The Seattle Seahawks will have a new starting quarterback in 2022 after trading Russell Wilson this offseason. But a player they got back in the trade might be the long-term QB.
Drew Lock certainly hasn’t yet become the quality starting QB in the NFL that the Denver Broncos hoped he would be when they took him in 2019. In college at Missouri, Lock showed off a big arm and good mobility. He led the FBS in touchdown passes (44) in 2017. While he wasn’t a first-round choice, he wasn’t far off.
According to NFL.com’s draft profile of Lock, he was expected to become a “good starter within two years.” He ran a 4.69 40 at the NFL combine – plenty fast enough for a quarterback – and his arm talent was without question.
The issues he had in college seemed to be magnified when he came to the NFL, however. At times at Missouri, Lock struggled with being consistently accurate, his footwork in the pocket was sketchy and his arm angle was sometimes off which caused his throws to sail or be offline.
Drew Lock could become the Seahawks long-term starting quarterback
That said, a good NFL quarterback coach and offensive coordinator should have been able to fix these problems. Instead, Lock went to Denver where Broncos coaches seemed clueless on how to run an offense. Lock wasn’t the only not-good quarterback the last few years in Denver. Even veteran Teddy Bridgewater struggled at times in 2021.
Lock may not end up working out with the Seahawks. But there is no reason to think he can’t be better and maybe even good enough to make Seattle think they don’t need to draft a QB in 2023. Here are three reasons why.
He will be better with fewer expectations
Pete Carroll has tried to really talk up Drew Lock. Carroll said, quite rightfully most likely, that had Lock been coming out in this year’s draft, he would be the first quarterback taken. While this is probably true, two things should be noted. This year’s draft class was bad. And Lock wasn’t a slouch in 2019 when he was drafted as he was taken in the second round.
It isn’t where the quarterback is drafted but how he does once he is in the NFL. Lock has been extremely inconsistent.
That said, Denver chose Lock thinking – hoping – he would become the franchise’s next great quarterback. He didn’t. But the Seahawks don’t have that same kind of expectation with Lock. There is hope he will be good, just Denver had hope. But the assumed kind of thinking that Lock will be very good isn’t there.
Lock now has a weird kind of freedom as he is away from his initial disappointment with his play with the Broncos and also away from the confidence-sucking assumption that just because Lock was not great to start his career that he will never be great from Broncos fans.
If any coach can get a player to buy more into themselves with a constant bombardment of positive attitude, it is Pete Carroll. Lock’s issues don’t seem to all be physical but mental as well. A change of scenery can help quite a bit and Carroll can help quite a bit too.
Bigger arm than Geno
No offense to Geno Smith as he is a serviceable backup but he shouldn’t be a starter. A quality starter needs to begin a game well and finish it better. When Smith filled in for an injured Russell Wilson last year, he wasn’t awful overall. But he did make blunders at the ends of games that stopped any chance of Seattle winning games – an interception versus the Rams in Week 5, and a fumble versus the Steelers in overtime.
But beyond being turnover-prone, Smith simply doesn’t throw the deep ball as consistently well and with velocity as Lock can. Seattle is going to run more than they have in recent seasons when they had Russell Wilson. The Seahawks offense worked much better at the end of 2021 because of Rashaad Penny even though Wilson was once again healthy.
But just because Seattle is running the ball more doesn’t mean they aren’t going to throw the ball long. This kind of pass has always been a staple of Pete Carroll’s teams and Seattle has the receiving talent with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett to hurt opposing defenses.
The team just needs to make sure they have the correct quarterback to throw those passes. In 2021, Seattle didn’t trust Geno Smith to do much with deep throws. That will change in 2022 will Lock.
Long-term potential
One thing we know about Geno Smith is he will not be in the Seahawks long-term plans. Smith hasn’t been a true full-time starter in the NFL since 2014. He is a good backup but not someone you want to hand the reins of the offense to for a long period of time. Lock might could be?
Seattle has one year to figure out what they might have with Drew Lock. He is in a one-year deal and is playing for his professional future in 2022 whether that be in Seattle or elsewhere. In Denver, Lock played under a horrible offensive philosophy that would have hindered many quarterbacks but especially young guys just trying to learn their way.
Pete Carroll has said he wants a point guard quarterback which means someone who can stay in control of the offense but also make the throws needed to get the ball in the hands of playmakers Metcalf and Lockett. Lock has the arm strength to do that and just needs to be confident in the offensive scheme.
Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron should be able to guide Lock into becoming a solid QB. The idea should be to keep Lock a bit under wraps at the beginning of the season and give him more freedom as the season wears on and he earns trust. But if Lock comes in and plays really well, and he is physically capable of this, then he might be back as the starter in 2023 and beyond.