Drew Lock is getting blasted for going so high in ESPN NFL Draft

ESPN clearly thinks more highly of Drew Lock than the rest of America.

It’s a year late, but Drew Lock is finally a first-round pick in NFL circles.

On Monday, ESPN did a complete re-draft of the entire league, allowing any player on any team to go anywhere in this video game-like simulation. Though the Denver Broncos quarterback went No. 15 to his current employer in this exercise, Lock and ESPN are getting absolutely crushed for this selection.

The top four picks in this exercise are a surprise to no one. Using the 2020 NFL Draft order, the Cincinnati Bengals take Patrick Mahomes No. 1 overall, the Washington Redskins select Russell Wilson at No. 2, the Detroit Lions go with Lamar Jackson at No. 3 and the New York Giants use the No. 4 overall pick on Deshaun Watson. This is what you’d expect in the top four in this exercise.

Coming off the board at No. 5 is the best non-quarterback in football in defensive tackle Aaron Donald. Then, it gets weirder by the pick and ESPN loses all credibility. The Los Angeles Chargers take offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley at No. 6 over their own superstar pass rusher Joey Bosa, who goes the very next pick to the Carolina Panthers at No. 7.

Apparently, the Arizona Cardinals are cool with controversy in an increasingly political age, why take an aging Drew Brees at No. 8? He’s so close to retirement anyway, so he’ll fight right in with his new Arizona friends. If you want to know why the Jacksonville Jaguars are the Jacksonville Jaguars, it’s because it a fake mock draft they take Dak Prescott No. 9 overall.

Nick Bosa goes No. 10 to the Cleveland Browns and then it’s nine quarterbacks in a row with Lock going No. 15 to the Broncos. The four quarterbacks going ahead of him have either been on Super Bowl-winning teams or just won a national championship. No. 11 to No. 14 go Aaron Rodgers, Carson Wentz, Joe Burrow and Tom Brady in that order. Then, it’s Lock!

Drew Lock is the 15th-best player in the NFL in ESPN’s mock draft.

Here are some of the players who Lock went against in this ESPN NFL Draft if you feel like being outraged on the internet this afternoon, evening or whenever you discover this post or that graphic.

• Matt Ryan No. 16 to the Atlanta Falcons
• Kyler Murray No. 17 to the Dallas Cowboys
• Christian McCaffrey No. 20 to the Los Angeles Rams
• Khalil Mack No. 24 to the New Orleans Saints
• DeAndre Hopkins No. 26 to the Houston Texans (now, that’s just hilarious)
• Mike Evans No. 27 to the Seattle Seahawks
• Tyreek Hill No. 29 to the Tennessee Titans
• Tua Tagovailoa No. 30 to the Green Bay Packers
• George Kittle No. 31 to the San Francisco 49ers
• Stephon Gilmore No. 32 to the Kansas City Chiefs

Okay, I just did the math and that’s 10 players who anybody who has ever played a game of Madden before or have the ability to name all 32 franchises in the league off the top of their head would take over Lock in a heartbeat.

We’re talking about blue-chip prospects, perennial Pro Bowlers and undeniable difference-makers here. Lock is just a guy compared to them.

ESPN must be certain Lock is the second-coming of John Elway or Peyton Manning in Denver then. You know what they have in common that he doesn’t? They went No. 1 overall in their respective drafts in real life, won two Super Bowls and finished as runner-ups for the Heisman Trophy as seniors. Lock just threw a lot of passes in a sloppy Air Raid system at Missouri.

Now, let’s not kill Lock too bad here. He didn’t ask for this. He was just going about his day and then ESPN decided a temporary lapse in judgement to spark social media engagement was in the cards for Monday afternoon. I guess ESPN got exactly what it wanted out of this exercise then.

If Lock is the 15th-best player in the NFL in 2020, then that’s incredible news for Broncos Country.