Will Denver Broncos QB Drew Lock take the field for the fourth straight game or will a shoulder injury rule him out of Week 18? Let’s take a look at the latest update regarding Lock’s injury and whether he could be a fantasy football asset in Week 18.
Is Drew Lock playing today against the Chiefs?
When Lock was listed as limited on the Broncos’ injury report to open Week 18, it raised some doubts over whether the third-year QB would be able to play. Lock left the game briefly in Week 17 near the end of the first quarter. However, he missed just one drive before returning to complete the game.
Lock was also limited in practice Wednesday. Still, he was able to log a full practice Friday and carried no injury designation into Saturday. Unless Lock suffers a setback on Saturday during pregame, he should be fine to suit up and play against the Chiefs in Week 18.
Could a frustrating year end on a high for the Broncos’ young QB?
There was hope in the offseason that this would be the year that Lock kicked on and became the leader the Broncos wanted. Yet, the team traded for Teddy Bridgewater in the offseason, and that has led to Lock’s opportunities being limited. Lock has thrown just 87 passes and started only two games this season. He has a 63.2% completion rate with 625 yards at 7.2 yards per attempt, with 2 touchdowns to 2 interceptions.
Those are hardly convincing numbers, but there is a caveat. The 2 interceptions came in relief appearances early in the season. As a starter in the last two weeks, Lock has completed 33-of-47 (70.2%) for 398 yards with 1 touchdown. While those numbers are hardly groundbreaking, they do demonstrate Lock is not a completely lost cause. Unfortunately, it looks unlikely he will be the starter for Denver in 2022, as they are expected to pursue a QB in the offseason.
What should fantasy managers do with Lock and the Broncos’ offense?
The Chiefs’ defense had been extremely strong against opposing passing games in the second half of the season. Dating back to Week 6, they have only allowed one team to rack up more than 250 total passing yards in a game. However, that was blown away in Week 17 as Joe Burrow threw for 446 yards and 4 touchdowns.
It is tough with Lock because the Chiefs can be susceptible. They allow an average of 19.23 fantasy points per game to the QB position this season. It seems likely that Lock will need to throw plenty for the Broncos to keep up with the Chiefs, but that is not a guarantee given Denver has nothing to play for. Starting Lock would be a risky decision.
It is a similar story with the Broncos’ receiving options. Over the course of the season, none of Denver’s WRs rank inside the top 40 in half-PPR formats for total fantasy points. The Chiefs have been susceptible to the wide receiver position at times, but knowing which of them will shine is tough. To see what our fantasy team thinks of the Broncos WRs, check out their start/sit advice for Tim Patrick, Courtland Sutton, and Jerry Jeudy.
Noah Fant is the TE9 in PPR scoring and posted 18.2 fantasy points last time out. However, he is extremely boom or bust on any given week. The Chiefs have allowed an average of 13 fantasy points per game to the tight end position, which ranks in the middle of the league. In Fant’s last game against Kansas City, he had just 33 yards on 4 receptions.