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Shawn Zobel's 2012 Draft Preview
Shawn Zobel's 2012 Draft Preview is a must have on draft day. With his most recent copy, the 2011 Draft Preview, totaling 244 pages, 251 player profiles, over 500 ranked players, a seven-round mock draft, overrated/underrated, sleepers, team needs, and players to look for in the future, it has everything that you could want in a draft preview. It will give you all the top players by position and ranking.
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Testimonials
"Few processes in the sporting world are more complex than the NFL draft, and making sense of it can be daunting on the best of days. But Shawn Zobel's guide, once again, makes it easier for everyone from amateur to expert. His exhaustive research and meticulous attention to detail offer readers huge benefits, and his casual writing style injects life into what would otherwise be little more than excruciating litany of statistics. Anyone interested in getting a jump start on the recruitment process in the National Football League should make sure that Shawn's Draft Preview is a part of their reference library."
From his 2011 Draft Preview, here is an example of the player profiles: 5. Jake Locker – Washington – 6-3 – 231 – Senior – (No. 33 overall) 40 = 4.50 Entering the month of December in 2009, Washington’s Jake Locker was rated as the consensus top overall prospect for the 2010 NFL Draft and was drawing comparisons to John Elway and Steve Young with his unique athleticism and ability to make plays with his feet. After the native of Ferndale, Washington decided to pass up the guaranteed tens of millions of dollars and to instead return for his senior season, everything seemed to fall apart. His completion percentage, which had seen a steady rise from his freshman-through-junior seasons, quickly plummeted, his accuracy became even more of a glaring concern than it was before, and he dealt with injuries and a rotating door on the offensive line. Locker’s 2010 season was a far cry from the potential that he had shown in 2009, and he failed to come close to meeting the lofty expectations of his senior year. For those that believed that his poor supporting cast at Washington was the reason for his struggles, Jake’s lack of even good accuracy at the Senior Bowl told me that red flags needed to be raised. After working out with former NFL quarterback Ken O’Brien in the month between the Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine, you could tell in Indianapolis that there was an improvement in the way that Locker threw the ball, however not enough to change the opinion that he still has major accuracy problems. A four-year starter for the Huskies, Locker threw for a total of 7,639 yards, 53 touchdowns, and 35 interceptions with a 54.0% completion percentage (619-1,147); his best statistical season as a passer came in 2009 when he threw for 2,800 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions with a 58.4% completion percentage (230-394); Locker’s finished his senior year having thrown for 2,265 yards, 17 touchdowns, and nine interceptions with a 55.4% completion percentage (184-332). A leader who possesses the ideal intangibles that you look for in a quarterback prospect, Locker was two-year team captain for the Huskies. Built with the height and bulk that are exactly what a scout looks for in a quarterback prospect, Jake is an athlete playing quarterback; he offers unique enough athleticism that Washington considered moving Jake to safety in 2008 when he broke his hand because he’s such a talented player that the team wanted to have him on the field. His mobility as a quarterback is among the best that I’ve seen in the past five years, and he is the best that I have seen at throwing the ball on the run. He offers the quick feet to step up in the pocket to elude pressure as well the athleticism and speed to escape the pocket quickly when it breaks down. Jake’s pocket presence is outstanding, displaying a terrific feel for where the pass rush is coming from before buying time with his nimble feet. His ability to scramble down the field and pick up yards with his legs is where he offers additional value to the team that drafts him; Jake rushed for 1,939 yards and 29 touchdowns on 454 carries during his career at Washington. His vision down the field to find the open running lane is excellent. While he’s not necessarily an elusive runner, his agility and size make him a tough player for defenders to bring down in the open field; he’s such a natural with the ball in his hands. What makes Locker one of the most unique players that scouts have seen in quite awhile is that he’s by far more accurate throwing the ball on the run than he is standing in the pocket and throwing the ball down the field, and it isn’t close; he’s nearly flawless throwing the ball on the run. He does a marvelous job of scrambling or rolling to his right, cocking the ball in place, and delivering it down the field beautifully; his ability to lead his receivers while on the run is simply rare. I love the way that he puts light touch on his short throws; while he doesn’t fire the ball in to his receiver, he rather will use precision and great touch on the ball to delivery it quickly to the receiver. With near-perfect mechanics, Locker holds the ball chest high with a clean delivery. As a passer, there is no question about Jake’s arm strength, as he possesses the arm and velocity needed to make any throw that an NFL quarterback needs to make. He puts great touch on his throws and has displayed the ability to drop the ball in the bucket deep down the field. Having played in Steve Sarkisian’s pro-style offense at Washington, Jake’s footwork is exactly where you would like to see it. Although he’ll still need some minor refinement, he displays a smooth drop back, sinks his hips into his plant leg, and does a strong job of stepping into his throws. With his fabulous athleticism, he’s proven to be a tremendous asset on play action passes and boot legs, where his ability to sell a fake before quickly scrambling outside the pocket is fantastic. Where Jake begins to make talent evaluators nervous is with his accuracy. While not an extremely efficient quarterback as a junior, Locker showed the type of tools that you could work with to mold him into a better quarterback. However, in his