Geno Smith and Drew Lock looking uneven early in Seahawks training camp

As most of us have been speculating for months now, the Seattle Seahawks opened up training camp with a theoretically open competition at quarterback with no clear favorite. As things stand at the moment, Geno Smith and Drew Lock are getting most of the attention, although neither has seized said moment and instead have been reportedly struggling to get their bearings early on. Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron told the press on Tuesday that they “have a plan” at the position but are being secretive about it.

Now, this isn’t surprising to anybody, and in no way is that a dig at either of these players; it should be expected that the defense is ahead of the offense at this point, and the team is trying to identify a starter at the most important position on their offense after a decade of stability under Russell Wilson. To be entirely fair, it hasn’t all been bad news, either, so let’s check in and take a look at some sights and sounds from the early days of Seattle’s biggest QB competition in over a decade.

Geno Smith getting a lot of first team reps

Smith and the Seattle receiving corps kept the ball off the turf in the above drills, which is obviously a heck of a lot easier to do in shorts, no pads, and minus one Aaron Donald in your face. Nevertheless, it is still good to see the talented group of pass catchers in action again. Whoever ends up starting day one is going to have the significant benefit of having not one but two Pro Bowl/All-Pro receivers in Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf.

Geno Smith says he feels “great” and has “complete control” over what he is seeing. In general, he sounds confident and positive about his progress in the early go of things, but also acknowledges that the defense has been giving the offense some struggles early on.

Drew Lock on the playbook and being on the same page as the pass catchers

Drew Lock in the above clip discusses the difference between being familiar with the playbook and being on-time with the pass catchers. In the early go of it, Geno Smith has reportedly been ahead of Lock, but this really should surprise nobody given his experience with the team and the first team offense in 2021.

For what this is worth, Drew Lock is maintaining an air of calm positivity, as he has pretty much repeatedly said that he is comfortable letting the competition unfold.

How’s that deep ball looking?

Here you can see Smith and Lock alternating reps on some downfield passing. The Seahawks like to take their deep shots, and a huge part of that has been the reliability and accuracy of Russell Wilson and his famed “moon ball” that so often found its way careening from the outer limits and into a receiver’s hands with the softness of a thousand pillows. Let’s just say that this team has a bit of an uphill climb if they want to keep this as a key feature of their offense in 2022. Obviously, in the above clip, the receivers got their finger tips on these passes, so it isn’t out of the question that they make these plays when the games start counting. Still, this has the look of a group of players that are still feeling it out, as it were. Tyler Locket, of course, is still incredible, as you can see below.

Jacob Eason: Oft forgot, but more than an afterthought

The player who has been the most under-the-radar is pretty clear: Washington’s own Jacob Eason. Many fans have been quick to point out that the Seahawks’ QB competition isn’t just a two-man event, so here is a clip of him getting in on the action. To be fair, his one toss looked significantly better than Lock’s in the tight end drill (or at least in what we saw of it). Speaking of Tight Ends...

Just for fun, above is a clip of the guys sending some passes to the Tight Ends. After adding Noah Fant in the offseason, this position group is going to be fun to watch during the preseason. Also, as you can see, the ratio of passes going around seems to be in keeping with the fact that Smith and Lock are currently getting the majority of reps.

2022: Onward and upward

Competition or no, I am just happy that we have some football action happening again. Come what may in 2022, this competition is going to continue to be a fun thing to watch throughout the preseason. Regardless, this is Competition country, so let’s ride (it out) and hope for the best. Go Hawks.