Broncos center Connor McGovern was a senior at Missouri when Drew Lock was a freshman. As the starting left tackle, McGovern didn’t snap to Lock in 2015.
And if the Broncos’ plan goes as expected, Lock won’t get many (any?) snaps from McGovern during Lock’s rookie NFL season.
The Broncos traded for Joe Flacco to be their starting quarterback.
Since the Broncos made him a fifth-round pick in 2016, McGovern has seen quarterbacks Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch, Brock Osweiler and Case Keenum come and go in the Denver locker room. McGovern has noticed a difference in the huddle with Flacco.
“A lot of the quarterbacks have had a lot of great confidence, but Flacco’s confidence is the best there is,” McGovern said, via Mike Klis of Denver’s 9News. “In his mind -- and it should be every Broncos players’ mind -- he is the good man for the job. He’s an MVP quarterback. He’s a won a Super Bowl. He’s been MVP. He knows what it takes to win at a high level. I think that is the difference.
“Trevor and all of them were. . . .We didn’t win as many games, and we hadn’t been through those experiences, and I think that experience is a whole [different] level. That’s really what sets Joe apart. Trevor and those guys, when they’re in the huddle, they had their chests out high, they were fully confident and they fully believed in their abilities, but it’s just different when you have those Super Bowl MVPs to really know truly what it takes. I think that’s where Joe really steps it up.”
McGovern didn’t play a down as a rookie before starting the final five games at right guard in 2017. He was at right guard to start last season before center Matt Paradis was injured.
With Paradis now in Carolina, McGovern is the Broncos’ starting center.