senior year, there were inaccurate throws where he would completely miss his target and leave you questioning whether he was actually the same player that you had seen in 2009; however, he would do this consistently once or twice a game during his senior year. This is something that he must correct at the next level if he wants to go on to have a successful career. At the Senior Bowl, he sailed several throws over receivers heads and into the sidelines, and as a whole, he hasn’t seemed to find a comfort zone at quarterback in the last calendar year. For example, against three elite opponents in 2010 (two games vs. Nebraska, one against Stanford), he completed 16-50 passes for 191 yards, one touchdown, and four interceptions; 5-16 (31.3%) for 56 yards in the Holiday Bowl vs. Nebraska, 4-20 (20%) for 71 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions in the Huskies’ first game vs. Nebraska, and 7-14 (50%) for 64 yards, zero touchdowns, and two interceptions vs. Stanford. Five times during the 2010 season, his completion percentage was below 55.0%. While these statistics won’t lead you to jump ship on him, there is plenty of concern in the NFL that Jake’s deer-in-the-headlights senior year could last into his NFL career. Whether or not it has something to do with his inconsistencies, Jake scored among the lowest of any quarterback in this year’s draft on the Wonderlic test (scores a player’s intelligence) with a score of 20, considered below average. One reason why I believe Jake is better at throwing the ball on the run than he is when he’s in the pocket is because, when he’s scrambling and out of the pocket, his options to throw the ball are limited and rather than scanning the field for three-or-four options in the passing game, he is given one-maybe-two receivers to throw to before deciding whether to deliver the ball or tuck it down and run with it. Where this concerns me is that he doesn’t seem to have a great feel for consistently going through his reads and progressions; granted he’s shown that he’s capable of doing it in college, however he must develop a better ability to diagnose coverages and throw the ball to the correct read in the NFL, or he won’t be able to make it. Thankfully, this is something that can be coached, however you do have to wonder if the score of just 20 on the Wonderlic could impact his decision making as a quarterback, which has certainly seen better days than what he displayed in 2010. One last concern that I felt could have had something to do with his down season; the Huskies used more of a gimmick offense during Jake’s senior year where he would line up in the shotgun and run zone reads and a spread offense, which is something that he’s not accustomed to running regularly. Going back and forth from a spread system with zone-read runs to a pro-style one with play action’s may have been too much for him to handle at one time. Durability also figures to be a concern with Locker, as he dealt with rib, thigh, neck, and hamstring injuries in addition to his broken hand during his career; whether or not this was a result of poor offensive line play or because he’s a brittle and fragile player, he must do a better job of staying healthy at the next level in order to succeed. I project that Locker will be drafted in the late-first to early-second round, likely among the Top 50 players selected. In my opinion, Jake Locker is a developmental prospect whose physical skillset, potential, and upside are the sole reason why you would take him in the first two rounds, because his production in college certainly isn’t worthy of being drafted that high; no quarterback that goes 14-25 as a starter during his college career should be taken within the first four-to-five rounds, however Locker’s physical attributes provide the intriguing upside worth drafting him in the Top 50 picks. Locker has the raw physical tools to develop into a Pro Bowl quarterback in the NFL. However, he must land in the right offensive system and with a quarterbacks coach that understands his strengths and weaknesses as a player in order to develop him properly. In a perfect world, Locker would be drafted by a team that isn’t looking for a starter now, develop for two-to-three years behind a proven starter, similar to what Aaron Rodgers did out of California with the Green Bay Packers, and be given an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the nuances of the quarterback position, as well as adapt to the speed and the style of play in the NFL. I believe that this may be the only way for him to fully develop; throwing him into the mix too early could stunt his development and hold him back from being the best player that he’s capable of being. With his ability to make the short-to-intermediate throws consistently, as well as his mobility and athleticism, playing in a West Coast offense could be a good fit for him. I’m a fan of Jake Locker and I believe the sky is the limit for him, as he offers some of that “it” factor you look for in a quarterback, however he needs to be drafted into the right hands and in the right fit to reach the enormous potential, upside, and ceiling that he can present to the team that drafts him. Notes: Jake was named honorable mention All-Pac 10 in 2010 and 2009, and the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year in 2007. One of the top quarterback prospects in the country coming out of high school, Jake was rated as the No. 4 dual-threat quarterback and No. 68 overall player in the country, and the No. 3 player in the state of Washington by Rivals.com; he turned down reported offers from USC, Stanford, California, Oregon, Oregon State, Tennessee, Arizona State, and Washington State to stay home and play for Washington. As a senior in high school, Jake threw for 1,603 yards, 27 touchdowns, and just three interceptions while also rushing for 1,338 yards and 24 touchdowns. Also a very talented baseball player, he was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in the 40th Round of the 2006 MLB Draft but did not sign; however, in 2010, the Angels again drafted him in the 10th Round and he signed with them for $300,000, which locked up his rights in baseball for six years. Although he’s stated that he is committed to playing football, he certainly has a backup option if things don’t work out in the NFL.
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