There’s a “Luke” Kid In Town

With the 199th pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the Tennessee Titans selected, Luke Falk, quarterback, Washington State University.  The Titans may have gotten the steal of the draft when those words were uttered on stage.  Luke Falk comes from a high powered Pac-12 offense under Mike Leach’s heralded Air Raid system.  Falk brings a ton of arm talent, enthusiasm, and production to the Titans.  Falk finished his 45 game career at Washington State with a jaw-dropping pedigree.  His 122 total touchdowns rank second all-time in the Pac-12, behind current Titans starting quarterback Marcus Mariota.  A good-natured rivalry there?  I think so.  One thing is for sure, Falk is coming into the franchise with his eyes on the starting gig.

Falk in College

Through 45 games:

Pass Completions/Attempts: 1,403/2,054

Completion Percentage: 68.3 percent

Passing Yards: 14,481

Passing Touchdowns: 119

Those numbers certainly draw into question just why wasn’t he drafted higher than he was?  Why did he fall so far?  I think the answer lies in the trenches.  Falk played behind a dismal offensive line for the Cougars, where he was sacked 125 times.  He was continuously pummeled and punished, raising concerns about his health going forward.

Strengths

Falk stands 6’4″, which fits the prototypical quarterback size so many scouts look for.  He displayed a beautiful spiral and obviously touts high accuracy as evidenced by his 68% completion percentage in college.  He also showcased a quick, compact release to match his diverse passing chart.

(Image courtesy of 247sports)

He displayed good pocket awareness with his ability to buy time by moving seamlessly in any direction.  Falk also touts the ability to look off defending safeties which opens up the middle or post for a strike.  Falk also has shown the ability to throw his open wide receivers.  Again, why did he fall all the way to the sixth round?

Weaknesses

Falk has a very quick release, this can disguise his inconsistent arm strength.  The fact is that over 70 percent of the time Falk struggles with consistently seeing blitzes before it’s too late.  He sometimes leaves his intermediate throws floating, leading to easy interceptions.  His vision and decision making is suspect, as evidenced by the fact that the majority of his interceptions came against zone coverage.

Mike Leach has a history of producing passers with gaudy numbers that struggle to make it in the pros.  The most notable one is Graham Harrell, who struggled to make the 53 man roster in Green Bay.  This leads to reasonable questions about how well his game will translate to the NFL.

Falk has the talent to make the 53 man roster for the Titans and be a very good backup. The Titans are certainly thrilled to have him.

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