Seahawks HC Pete Carroll Thinks Drew Lock Would’ve Been 1st QB Selected in 2022 Draft

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Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete
Carroll said new quarterback Drew Lock would have been the first QB
selected in the 2022 NFL draft.

“I think he’d have been the first guy
picked, of quarterbacks anyway. He’d have been the first guy in this
draft. I don’t have any hesitation saying that,” Carroll said
Thursday on Sports Radio KJR (via Michael David Smith of Pro Football
Talk).

The Seahawks acquired Lock from the
Denver Broncos as part of the blockbuster deal that ended Russell
Wilson’s 10-year tenure in Seattle.

Lock, a 2019 second-round pick, failed
to impress across three years in Denver. He completed 59.3 percent of
his throws with 25 touchdowns and 20 interceptions in 24 games. He
received a poor 60 overall grade from Pro Football Focus in 2021.

Even in a lackluster 2022 quarterback
class, which featured Kenny Pickett as the only signal-caller taken
in the first two rounds, it’s hard to know whether Lock would have
sat atop the rankings.

Here’s the comparison between Lock and
Pickett in their final college season (13 games each):

• Lock (2018 with Missouri): 62.9% completion rate, 3,498 passing yards, 28 TD, 8 INT
• Pickett (2021 with Pitt): 67.2% completion rate, 4,319 passing yards, 42 TD, 7 INT

A lot more than one year of stats goes
into quarterback evaluation, but it’s just one aspect of the
conversation that shows Lock wouldn’t have been the clear No. 1
option in this year’s draft.

Regardless, Carroll explained on KJR
he’s impressed with what he’s seen from the 25-year-old offseason
arrival:

“The first look at Drew: He’s really
athletic, he’s really a confident athlete. You can see he’s got a lot
of body control. He’s got quick feet, he’s got a quick arm, he’s got
various ways he can release the football as his body’s in different
positions. He’s got a real knack there. He’s got a strong arm; he can
throw the ball a mile down the field. He compares to Geno, and Geno
Smith has a great arm. He has a world-class arm and all that. To
match up with that, that’s saying a lot.”

As the Seahawks roster currently
stands, a quarterback competition between Lock, Smith and Jacob Eason
is probably on tap for training camp.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if Seattle
adds another veteran to the mix at some point, though Carroll ruled
out a potential trade at the position.