as a pro.“I think I’m just going to take it day by day here,” Lock said Womens Phillip Lindsay Jersey , declining to declare any timetable for taking over as the starter. “I’m going to try to be the best teammate possible because I know if there’s one thing to help win over a team and win over a locker room, it’s come in and just be a good teammate.“Then I think I’ll gain the respect and the trust of everybody in that locker room” like Mahomes did in K.C. and Rodgers did in Green Bay.Lock was hoping to be a first-round selection but said he knows deep down his landing spot was much more important than his draft slot.“Obviously, you’d like to get picked a little earlier, but I’m here,” Lock said. “We got Dalton (Risner) because of it, we got Noah (Fant) because of it, and if that’s the way it was supposed to be, then so be it. I’m a Bronco now and I couldn’t be more excited to be here.”Elway said he saw the draft as another step in his makeover of the Broncos, which has included the hiring of Fangio, acquisition of Flacco and free agent signings such as Ja’wuan James and Kareem Jackson.Elway said Fant and Risner should start right away and with “Drew coming in and competing for the backup spot, he gives us some depth there.”“So, we feel much better where we’re sitting here now today than we did coming out of last season.”WHO THEY GOTIn a draft loaded with defense, Elway focused first on improving a fetid offense. He used his first three picks on Iowa TE Fant , Kansas State RG Risner and Lock. His top defensive addition is Ohio State DT Dre’Mont Jones. Saturday’s picks were versatile Oregon LB Justin Hollins and Colorado WR Juwann Winfree in the sixth. He also acquired former Broncos special teams stud Dekoda Watson in a trade.SURPRISE MOVESElway didn’t consider drafting a QB in the first round, but he traded with Cincinnati to move up to 42nd and select Lock 32 spots — a full round — after many projections had him going. Elway also pulled a stunner by taking Winfree , who started just seven games in college John Elway Jersey White , missed the 2016 season with a torn ACL and sat out four games last year with a sprained ankle.HOW THEY DIDElway filled a major need by drafting Fant in the first round. Fant clocked a 4.5-second 40-yard time at the NFL scouting combine, faster than 17 wide receivers. In Hollins, they’re hoping they landed the ILB who could help the Broncos smother opposing tight ends like George Kittle who burned them for 210 yards and a TD in the first half of a game last season that essentially ended their slim playoff hopes.WHAT’S NEXTAddressing CB Chris Harris Jr.’s request for a hefty pay raise. The 30-year-old star is due $7.8 million in 2019, about half of what cornerbacks of his caliber are making. Harris is skipping the offseason program while Fangio installs his new defense and recently issued a pay-me-or-trade-me request after what he felt were disrespectful comments by Elway, who has a history of playing hardball with his stars. The Broncos believe that the officials missed a delay of game penalty during the Chiefs’ game-winning drive on Monday night. And maybe they did. But the fact that the play clock made it to zero before the snap isn’t conclusive proof of that.“The back judge is responsible for keeping track of the play clock,” NFL spokesman Michael Signora told PFT via email. “Officiating mechanics dictate that once the back judge sees the play clock expire, he then looks immediately to the ball. If it is being snapped, then there is no foul for delay of game.”So even if the back judge is locked onto the play clock, the flag doesn’t come out simply because the play clock gets to zero. He still must then look to the center to see if the ball was snapped.The ESPN broadcast had it lined up perfectly. The play clock was ticking down behind the Chiefs’ offense, and the snap came within that moment after the number reached zero but before the flag could have been thrown.A super-slow-motion replay from ESPN suggested that maybe the flag should have been thrown. The real-time footage showed the snap within the window created by the mechanics for the foul, a window that necessarily adds another second or so to the process.It’s a process that applies to every offense, on every team. And if the NFL wants to change it, the NFL should require the back judge to essentially hold the flag in air and insert whistle in mouth as the clock gets under five seconds. Better yet, whether the snap came before the play clock struck zero could be subject to replay review.The NFL has yet to take it in that direction, which means that the mechanics as crafted by the league were applied as intended on Monday night.