Here's why Drew Lock's First 5 Starts are Not Comparable to Trevor Siemian's
Drew Lock is the Denver Broncos' quarterback heading in 2020, not Trevor Siemian. And yet, a lot of comparisons have been made between the two since the season ended.
It's strictly because of their similar stats five starts into their respective careers. Those similarities have caused some to surmise that Lock is destined to burn out like Siemian did and that the 2019 second-rounder isn’t a good quarterback.
That's just silly.
I dish a lot more on the topic in the video above, so make sure you check that out. The video goes more into the variables that each quarterback had to deal with that separate their respective bodies of work through five games.
So let us get into the type of players each QB is to show why Siemian’s failure doesn’t mean Lock will follow suit just because their stats through the first five games are similar.
Siemian was respected for his smarts as a quarterback. He put in a lot of time in the film room and studying the game plan to learn how to attack a defense.
However, he lacked the arm talent to exploit all levels of the field. This led the Broncos to cut their passing playbook by two-thirds to benefit him, cutting the field down to one third.
The lack of arm talent showed up multiple times as a Bronco, and everyone knew he lacked arm talent, except for the player himself. He would try throwing across the body and across field to make a play happen, only to watch it fail. This was one issue that really hurt and limited the offense, but at least he was smart, which is how he earned the starting job.
Lock is very different. He too is a smart quarterback, but is more of a leader, and has players gravitate towards him like Siemian never did. That's all great, but it's on the field that you can really see the difference between the two.
Arm strength from Lock isn’t a question. You don’t have to cut the field down or limit the passing playbook because he can make any NFL throw. He also isn’t complacent and will take risks, which is something Siemian would rarely do (aside from his ill-advised across-body throws. Lock also has more athleticism than Siemian, which offers up more to the offense with his legs.
Just because stats are similar doesn’t mean the players are. These are two vastly different quarterbacks because of their traits.
Maybe their career path ends up going the same way, but something tells me that it isn’t likely. There is a lot more in Lock to believe in than we ever saw from Siemian.
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