Drew Lock Predicts Noah Fant Will Have Breakout Season
By Peter Dewey
The Denver Broncos are still figuring out their quarterback situation, as Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater battle for the job, but Lock is already hyping up his receivers during camp.
The third-year quarterback placed some major expectations on tight end Noah Fant, and he predicted that Fant would have a breakout campaign in 2021 after showing promise in his first two seasons in Denver.
“Not only this season, but I think every season, my expectations are high on Noah, and he knows that,” Lock said. “One of the big things that, again, not a lot of people have known or talked about, is [that] me and Noah got a lot of work in this offseason. He was in Colorado for a decent amount of time, and every time we were throwing, he was right there. We found things we thought he needed to work on, and he even came with things to me that he wanted to work on with me.
“So there’s been a lot of work that me and him have been able to put in this offseason. Regardless of the year for him, just me knowing the type of player he is and the type of work he’s put in, that my expectations are going to be high and he kind of welcomes that.”
Broncos fans will certainly love that Lock and Fant are working on improving their chemistry heading into the 2021 season. Lock, who struggled in much of the 2020 season, was a part of the same draft class as Fant.
WynnBET has the Broncos projected to win 8.5 games with the over (-130) as the favorite to the under (+110). That’s a major improvement from last season, but Denver is still not expected to make the playoffs, as they have just +155 odds to make the field and -210 odds to miss.
The two have had limited time together due to injuries in Lock’s rookie year, but Fant has still managed 102 catches for 1,235 yards and six touchdowns in his first two seasons.
Fant was second on the team (behind on Jerry Jeudy) in targets last season with 93, and he should find himself facing easier coverage in 2021 now that Courtland Sutton is returning from the ACL tear that cost him almost the entire 2020 season.
The Broncos offense will only go as far as Lock or Bridgewater (or maybe Aaron Rodgers) takes them, but Fant could make things easier on whoever is the quarterback by becoming a more consistent threat down the field.
Fant finished the season strong with 18 catches for 181 yards and a touchdown over the final three games of the 2020 season. If Lock plays like he did at the end of 2020, the Broncos could surprise some people this coming season.