I was criticized the other week by some people that did not believe me that Jake Locker was the number one quarterback prospect in the country. They pointed to guys like Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy, Jimmy Clausen, and even Tim Tebow that were all better than Locker. Although they may be putting up better numbers in college, that simply does not translate to success in the NFL.


This is an important concept to understand when discussing professional football prospects. Steve Kelly from the Seattle Times took the liberty to analyze the current battle waging in Locker's head. With that said, here are is a bit from one draft expert:

Scott Wright's Draft Countdown:

However, Locker will at least have one year of experience in a pro style offense, which is more than you can say for Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow, and based on the way his draft stock is skyrocketing it may be in his best interests to come out early. Why risk injury or perhaps have to deal with the looming rookie salary scale when you are already a sure-fire first round pick with Top 10 potential?