How Can Drew Lock Be Better For The Seahawks In 2022 Than People Think?
Drew Lock is a talented quarterback, and he only needs to be patient with his skills to be better for the Seahawks than people think.
Drew Lock has been a reason to laugh at the Seahawks between the other 31 NFL teams, but he has a lot of assets that Seattle can use in his favor to have a solid season in 2022. From perfecting the pocket passing to establishing that scrambling tool, he will help the Seahawks more than people think in his first season with the team.
As of today, QB Geno Smith is leading the race against Drew Lock for the starting job in the quarterback position. Smith won during offseason voluntary workouts and started the training camp with the advantage too, but everyone is leaning to Lock to get the job. And the reason is simple: we saw the Seahawks under Geno in 2021, and Lock was involved in the Russell Wilson trade.
So, with that being said, here are five reasons how Lock can be way better than people think during his first season with the Seahawks:
1. Confident Player
Lock has shown, during his time in college with Missouri, a lot of confidence as a quarterback. He has the charisma, personality, attitude, and passion the position needs. He celebrates with swag, he has those dances (that can also fit into Seahawks’ culture), and features an important thing: he is seen as a below-average QB working to prove people wrong.
In his first press conference as a Seahawks player, he also showed respect for Wilson while he put himself first. “Officially a Seahawk and officially pumped!”, Lock said, and from the beginning, he has committed to the team with his heart and with passion. A confident and humble player, who knows what spot he’s trying to take and how he needs to work to take it.
He can take a joke, too.
Happy 4th to all but especially to the intern at the @usopen 🇺🇸😂❤️12s — Drew Lock (@DrewLock23) July 4, 2022
2. Perfect Pocket Passer
Talking about football itself, Lock has had a lot of great moments in his NFL career. Especially, three games prove what he can do on the field:
248 passing yards, 3 TD, and a walk-off toss to WR KJ Hamler to deliver a huge win at home to the Broncos against their division rival. Probably Lock’s best game as a pro, as he showed how he can deliver when he’s focused on. That game-winning passing touchdown was not only in the last play of the game but at the goal line and with a minimal margin for error.
The first career start for Lock was a blast, an absolute top 3 in his career without a doubt. 22/27, 309 passing yards, 3 TD, and 1 INT to introduce himself to the NFL. A game on the road to begin his pro path and he did it with the right foot. Lock was the main reason Denver not only won, but dominated Houston by two scores.
Lock and the Broncos lost this one, but he showed one of the things the Seahawks can use to take advantage of Lock as a QB: he can run with the ball. He only had 162 passing yards and 12 completed passes, but he recorded 35 rushing yards and 2 rushing TD, averaging 8.8 yards per carry.
It’s not the main part of his game. But it’s a tool Seattle could use sometimes.
Apart from the Chiefs’ game in which he showed another part of his football, the first two had one thing in common: patience. Lock has been characterized for taking bad decisions, which is his biggest issue as a passer. The moment he sees himself in danger, he risks the football to a danger zone (that’s what lead him to have 16 interceptions in 2020 and lose the starting job to Teddy Bridgewater in 2021). Seattle knows that and wants him to be a patient guy.
In Denver, he was coached by Vic Fangio, who was known to not let his players have “personality,” as some players that were coached by him said. As an example, Fangio once did not allow Lock to practice with a visor. That did not help Lock to grow as a player and as a person in an NFL franchise. Also, his offense was coordinated by Pat Shurmur, who was also known to limit the Broncos’ from 2020-2021.
Carroll is a coach of and for the players, and he can get more with Lock helping him be a patient QB. If Lock stays in the pocket and opens his vision, he can deliver. The good thing for 2022: he has a great receiving core – which will include TE Noah Fant, who knows him pretty well for their time with Denver.
3. Running Game Will Help
As said before, Lock showed in last year’s season finale that he’s able to gain yards from the ground (well, just like Russell Wilson used to do). Is not an essential part of his game like Lamar Jackson or so, but can use it as a tool when he’s in trouble. Also, the Seahawks’ coaching staff (mostly, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron) will teach him to not force a throw in movement.
In a world in which the Seahawks are battling to find the successor for Russell Wilson, everything helps.
4. Team Believes In Lock
When social media attacked Lock once he got to Seattle as part of *that* trade, some Seahawks players (including WR D.K. Metcalf and RB Rashaad Penny) had Lock’s back by telling people to calm down on the “slander”, as Metcalf said. The team, from coaches to players, believes in what he can do. It’s part of it, he wants to get involved and be the starter that leads the Seahawks in 2022.
The team knows that and backs him up.
5. Contract Year
It is weird, but in the NFL, when a player is in the final year of his contract, he tends to play better. That is an incentive for Lock, for sure. Even if he does not stay with Seattle for 2023, he can find another home with an interesting contract – maybe competing again for the starting job (like Mitch Trubisky or Marcus Mariota).
With an intriguing QB class for 2023 coming in, he should be aware of the competition that can have in the future (with the Seahawks or somewhere else).
“I want 2 be that guy!”, Lock said when he chose #2 and not take the #3 he used at Mizzou and with the Broncos, respecting Wilson. Well, let’s let him be that guy.
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