MOBILE, Ala. — It’s one day of practice, but Mizzou QB Drew Lock can consider himself a Day One winner at the Senior Bowl.
It was an up and down day for most of the eight passers among the two squads in the first day of practice, and we never should take that out of context. Lock has 50 games worth of college tape for NFL scouts to pore over, many coming against top-tier competition in the SEC, and ultimately that will mean far more to his draft stock than a few hours throwing to unfamiliar wide receivers and working in a very new playbook installed the past few days by the Oakland Raiders’ coaching staff. That staff is led by Jon Gruden, who was demanding with his passers on Tuesday and could be heard shouting at them throughout. Lock said Gruden got on his case for not being vocal enough early in practice, something Lock said he tried to improve as the day went on.
But it was hard not to notice Lock’s positive steps in this first session.
“I thought I threw the ball well today,” he said. “Not perfect — obviously had some throws I want back, but I think I put a few things together out here.”
Lock made some impressive throws early on, perhaps none better than a “go” route to Ohio State wide receiver Terry McLaurin, who dusted the man covering him (Washburn’s Corey Ballentine) off the line in one-on-one drills. But we also must note Lock’s touch and placement on the pass, which hit McLaurin in stride for an eye-opening touchdown ball.
“I’m thinking I know why [Ohio State QB] Dwayne Haskins likes throwing to that guy,” Lock said with a smile. “It felt pretty sweet coming off my hand, and you’ve got a guy like that running a great route. Just pitch and catch.”
Added McLaurin, “I loved that I didn’t have to break stride on it. He hit me right in the hands. Perfect pass.”
There also were pretty throws Lock made elsewhere throughout practice, including an over route that displayed his arm talent and touch on the play-action pass, as well as a good corner route that demonstrated Lock’s ability to drive the football horizontally and vertically in tough conditions. There was a swirling breeze trickling throughout practice, and drizzling rain made it less-than-ideal throwing conditions.
On the negative side, Lock appeared to fade a bit as the session went on, throwing a few wobbling passes and also fumbling the ball in a center exchange during 9-on-7 work.
“I went into team [work] and said that wasn’t ever happening again,” Lock said. “I made it a point not to put the ball on the ground the rest of the time out here, and thankfully I did that.”
Lock has been operating from under center a lot this week — in fact, this might have been as much as he’s ever done it in a practice session. It’s something many of the other Senior Bowl quarterbacks are adjusting to, as well, as most of them were steeped in shotgun-heavy systems in college. The North Team also rotated centers throughout practice, which meant adjusting to receiving the ball from different players.
“How you read things is a little different from under center,” he explained. “But once I got the hang of it, I felt I was going to be pretty good at it.
“I felt by the end of team [work] I really got in a groove with it.”
From a mechanical standpoint, however, there was plenty to like. Lock threw the ball with good, consistent release points, and even when he couldn’t do that — such as on one pass he had to deliver from a bit of an awkward platform — Lock hit his man in stride on a nice crossing route toward the end of the session.
He mostly stepped into his throws well with his legs, generating nice power and drive, and also showed nice poise in 7-on-7 work when he checked down a few times — and each was the right call with his other receivers covered.
Lock spoke Tuesday about the how Missouri offensive coordinator Derek Dooley really tried to instill in him a sense of when to dump the ball off and when to throw the ball away when the pressure gets too thick. One method Dooley used with this in mind was to show Lock a cut-up of nothing but 50 throwaway passes from Tom Brady the coach put together.
It’s a good reminder for a young player just entering the NFL from watching a quarterback who is less than two weeks away from starting his ninth Super Bowl: Sometimes an incompletion can be a good thing.
“We watched that multiple times,” Lock said. “It first came after the Georgia game, I believe. A couple times I had plays where I tried to make a play, ended up getting the ball knocked out of my hands a few times.
“But [watching Brady], it’s crazy. Dude is a magician with the ball. It was almost like he didn’t need to see the full play. He knew what coverage he got … knew what was happening, and he just burned it. He knows what is going on all times with his receivers and what’s going on with the defense. He’s something else.”
Lock isn’t there yet. But he has put one more good practice on tape to add to the scouting mix, and he still has the rest of the week here to prove himself. Lock did indicate that he absolutely plans to throw at the NFL scouting combine in February and likely will do so as well as Mizzou’s pro day in March. Lock also doubled down on what he said Monday night: he believes he’s the best quarterback in this year’s draft.
That remains to be seen, as Haskins, Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray and others will have something to day about that. But compared side by side with Duke’s Daniel Jones — considered to perhaps be Lock’s biggest competition at the Senior Bowl — and the other North Team quarterbacks on Day 1, Lock stood out.
“We’re not done yet,” Lock said. “Good start, but plenty of work to put in this week.”
