In his pre-draft opinions Thursday, Paton said he enjoys Driver’s possible as a quarterback but would not commit to him being the team’s Week 1 starter. Paton said he’s still actively seeking to put in a quarterback, if it be using a first-round selection or through free agency or a trade.

Including using the group’s No. 9 pick in next week’s draft or trading up at the very first round. Asked specifically whether perhaps not incorporating a quarterback into the depth chart during free service supposed he was convinced Lock are the Week 1 starter, Paton stated,”I really don’t understand about Week 1. We are very high on Drew. I enjoy seeing Drew here each morning once I come in. He is working hard. He is trending in the ideal direction.

“As you know, he’s got a great deal of talent. I believe he is getting a much better expert, but we are going to take a look at the quarterback position. I have said because I have here, we would like to bring in contest; that is the aim, and we plan on doing this.”

Paton said the group would look at investing up from the initial round for”the ideal man” on draft day, based on who was available following the opening selections are created.

Paton reported he has received calls from other teams around going in the first round but he hadn’t made calls to move up.

“What we do not need to do is induce it and deliver a man in, overpay a man to come in and perhaps he is not quite as great as the man we’ve, you know, perhaps he is not good enough to compete. We wish to find the ideal man, and we have time”

They are uncooked a small bit, but very substantial ceilings [for] both gamers ”

The Broncos, who left a preliminary telephone to the Detroit Lions roughly Matthew Stafford early in the offseason before he had been traded to the Los Angeles Rams, sat free service in the place. Paton, who has said this offseason he considers in Lock’s possible, also said Thursday that the”commerce market” was nevertheless a consideration too.

“The landscape can change following the draft — a group drafts one and possibly that [additional ] quarterback is available on the current market,” Paton said. “We are going to be individual, maybe not force it, but we really do need contest, and I have said that because I have gotten and that has not changed.”

The Broncos finished 5-11 at Lock’s first year as a rookie — the group’s fifth consecutive playoff miss. Lock had any flashes of very good work, including a three-touchdown functionality in a triumph on the Los Angeles Chargers along with his four-touchdown day at a triumph on the Carolina Panthers.

He also missed two games with a shoulder injury and another due to COVID-19 contact tracing as soon as the group’s quarterbacks, that were fined by the group, met in their own without subsequent protocols.