According to the National Football Post, the Minnesota Vikings will be bringing in University of Washington quarterback Jake Locker for a private workout today.
Locker, who could have been a very high draft pick in 2009 but chose to return to Washington for his senior year, has been bouncing all over draft boards since the college season ended. There are some places that have Locker going as high as the number 12 overall pick to Minnesota, and still others have him in the draft's second round.
Although I mocked Locker to the Vikings in the draft I did over at SB Nation Minnesota, I'm not quite sure what to make of him. Yes, he's a very gifted athlete, having run the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds at the Combine, but as I also note in that particular article, I can't remember the last quarterback that went from college to the pros and actually became more accurate. Locker's completion percentage was just north of 55% in 2010, and his team beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Holiday Bowl despite Locker completing just five passes (in sixteen attempts) and rushing for more yards than he threw for.
I know that the guy has a ton of athletic ability, and I know that there are members of the Vikings intelligentsia that like him a lot (Paul Allen) or think that the Vikings like him a lot (Judd Zulgad). But I'm just not sure what to make of the guy. I'm sort of thinking that I'd almost rather wait until the second round. . .because if the Vikings don't take him at 12, I don't think he'll be there at 43. . .and take someone like Andy Dalton, Christian Ponder, or Ricky Stanzi instead.
What do you folks think? Thumbs up or thumbs down on Jake Locker?