Senior Bowl QB Scoreboard: Locked and loaded

MOBILE, Ala. — Yes, it’s only practice, but with the Denver Broncos back in the hunt for a young quarterback, the two headlining acts at the Senior Bowl, Drew Lock and Daniel Jones, need to have a close eye kept on them at all times.

With that in mind, we tracked every pass from the two and every other gunslinger at the first day of Senior Bowl practice.

Here’s what we found.

Drew Lock

Lock’s natural arm talent was on display in Mobile, as he showed off easy power to all fields, throwing a tight spiral that cut through the gusting winds with ease. Simply put, the kid has easy cheese, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.

His release is quick and effortless as he unleashed a few lasers that looked entirely nonchalant coming out of his hand. Seen live, his arm strength, which is his calling card on tape, was that much more impressive.

Lock had the two prettiest throws of the day. One on a deep out to the left sideline to mammoth tight end Donald Parham, with perfect timing, placement, and anticipation, and then a deep touchdown with beautiful touch to Terry McLaurin, again leading his target to perfection as if the two had been playing together for years.

The Missouri QB gunned another pass to the left sideline on a beautiful 30-yard back-shoulder throw, impressing more on deep throws in one day than just about any quarterback has the last two years down in Mobile.

After that, Lock’s performance was a bit predictable, throwing with too much velocity on short dump-offs over the middle. In simple drills, he also settled for check downs and took what the defense gave him.

His arm strength was impressive when throwing on the run, flashing nice touch on a particular bootleg to his arm side, but he was also a bit inaccurate throwing on the move—he almost took the head off a coach in one drill against air. All factors that affected his accuracy, easily his biggest issue. He also seemed to lack touch on a few deep to intermediate attempts, not putting enough air under the ball as passes came out like line drives that weren’t on target. 

Lock held onto the ball too long at the start of seven-on-seven drills and fumbled a snap under center in 11-on-11s, which is all part of the process in his adjustment to a pro-style offense. 

Overall, he had a really good day, looking comfortable in a new setting and unaffected by the wind and rain. He completed some impressive passes with on-point placement and  truly impressive zip.

He remained far from perfect, but given the circumstances really didn’t do much wrong. If he can clean up his mechanics and apply a little more finesse when called for, Lock should come out of the week as a big winner.

Daniel Jones

Jones, who in many circles is rated higher than Lock, started the day off a bit shakily, missing some throws for a variety of different reasons. The ball came out a bit late and behind on two deep attempts, and even though he completed some one-on-one throws, he just seemed to lack the arm velocity to get the ball where it needed to be on time—both concerns that are clear to see on tape.

His accuracy to his left side—where Lock did some of his best work—was especially disappointing. Though, all in all, he only missed a few throws and eventually got going.

As he got more comfortable, Jones showed off some great anticipation and ball placement to the right sideline on out routes in tight coverage. His precision in tight windows has been a question mark, and those two dimes to the right side were very nice to see.

In the intermediate passing game, he showed nice accuracy, zip, and placement over the middle, while he sailed a few sideline outs.

He looked good throwing it on the move, too, showing nice touch on short to intermediate throws as his footwork seemed fairly polished—even though his long gangly limbs make him look a bit awkward.

His game was much more of a mixed bag than Lock, as his accuracy flashed but also had some bad misses. The ability to lead receivers and throw with placement is there, he just needed to be more consistent.

In 11-on-11 drills, he was essentially sacked—obviously, in practice, he wasn’t taken down—and then fumbled a snap under center.

Depending on how you saw Jones coming in, you might’ve been pleasantly surprised by the outing or disappointed.

Stidham and a mixed bag from the South team

In the first practice, from the South team, Auburn’s Jarrett Stidham was the best-looking quarterback of the bunch, flashing impressive arm strength, and anticipation.

The Tigers’ quarterback, who had a rough and inconsistent final season, looked sharp showing off good zip, accuracy, and poise in the pocket. He has all the tools and reminded scouts why he was seen as one of the top QB prospects coming into the season.

Washington State’s Gardner Minshew II, who might not have flashed the type of arm talent that Stidham and Lock did, was the most accurate and consistent of the bunch, showing off nice touch on the day. He also seemed to be the least affected by playing under center and was very smooth in 11-on-11 drills.

West Virginia’s Will Grier is probably the biggest name on the South squad and is coming off a great season, but he just didn’t have it on the day. His arm looked average at best, and he didn’t look comfortable at all. His performance was especially concerning and could really damage his stock if he doesn’t make major improvements soon.

Buffalo’s Tyree Jackson, who has as big an arm as anyone here and an even bigger frame, showed small glimpses of talent but also threw behind his targets and was slow to get the ball out regularly.

SCOREBOARD

(Each day we will split up a total of 10 points between Lock and Jones)

Drew Lock: 6.5

Daniel Jones: 3.5