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Charlie Campbell, Senior Draft Analyst
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Survey Says - Drew Lock Likely First-Round Pick

Updated Nov. 8, 2018
By Charlie Campbell. Follow Charlie on Twitter @draftcampbell.

Entering the 2018 season, one of the most intriguing prospects for the 2019 NFL Draft was Missouri quarterback Drew Lock. The 6-foot-3, 226-pounder impressed as a junior, showing a rocket arm capable of making any throw in the NFL. Last year, Lock set the SEC single regular-season record for touchdown passes with 43. He went on a tear in the last half of the season to lead Missouri to six straight wins after a 1-5 start. Lock completed 58 percent of his passes in 2017 for 3,964 yards with 44 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

Lock has been under the microscope this season, with the quarterback needy NFL going over him in depth. Earlier in the season, we reported how team sources said that his skill set and athleticism are similar to Jay Cutler but offset with a nerdy/quiet personality that is similar to Eli Manning. Lock is a quiet guy and not a vocal rah-rah leader who takes over the room. He does not like to be the center of attention and is a little nerdy.

Heading into the final weeks of the regular season, Lock has completed 62 percent of his passes for 2,394 yards with 19 touchdowns and six interceptions. He played well and fought hard against Georgia, but he was plagued by dropped passes. Lock then had a disappointing performance against Alabama, committing three turnovers. He then bounced back with a good game against Florida last week. Based on those various results, WalterFootball.com surveyed league sources to see if they thought Lock would end up being first-round pick. We spoke with staff from seven different teams.

In speaking to area scouts, a few national scouts, a director of college scouting, and two general managers, there was a consensus - with five votes - that Lock would be a first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Both general managers thought Lock would end up being a first-rounder. One said that they thought Lock was a late first-rounder, but could see a quarterback-needy team reaching and taking him higher than that. One director of college scouting was down on Lock and thought he was not a first-rounder, and one national scout thought Lock would need to work out well prior to the draft to go on the opening night. Still, five of the seven sources thought he was a first-rounder, with some saying he definitely would go on the first night and others saying they had no doubt he would be a first-round pick. One evaluator said they graded Lock higher than Mitch Trubisky, although they were not high on Trubisky coming out of North Carolina and had him graded behind Pat Mahomes and Deshaun Watson in 2017.

Quarterbacks rise throughout the draft process, and that was given proof in recent years with the ascension of players like Baker Mayfield and Mahomes. In speaking with team sources, they believe that Lock could be a quarterback who follows that trend for the 2019 NFL Draft and the consensus opinion was that Lock would be a first-round pick.