Madden 21: Should Drew Lock be rated higher?

In the ratings release for Madden 21, Denver Broncos quarterback Drew Lock has been rated very poorly.

For a player who started just five games as a rookie in 2019, Denver Broncos quarterback Drew Lock got a lot of hype from media and Broncos fans. EA has different feelings, as we found out with the release of all of the Madden 21 ratings.

Madden has rated Lock with an overall rating of 70. For a guy who has not played a whole lot, it looks like it makes sense. But here’s a kicker…

Among all of the quarterbacks in the NFL, Lock is rated 35th. Yes, 35th. There are multiple backup quarterbacks better than him in the video game. Those quarterbacks would be…

• Nick Foles, Bears
• Jordan Love, Packers (rookie)
• Jacoby Brissett, Colts (Okay, that one makes sense)
• Andy Dalton, Cowboys
• Jameis Winston, Saints

What are the specifics?

Lock was given an awareness rating of 73. That seems fair, but some could argue it should be higher because of how well he seemed to pick things up as a rookie.

Sure every quarterback—even the great ones—have boneheaded plays. But there were some very spectacular throws that Lock made as a rookie. He sometimes looked like a veteran.

For the fans of running quarterbacks, Lock may not be your guy. He is rated with speed of 83, good for 24th in the league. I personally think that is bologna. He has shown to have some very good escapability and that is due to the use of his legs.

Lock’s throwing power is at an 88 overall, good for 29th in the league. In four year at Missouri, Lock averaged 7.4 yards per attempt. At the pro level, in five games, he averaged 6.5 yards per attempt (156 throws). It is going to be interesting to look back and see what some of these quarterbacks’ air yard stats are at the end of the year.

Lock will hopefully get to take more shots down the field.

Let’s take a look at his accuracy stats

According to NextGenStats, here are Lock’s passer ratings when throwing to various parts of the field.

Middle-behind the line of scrimage: 118.2
Left-behind the line of scrimage: 79.6
Right-behind the line of scrimage: 96.3
Left — 1-10 yards: 94.5
Middle — 1-10 yards: 93.9
Right — 1-10 yards: 116.5
Left — 10-20 yards: 104.2
Middle — 10-20 yards: 95.3
Right — 10-20 yards: 39.6
Left — 20+ yards: 52.8
Middle — 20+ yards: 118.8
Right — 20+ yards: 54.2

Based off of that, Lock had his most success throwing deep down the middle of the field. He had a passer rating of 118.8 when doing so. The league average was 87.6.

So what are his passing ratings?

Short passes: 80 overall
Medium passes: 79 overall
Deep passes: 80 overall

Hopefully new offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur lets Lock unload and take shots down the field. Heck, they oughta do that with their new offensive weapons. They’d be silly not to.

The Broncos need to score more points in 2020 and are counting on Lock and Co. to get better and better each week.

I still think Lock’s overall rating in Madden 21—compared to some of the other quarterbacks—is a joke.