Brock: One element of Drew Lock’s game isn’t getting enough credit

Drew Lock has performed as well as anyone could have expected while filling in for injured Seattle Seahawks starting quarterback Sam Darnold.

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Lock has led the Seahawks to a 2-0 record while completing an efficient 72.9% of his throws (35 of 48) for 422 yards and four touchdowns with no turnovers. He leads the league in passer rating (127.3) and is fourth in QBR (85.8) behind only Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and Dak Prescott. Additionally, he’s the highest-graded quarterback by Pro Football Focus (92.1).

The former second-round pick has received plenty of praise for his play in relief of Darnold thus far, but former NFL quarterback Brock Huard believes there is one area Lock hasn’t got enough credit in, which is how he has gotten the ball out quickly and avoided taking sacks.

Lock has been sacked just twice in Seattle’s first two games. Just three quarterbacks with at least 20 dropbacks this year have been sacked less.

“The data and the analytics are unbelievably clear. If you want to have a high efficiency and expected play efficiency, you know what you can’t have? Negative plays,” Huard said during his Blue 88 segment Wednesday on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk. “Sacks are negative, drive-killing plays. Advantage defense. Really hard, really difficult on the offense and especially the O-line. But if you stay in anything from like third-and-7 (and) under, guess what? You got an opportunity to get the ball out in 2, 2.5 seconds to get a first down. You don’t have to hold it, you don’t have to have intermediate and deeper developing plays. And I think he’s done a phenomenal (job).”

Huard said credit is also due for the job first-year offensive coordinator Brian Fleury has done calling plays with Lock under center.

“I think that’s one of Fleury’s cool strengths here the first couple weeks understanding (that) sacks kill you,” Huard said. “And if this team averages one sack a game and at the end of the year you look up and they have given up 17 sacks, they’re going to win the NFC West and they’re going to be the No. 1 seed (in the NFC) because that is a game-winning kind of number.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

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