Drew Lock’s young NFL career has already had its share of ups and downs.

After a long wait to see the field, Lock had a strong finish to his rookie season, appearing to establish himself as Denver’s starting quarterback for the long-term future. The Broncos have struggled, however, in Lock’s second season.

Lock has thrown for 2,330 yards, 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 11 games during the 2020 campaign. The Broncos are 8-8 in Lock’s 16 career starts, prompting some speculation about whether Denver could be in the market for a new starting quarterback. Broncos GM John Elway remains confident in the former Mizzou standout.

“Drew’s got to continue to use these times as a valuable experience going into next year, the different coverages and the different looks he’s getting, to be able to come back and hopefully work on some consistency,” Elway recently said in an interview posted to the team site. “I think he’s showed that there’s some bright spots there, and he’s done a heck of a job in a lot of situations. But to be able to be good and be great in this league, you’ve got to play with consistency and eliminate the mistakes. That’s what we’re looking for out of Drew, is hopefully eliminate some of those mistakes and keep showing us the things that he can do.”

Elway believes youth is partially to blame for Lock’s inconsistent play.

“He’s gone through his reads better and dumped some things off and continued to use the experience to get better,” Elway said. “Obviously, the inconsistency, that comes with being young, especially if you’re young and you’ve got young guys around you … like we do. It seems like when they all don’t play well, they do it together. Again, we’ve just got to work on the consistency. And I think that Drew’s had an up-and-down year, but we still like what we see in him and still think that he’s got a chance to be a very good quarterback in this league.”

The Broncos face the Los Angeles Chargers this Sunday.