John Elway: Drew Lock, Joe Flacco a 'Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers-Type Situation'

Denver Broncos general manager John Elway doesn't envision there being a quarterback controversy after trading up to take former Missouri Tigers star Drew Lock with the 42nd overall pick.

Rather, Elway believes this is a golden opportunity for Lock to learn from Super Bowl XLVII MVP Joe Flacco, who the team acquired earlier this offseason.

Elway likened the situation to that of the Green Bay Packers during the 2000s:

Elway said, h/t DenverBroncos.com's Aric DiLalla: 

"When we look at it, we're hoping Drew is the future. But Joe is the starter. He's going to be the starter. ... We look at it as a Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers-type situation. He's going to have time to sit and watch Joe and take his time and learn and continue to get better. We feel we're in a good situation there.

"I'm hoping that it allows us to let him grow and the expectations [will] not [be] as high as it would be as a top-10 pick. That's what he needs. He's going to need that time and the patience and continue to work with it and be able to watch Joe and how Joe works. Joe's [been at] a very high level for a very long time.

"He's got a great guy to follow and watch and learn see how it's done."

That would be the best-case scenario for Denver.

Green Bay selected Rodgers with the 24th overall pick in the 2005 draft. While he sat on the bench behind Hall of Famer Brett Favre for the majority of his first three years in the league, Rodgers has since put together one of the best careers in NFL history, winning two league MVP awards, a Super Bowl and a Super Bowl MVP.

And he did so while playing with a massive chip on his shoulder stemming from his infamous draft-night slide.

Elway and Co. are hoping for similar results with Lock.

While Flacco may not be on Favre's level, he has essentially seen it all since being drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round in 2008. It's also worth noting that Flacco served as a mentor to rookie Lamar Jackson in Baltimore last year.

Meanwhile, Lock is like Rodgers in that he had a longer-than-expected wait at the draft. As a result, he has not only a chip on his shoulder, but a "full Pringles bottle":

That gives Lock a chance to finally give the Broncos their quarterback of the future. As ESPN Stats & Info pointed out, the team has had a hard time finding one in recent years:

Fortunately for Lock, he does not appear to be in a position to have to face the pressure of being a Week 1 starter as a rookie.