"He had below a 60 percent completion rate!"
"Blaine Gabbert was still on the board!"
"What a reach!"
Yes, those are just some of the comments I heard when the Tennessee Titans shocked most of the NFL world by choosing Washington quarterback Jake Locker with the 8th overall pick. The disapproval rate of the selection was overwhelming and I felt like one of the few Titans fans who were okay with the pick. I admittedly was shocked at first and wanted Nick Fairley of Auburn, but I never flat-out hated the pick because I think Locker can become a very good NFL quarterback in the right situation.
Here in Tennessee, Locker is in the right situation. The front office is more than committed to pick up a veteran free agent quarterback to start, so Locker won't be forced into action right away. Bringing back Kerry Collins is also a possibility and as much flak he gets, he actually played above-average when healthy and given time in the pocket.
He has a quarterback guru to learn under. Chris Palmer has had a lot of success with young signal-callers; most recently with Eli Manning and Tony Romo. Palmer wanted Locker from the beginning and the two have even planned to spend time in July at Cape Cod. Why is Locker going to be at Cape Cod then? He's getting married and wants to spend his honeymoon with his wife and his offensive coordinator. That's dedication.
He has plenty of offensive weapons to help him. He has the best runningback in the league in Chris Johnson to hand the ball to and on the outside, there's one of the most explosive young receivers in Kenny Britt. Athletic freak Jared Cook excited many in his extended playing time at the end of 2010 and his offensive linemates are very solid, especially former All-Pro tackles Michael Roos and David Stewart. This isn't the group of no-bodies that Locker had with Washington, no, this is one of the brightest young offenses in the NFL. All they were missing was a quarterback.
The biggest knock on Locker is his accuracy, but if you watch tape, you'd see that a positive in his game is his accuracy out of the pocket. He's probably the best quarterback in this class at throwing on the run but the concerns are when he's in the pocket. But how many times was he actually comfortable in the pocket?
Most of his offensive teammates weren't Pac 10 level talent thanks to the recruiting practices of former coach Tyrone Willingham, so plenty of times the pocket collapsed extremely early and his receivers would drop catchable balls. I'm not denying that his accuracy needs work, but the situation he was in at Washington was a tough one to say the least.
His work ethic and leadership abilities already surpass the last Titans quarterback that wore #10. I already mentioned how he's planning to vacation with his offensive coordinator, but from a leadership standpoint, he stayed for his senior year to complete two goals: to get his degree and to lead Washington to their first bowl game since 2002. Despite his stock dropping with the emergence of other quarterbacks, he completed both goals, even leading the Huskies to a revenge win over Nebraska - a team that beat them earlier in the regular season.
Ever since Mike Reinfeldt took over for Floyd Reese as the team's General Manager, the Titans' first round selections have been great. Michael Griffin, although inconsistent at times, is one of the better safeties in the league. The aforementioned Johnson was a reach but he turned out okay. Britt, like I said, is one of the most explosive young receivers and despite a knee injury, last year's selection Derrick Morgan looks like the best defensive end in Tennessee since Jevon Kearse if/when he recovers fully. With all of those positive selections, it won't be much of a surprise if Locker turns out to be a winner as well.
There has been plenty of quarterbacks who have entered the league with accuracy concerns who turned out to be great, including one of the franchise's best in the late Steve McNair. I'm not saying he's the next McNair, but I feel we've gotten an excellent individual who has a great head on his shoulders and I'm very excited to have him as a Tennessee Titan.
Welcome to Tennessee, Jake Locker.
