Jake Locker at the NFL Combine
By Mark Knight
Jake Locker is one of three Huskies that will be representing UW at the NFL Combine this weekend. He is going through his media day today and tomorrow starts his workouts, he plans to do everything except for lifting. Which, is probably a smart move, considering lifting can never help a QB. As a QB, if you lift too much (Brady Quinn) your stock will fall, if you lift too little, your stock will fall. It’s a lose-lose scenario.
His athletic talent is so amazing that he should be the top or close to the top QB in all of the categories at the combine. This type of freakish athletic ability is what will make him a can’t pass up prospect for one NFL team, similar to Tim Tebow last year. The upside is so tremendous someone will take a flyer on Locker.
As a Dawg:
A very detailed blog about Jake Locker’s days as a Husky is written
. A summary of his UW days is that he came into the program as the Savior of the program. He was very athletic and made an impact immediately, he struggled with injuries and lack of talent around him. He also struggled with coaching changes and some turmoil in the program. He came into his senior season as a Heisman candidate but failed to live up to the expectations set by the country, due to any variety of reasons. Regardless of some of these struggles, the majority of Husky fans do not think that Locker was a disappointment.
Projected in the NFL: He will most likely be selected in the first round though he has been projected to go as low as the top of the second round. It is hard to project exactly how a QB will perform over their career in the NFL. With his amazing physical ability he could go has high as a consistent pro-bowler but with some of his weaknesses he could fall as far as never making a splash in the NFL.
Strengths:
From NFL.com
"Locker is tall enough with a sturdy muscular build and excellent athleticism for the position. Has a rocket arm to make all the throws and fits the ball into tight windows. Shows the ability to scan the field and check down with very good touch. Extremely mobile and can make plays with his feet. Fierce competitor and leader."
Weaknesses:
Also from NFL.com
"Does not show the ability to consistently make his progressions and find the open man. Misses on too many throws and his accuracy can be erratic at times. Abandons the pass early and relies too much on his feet. Plays a bit recklessly and has missed a lot of games due to injury."