This season saw a changing of the guard for the Seattle Seahawks as they moved on from franchise quarterback Russell Wilson. Wilson was traded to the Denver Broncos this offseason, signaling a bit of a rebuild for the Seahawks.
Included in the return package for Wilson was quarterback Drew Lock. Many expected the Seahawks to select a quarterback in the 2022 NFL Draft to acquire one of the many veterans that were available via trade. Instead, they stayed put as Lock entered a quarterback competition with Geno Smith.
Smith started with a leg up as he has been with the Seahawks for the last two seasons and was listed atop the depth chart. It made sense as he was ahead when it came to the knowledge of the playbook, but Lock has reportedly been playing well and is putting pressure on Smith.
Over the weekend, the Seahawks had a mock game and Lock reportedly outplayed Smith, shining with the reps that he received. According to Gregg Bell of Tacoma News Tribune, Lock completed 19-of-26 pass attempts in his five drives; four came with the second-string offense against the first-string defense and one with the first-team offense against the second-string defense.
The team scored on three out of the five drives, putting up two touchdowns and one field goal. Smith, on the other hand, completed only 11-of-20 passes despite playing with the first-team offense for three of them against the second-team defense.
Bell said that the offense did more with Lock under center, which many would assume means that he is gaining ground in the quarterback race. However, head coach Pete Carroll didn’t give much insight into what the plans are for the quarterback position in Week 1.
“It looked like they threw the ball pretty well,” Carroll said. “The way it worked out, Drew had some more opportunities, but I thought that they threw the ball really nice in the controlled stuff and underneath. We were clean with the ball coming out, the protection was good early, so it will give us a good chance to see them. If you noticed that both guys got to work with the first O-line today and the first receivers, so it will be a nice chance to compare these guys.”
Carroll said the team is still in a wait-and-see approach when it comes to first-team reps for Lock. While the team is playing things close to the vest, Lock is certainly giving them something to think about with how well he is playing.
If he continues producing the way that he did during the mock game, Lock will force his way into the lineup once the regular season rolls around.
