Why Seattle Seahawks Should Start Drew Lock Over Geno Smith

Merely put, the Seattle Seahawks ought to begin Drew Lock over Geno Smith coming into the 2022 season.

Regardless of lacking the Seahawks’ second preseason sport versus the Chicago Bears — a sport through which Lock was because of begin earlier than testing optimistic for COVID-19 — Lock’s inventory rose within the quarterback competitors because of Smith’s abysmal efficiency.

In Seattle’s ugly 27-11 loss to Chicago, Smith led zero scoring drives — Jason Myers missed a 47-yard discipline purpose — and went 10-of-18 for 112 yards and no touchdowns.

Sure, it’s true that it was one preseason sport. Nevertheless it additionally adopted the preseason opener through which Lock outperformed Smith simply after the previous had outplayed the latter in a mock scrimmage sport.

It’s clear that head coach Pete Carroll is giving Lock each alternative to win the beginning job. Sadly, Smith hasn’t completed something horrible to really lose his maintain on the job. It’s a stranglehold on the job that Smith at present holds because of his seniority on the roster, having joined the Seahawks again in 2019.

The underside line is that this — Lock is extra dynamic and might really transfer the ball down the sector along with his arm. Smith is healthier at caring for the soccer, however he gained’t win any video games for you when compelled to attain. There’s a cause he hasn’t served as a full-time starter for the reason that 2014 season.

Fox Sports activities draft analyst Rob Rang explains that’s the very cause why Smith nonetheless has the within monitor on the beginning QB job regardless of Lock outperforming him within the preseason.

“With Geno, you realize what you are going to get, so it is simpler to sport plan,” Rang mentioned. “It is simpler to anticipate what the rating goes to be, so you’ll be able to higher put together your self for what your opponent would possibly do. Geno Smith and his expertise generally is a little little bit of a safety blanket for Pete Carroll.”

No matter who the Seahawks decide to go together with as their beginning quarterback, they’ll be one of many worst groups within the league. Seattle is clearly setting itself as much as choose excessive within the 2023 NFL draft, the place the quarterback class might be deep with elite prospects similar to Alabama’s Bryce Younger and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud.

However you would possibly as properly see what it’s possible you’ll probably have in Lock whilst you have the possibility to. In Smith, you already know what you could have — a profession backup who is barely in competition to begin because of his expertise within the system. The 31-year-old Smith went 1-2 because the Seahawks’ beginning quarterback final season because the offense averaged simply 20.3 factors per sport in his begins. By comparability, Seattle averaged 23.8 factors per sport in Russell Wilson’s begins.

In spite of everything, Lock’s potential was an enormous cause why the Seahawks had him included within the Wilson commerce.

“When Drew got here out of school — we made our assessments and evaluated him [for] the draft — we noticed him as an enormous, strong-armed, cellular, aggressive, athletic quarterback,” Carroll mentioned again in March. “He had thrown a ton of footballs. He had a really aggressive program the place you bought to see him do all the things … and we actually preferred what we noticed. We are able to nonetheless see that. We see that proper now once we watch the movie.”

Nevertheless, Carroll harassed that Lock wants to chop down on his turnovers.

“Sadly for him, his play has come about the place there’s quite a lot of turnovers in his sport,” Carroll mentioned. “That simply doesn’t match with us. We simply have to repair that. We have now to vary the mentality and do the issues that we will do to assist him be his finest.”

Lock did have a pricey turnover on the finish of the preseason opener versus the Pittsburgh Steelers that finally led to the Steelers’ game-winning landing. Nevertheless, outdoors of that fumble, Lock had a near-perfect efficiency, going 11-for-15 for 102 yards, two touchdowns and a 131.1 quarterback score.

“I feel that Geno Smith wins the job, however I nonetheless consider that Drew Lock is the extra gifted quarterback,” Rang mentioned. “The crucial error that led to the sack [in Pittburgh] — shedding the ball and shedding the sport — that is the form of stuff that we have seen with Drew Lock in Denver.

Lock is clearly the extra gifted quarterback. However his present bout with COVID-19 might set him again in his quest to win the beginning job earlier than the season opener.

The Seahawks will probably go together with outdated dependable — Smith — for the season opener versus the Broncos. However the offense will clearly be stagnant with Smith working the present and Seattle will flip to Lock quickly sufficient.

In Lock, there’s potential. In Smith, there’s mediocrity.

It’s not a tough determination to make, Seattle.