Broncos quarterback competition relies heavily on Shurmur

Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater have more in common than just a quarterback competition — both have (technically) worked with Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur.

Shurmur on the quarterback competition — “I think they are both getting better. I see improvement in Drew and for Teddy it’s more getting up to speed. It’s been good. We’ve got a lot of work left before the opener.”

— Kendall Valenzuela (@kvalenzuela17) June 16, 2021

During his Vikings career, Bridgewater crossed paths with Shurmur, but the quarterback never started a game in his system.

When Shurmur was asked on Wednesday how different Bridgewater is now from his days in Minnesota, the offensive coordinator shined a light on his experience with different teams throughout the league.

“I think he’s more experienced. He’s been in a couple of different situations since the time we were together,” Shurmur said. “I see when he’s out there executing, he’s been able to pick things up very quickly. There’s a lot of similarities to some of the things that we did. And then some of the new stuff, he picks up quickly. He’s a quick decision maker.”

For Lock, this is the first season in his NFL career where he is coming back with the same offensive coordinator.

Lock learned from Rich Scangarello in 2019 before Shurmur was brought in for the 2020 season. Earlier this week Lock even acknowledged that he was feeling “without a doubt” more comfortable in Shurmur’s offense.

But what strides has Lock made?

“Last year, he kind of went into the season raw without having really an offseason,” Shurmur said. “He worked his way through it and he did a lot of good things last year. I think he has built on the good things he did a year ago.”

It sounds like the Broncos will take their time picking the team’s leading man, but Shurmur said his evaluation process is based on both analytics and a general understating of the position.

“There’s the hard data — you want more completions and less interceptions, but I’m kind of looking at it generally,” Shurmur said. “When this guy’s in, are there less bad things happening? When he makes a mistake, is it catastrophic? Or is it something that we can correct? It’s all the things that you look at, and that’s why it’s important that you practice.”

Shurmur’s record as the team’s offensive coordinator was 5-11 last season.

Under Shurmur’s offense the team average 20.2 points per game with 35 total touchdowns. Lock lead the league in interceptions (15) and had the lowest completion percentage at 57.3 (down from 64.1 as a rookie).

This quarterback battle will not only show a lot about Lock and Bridgewater, it will also prove if Shurmur is deserving of an offensive coordinator role with the Broncos.