Jake Locker's NFL Draft Prospects: Don't Waste Your Draft Pick
Along with trying to determine the meaning of life, one of our civilization's greatest mysteries is how anyone could still think former University of Washington quarterback Jake Locker is a viable NFL quarterback prospect. If Locker's actual mission before he started his college football career had been to spend the next four seasons proving just how unsuitable he is to play quarterback in the NFL, or in college for that matter, he could not have done a better job.
Right away, Locker started his college career with a troubling whimper as the hype surrounding him simply did not match his actual play on the field. His hype has tried again and again to cover up his deficiencies for his entire four years at Washington, but it is time to pull back the curtain and reveal the true Jake Locker.
In his freshman season, Locker completed an astonishingly horrendous 47.5 percent of his passes in his eleven games as Washington's primary quarterback; he actually threw more incomplete passes than complete passes, which is an amazing feat. Locker also only managed to gain 6.5 yards per pass attempt, and threw 14 touchdowns (4.5 touchdown percentage) to 15 interceptions (4.8 interception percentage).
Locker apologists may attempt to explain away Locker's truly awful freshman season by saying he was still raw and unpolished, but there is no denying Locker was a terrible quarterback as a freshman.
Out of the 117 FBS qualifying quarterbacks in 2007, Locker was 114th in completion percentage and 83rd in yards per pass attempt. The idea that someone who ranked so low among his college contemporaries would one day be good enough to start for an NFL team is nothing short of ludicrous.
During Locker's truncated sophomore season due to a thumb injury suffered against Stanford, he only played three games as Washington's primary quarterback. He did not play well during those three games, though, since he could only complete 53.6 percent of his passes and gain 5.5 yards per pass attempt.
The 12.8 percent increase in his completion percentage from his freshman season to his limited sophomore season is negated by the 15.4 percent decrease he experienced in yards per pass attempt.
Locker came back healthy for his junior season to a new head coach, Steve Sarkisian. Sarkisian had had success with college quarterbacks before taking over the Washington football program so if anyone was going to turn Locker into a decent college quarterback, it was going to be Sarkisian.
Sarkisian's tutelage seemed to pay off for Locker in 2009 as he had his best season as a collegiate passer; for an actual elite quarterback, the season would have been an embarrassment, but for Locker it was a marked improvement.
In 2009, Locker completed 58.2 percent of his passes, gained 7.1 yards per pass attempt, and threw 21 touchdowns (5.3 touchdown percentage) to 11 interceptions (2.8 interception percentage).
The term best is relative because even though Locker played as well as he could, he was still 71st out of 115 qualifying FBS quarterbacks in completion percentage and 69th out of 115 in yards per pass attempt. Yet again, it was a below-average passing season for Locker.
Locker then spent his senior season showing everyone the improvement he made his junior season was only a mirage by regressing to even further below-average levels. For his 2010 season, Locker completed only 55.4 percent of his passes, gained 6.8 yards per pass attempt, and threw 17 touchdowns (5.1 touchdown percentage) to 9 interceptions (2.7 interception percentage).
Compared to the 115 other qualifying FBS quarterbacks, Locker's completion percentage ranked 101st and his yards per pass attempt ranked 75th.
For Locker's entire Washington career as the team's primary quarterback, he completed a measly 54.0 percent of his passes, gained an embarrassingly low 6.7 yards per pass attempt, and threw 53 touchdowns (4.7 touchdown percentage) to 35 interceptions (3.1 interception percentage).
No quarterback who played that poorly in college is worthy of even being on an NFL team's practice squad, never mind starting a meaningful game for one.
No matter what or how many physical tools Locker may possess, they cannot begin to mask the ugliness of his college passing statistics, numbers that should really keep Locker from even being drafted.
For committing the cardinal sin of ignoring a player's production on the field in favor of largely meaningless intangibles, whichever NFL team does waste a draft pick on Locker deserves to lose all the games it no doubt will if it ever lets him start any games.
Right away, Locker started his college career with a troubling whimper as the hype surrounding him simply did not match his actual play on the field. His hype has tried again and again to cover up his deficiencies for his entire four years at Washington, but it is time to pull back the curtain and reveal the true Jake Locker.
In his freshman season, Locker completed an astonishingly horrendous 47.5 percent of his passes in his eleven games as Washington's primary quarterback; he actually threw more incomplete passes than complete passes, which is an amazing feat. Locker also only managed to gain 6.5 yards per pass attempt, and threw 14 touchdowns (4.5 touchdown percentage) to 15 interceptions (4.8 interception percentage).
Locker apologists may attempt to explain away Locker's truly awful freshman season by saying he was still raw and unpolished, but there is no denying Locker was a terrible quarterback as a freshman.
Out of the 117 FBS qualifying quarterbacks in 2007, Locker was 114th in completion percentage and 83rd in yards per pass attempt. The idea that someone who ranked so low among his college contemporaries would one day be good enough to start for an NFL team is nothing short of ludicrous.
During Locker's truncated sophomore season due to a thumb injury suffered against Stanford, he only played three games as Washington's primary quarterback. He did not play well during those three games, though, since he could only complete 53.6 percent of his passes and gain 5.5 yards per pass attempt.
The 12.8 percent increase in his completion percentage from his freshman season to his limited sophomore season is negated by the 15.4 percent decrease he experienced in yards per pass attempt.
Locker came back healthy for his junior season to a new head coach, Steve Sarkisian. Sarkisian had had success with college quarterbacks before taking over the Washington football program so if anyone was going to turn Locker into a decent college quarterback, it was going to be Sarkisian.
Sarkisian's tutelage seemed to pay off for Locker in 2009 as he had his best season as a collegiate passer; for an actual elite quarterback, the season would have been an embarrassment, but for Locker it was a marked improvement.
In 2009, Locker completed 58.2 percent of his passes, gained 7.1 yards per pass attempt, and threw 21 touchdowns (5.3 touchdown percentage) to 11 interceptions (2.8 interception percentage).
The term best is relative because even though Locker played as well as he could, he was still 71st out of 115 qualifying FBS quarterbacks in completion percentage and 69th out of 115 in yards per pass attempt. Yet again, it was a below-average passing season for Locker.
Locker then spent his senior season showing everyone the improvement he made his junior season was only a mirage by regressing to even further below-average levels. For his 2010 season, Locker completed only 55.4 percent of his passes, gained 6.8 yards per pass attempt, and threw 17 touchdowns (5.1 touchdown percentage) to 9 interceptions (2.7 interception percentage).
Compared to the 115 other qualifying FBS quarterbacks, Locker's completion percentage ranked 101st and his yards per pass attempt ranked 75th.
For Locker's entire Washington career as the team's primary quarterback, he completed a measly 54.0 percent of his passes, gained an embarrassingly low 6.7 yards per pass attempt, and threw 53 touchdowns (4.7 touchdown percentage) to 35 interceptions (3.1 interception percentage).
No quarterback who played that poorly in college is worthy of even being on an NFL team's practice squad, never mind starting a meaningful game for one.
No matter what or how many physical tools Locker may possess, they cannot begin to mask the ugliness of his college passing statistics, numbers that should really keep Locker from even being drafted.
For committing the cardinal sin of ignoring a player's production on the field in favor of largely meaningless intangibles, whichever NFL team does waste a draft pick on Locker deserves to lose all the games it no doubt will if it ever lets him start any games.
Labels: Jake Locker, NFL Draft, Steve Sarkisian, Washington Football
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