What do the Seahawks see in new quarterback Drew Lock?

The Seahawks won’t have Russell Wilson starting at quarterback in 2022. Is his replacement on the roster?

Shortly after officially announcing they’d traded Wilson to the Denver Broncos, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and John Schneider met with the media to discuss the move and what’s next at quarterback.

Carroll, Schneider address Seahawks’ future at QB

Someone whose name naturally came up a lot was Drew Lock, a 2019 second-round pick who was part of the Seahawks’ trade return for Wilson.

Both Schneider and Carroll said they were very high on Lock as a draft prospect and that they have confidence in him to come in and start for the Seahawks in 2022, though it was reiterated that it will be a competition.

So what exactly do the Seahawks see in Lock, who has struggled for the most part in his three-year NFL career? Former NFL quarterback Jake Heaps broke it down Thursday on Seattle Sports’ Jake and Stacy.

“What I believe the Seahawks are looking at (with) Drew Lock is his size, his stature, his athletic ability, and overall his arm strength and arm talent,” Heaps said. “This is a guy that has, as John Schneider described it as, an absolute hose. What does that mean? Tremendous arm strength, tremendous RPMs that are coming off the ball, and being able to get it into tight windows.”

While Wilson is listed at 5 foot 10, Lock stands 6 foot 4 and is known for his very strong throwing arm.

Lock has plenty of physical tools and attributes, but what’s gone wrong for him since entering the NFL in 2019?

“The big problem with Drew Lock so far has been processing, has been leadership, has been accuracy, some of the the more important qualities of quarterback play,” Heaps said. “However, when you talk about it from a quarterback perspective, and I believe this is what Pete Carroll and John Schneider view this as is, if you’re not in a good situation, if you’re not in a quarterback-friendly situation that is doing what they can to put you in better positions, then you are going to struggle. And it was not a healthy climate overall when it came to the Denver organization (for Lock).”

Lock only had one head coach during his three years in Denver in Vic Fangio, but after having success at the end of 2019 under offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello, the Broncos brought in Pat Shurmur, who ran the offense in 2020 and 2021.

In five starts in 2019, Lock completed 64.1% of his passes for 1,020 yards and seven touchdowns to three interceptions as the Broncos went 4-1.

The @Broncos QB has an ARM. 🚀

The best throw from every @DrewLock23 start in 2019! pic.twitter.com/5f7PdlolAy

— NFL (@NFL) March 14, 2020

But in 2020 as a full-time starter, Lock struggled, completing 57.3% of his passes for 2,933 yards, 16 touchdowns and an NFL-leading 15 interceptions in 13 starts (4-9 record). Lock appeared in six games, starting three (0-3 record) in 2021 as he backed up Teddy Bridgewater, completing 60.4% of his passes with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Carroll and Schneider brought up Lock’s rookie season numerous times on Wednesday and said they think he can play like that again.

Heaps said that if Lock starts, much of whether he succeeds or not will fall on Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.

“I do believe Shane Waldron’s offense can be very quarterback-friendly. If you can make the game simple for Drew Lock and you can allow his talent to shine through then maybe you’ve got something special there where they keep pointing to the first five games of his rookie year and how he was able to have a phenomenal finish,” Heaps said. “If you can keep him in that world where he doesn’t have to process so much, where he can just go out and play and let his talent come through and play confidently, then you’ve got an ultra-talented guy that could maybe play at a high level for you and surprise some people.”

Listen to the full second hour of Thursday’s Jake and Stacy at this link or in the player below.

What the Seahawks, Russell Wilson said about his trade to Broncos

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