He had to wait an entire day longer than anticipated, but Missouri quarterback Drew Lock is officially an NFL football player.
Lock was selected by the the Denver Broncos with the No. 42 overall pick in Friday's second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Lock, widely expected before the draft to be picked not only in the first round but in the top 15 picks, became one of the stories of the draft as he had to wait more than four hours Thursday night without getting his name called, then return to Broadway in Nashville, Tennessee Friday evening.
In the end, the Broncos, who passed on Lock with the No. 10 pick Thursday, ended his wait.
Despite the delay, Lock is the third-highest quarterback ever drafted from Missouri and the 14th Tiger to be picked in the first or second round since 2009.
A four-star recruit out of Lee's Summit High School in Kansas City, Lock signed with Missouri in the class of 2015. He was pressed into starting duty sooner than expected, taking over for suspended starter Maty Mauk midway through his true freshman season. Lock largely struggled in 2015, completing 49 percent of his passes and throwing eight touchdowns as opposed to four interceptions.
Despite the retirement of longtime coach Gary Pinkel the following offseason, Lock remained with Missouri and started all 12 games in 2016. As a sophomore, he threw for 3,399 yards, 23 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Missouri, however, went just 4-8. Lock took a huge step forward as a junior, throwing for 3,967 yards and an SEC single-season record 44 touchdown passes. Missouri, too, broke through and advanced to the postseason for the first time since 2014 during that season.
Following his breakout junior year, Lock entertained the idea of declaring for the NFL Draft. But after he received feedback from the NFL Draft advisory board that indicated he would not be a first-round selection and Missouri hired Derek Dooley to be its offensive coordinator, Lock opted to return to Missouri for his senior season. His touchdown numbers decreased in 2018, but he completed a career-high 62.9 percent of his passes and threw just eight interceptions in 13 games. Lock also notched his first career win over a ranked opponent when Missouri beat No. 13 Florida and led the Tigers to an 8-5 record on the year.
Lock finished his college career ranked second all-time in both passing yardage (12,193) and passing touchdowns (99) in school history, behind Chase Daniel. He is just the fourth Missouri quarterback to be selected in the draft in the Super Bowl era, joining Blaine Gabbert, Pete Woods and Steve Pisarkiewicz.
Lock's slide in the draft cost him a significant amount of money, however.
Continue to follow PowerMizzou for coverage from the remainder of the draft as wide receiver Emanuel Hall, linebacker Terez Hall and defensive tackle Terry Beckner Jr., among others, will hope to hear their names called.
