GAINESVILLE, FL - NOVEMBER 03: Drew Lock #3 of the Missouri Tigers attempts a pass during the game against the Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on November 3, 2018 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

The plan for the Denver Broncos is to have rookie QB Drew Lock sit on the bench behind Joe Flacco, but will we see him play in his rookie year?

The Denver Broncos will head into the 2019 NFL season with Joe Flacco penned in at quarterback unless there are some unfortunate events that will say otherwise. Will we see rookie second-round quarterback Drew Lock at all in his first season?

It is no secret that Flacco struggled during the latter parts of his career with the Baltimore Ravens. In limited action during the 2018 season, Flacco threw for 2,465 yards, 12 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He eventually went down with a hip injury, which prompted the Ravens to start their rookie quarterback, Lamar Jackson.

Jackson was not great. He looked like he was just a better runner than passer. But that didn’t stop the Ravens from keeping Flacco on the bench.

Flacco is not going to shock people with his talent. Let’s face it: It is not like we have Peyton Manning or John Elway all over again. (If only, right?)

Now, in what scenarios could we see Drew Lock enter a game for the Denver Broncos? It is not ideal to put a rookie quarterback in that position, especially if a team already had a veteran who was supposed to be the season starter.

Flacco’s best performance in terms of completion percentage came in 2010 against the Broncos when he completed 80 percent of his passes (20/25). He threw just one touchdown, but other players made up for that.

The most touchdowns he has thrown in one game is five, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2014. If he can combine his touchdown totals and his completion percentage for a lot of the games in 2018, he won’t have anything to worry about.

Of course, unless he gets injured at some point. He has a little bit of history with being injured, which is unfortunate. The fact that he is in his mid-30’s is not great news for him, as players tend to get injured more often and more severely as they age.

Whenever Lock gets some playing time, it is a certainty that he will struggle at times. Heck, even the great Peyton Manning struggled heavily during his first year in the league.

The truth is, Lock should not start for the Denver Broncos until he is ready. Yes, getting game experience is crucial for developing players but if his first outing doesn’t go well, is he going to fold under that pressure or will he excel?

Installing a rookie quarterback as the starter can ruin the player’s confidence if it doesn’t go well. That’s something that the Broncos need to avoid.

There is the possibility that Lock could be put into a game due to the fact that the Broncos are either being blown out or are blowing a team out. They would not want to get their starting quarterback injured, and would like for Lock to gain some experience.

Flacco has stated that he is not there to mentor Lock. The starting position is Flacco’s to lose. I would hope that Flacco is the starter for the team for a while because that’s what the Denver Broncos traded him for.

That’s the goal. If Lock was meant to be the immediate starter, they would have drafted him in the first round over Noah Fant because there was no guarantee that Lock would still be there when the Broncos chose in the second round.