Drew Lock: I have to take better care of the football

[KC Wolf]

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Quarterback Drew Lock‘s 13 picks don’t lead the league, but Denver’s young quarterback does carry the NFL’s worst interception rate.

Of Lock’s 296 throws, 4.4 percent have been intercepted. No other qualifying quarterback is over four percent — though Nick Mullens (3.7) and Sam Darnold (3.7) are close. The recently benched Carson Wentz and his league-leading 15 interceptions are at 3.4 percent.

All that is to say, Lock has to cut down on his turnovers — and he knows it. But he also wants to be able to balance taking a shot with making sure he doesn’t give the ball away.

“I need to take better care of the football for sure, that’s No. 1,” Lock said Wednesday, via video from Troy Renck of KMGH. “But depending on what play that’s called, it’s a matter of, if it’s there, we’re going to take it. But if I need to hit a check down for two to four instead of forcing a ball downfield, that’s what I need to do.”

Lock threw a pair of interceptions in the Broncos’ Week 13 loss to the Chiefs — one on the opening drive, and one on Denver’s final possession to end the game. Lock mentioned needing to better recognize situations for when to take a shot. To him, that means early in a contest might be a better time to let things come to him instead of being too aggressive like he was on Sunday.

“I like extending plays, but I’ve got to be better on when to extend it. And when I do extend it, seeing if this is a throw that’s really going to help us stay on the field and keep progressing or if it’s going to be a risky one that might take us off the field,” Lock said. “Obviously, you have to take risks as a quarterback, and you have to keep your aggressive nature — and I will.”

Lock has displayed some solid traits at times in his 14 games as a starter. But he must cut down his giveaways to advance to the next stage of his development.