Bridgewater and Drew Lock will likely battle for the starting position this year.
The Denver Broncos have been in the market for a quarterback, but most folks thought it would be filled in the NFL draft. While it still may be the case, the team has acquired Teddy Bridgewater from the Carolina Panthers. The deal is team-friendly for Denver, as the Panthers get a sixth-round pick and will pay Bridgewater $7 million next season. Denver will ante up $3 million in addition to the late-round draft pick in the trade.
The move all but assures that Drew Lock is no longer a guarantee to be the Broncos’ No. 1 quarterback heading into next season, and at the very least he’ll have competition. But will Bridgewater be his lone competitor for the top spot on the depth chart? The Broncos could still very well move up or pick a quarterback with the ninth overall selection in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. The intrigue, my friends, might just be beginning.
In the event that the Broncos stand pat with Lock versus Bridgewater, I’d consider the latter to be the favorite to start. He finished last season as the QB18 based on fantasy points, and his 69.1 completion percentage was far better than Lock’s gruesome 57.3. Bridgewater also had an on-target percentage of 77, while Lock was at 66.6 percent.
That’s good news for Denver’s cast of receiving characters like Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy and Noah Fant (to name a few). Regardless, neither quarterback will be drafted in most 10-team leagues and won’t be more than a late-rounder in deeper formats.
In Carolina, this move might mean the Panthers will target a quarterback with the No. 8 overall pick. Yes, the team traded for Sam Darnold in the offseason. But it might be too difficult to pass on Ohio State’s Justin Fields or North Dakota’s State’s Trey Lance if one of the two (or both) slide down to Carolina’s pick on Thursday night in Cleveland.
It’s going to be a fun one, fantasy fans.
Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on Sports Illustrated and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame. You can follow Michael on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram for all of the latest breaking fantasy football news and the best analysis in the business!