2017 NFL Draft: Sleeper Quarterbacks Who Can Crack 1st Round
By Erik Lambert
Luke Falk (Washington State)
Why he’s in the hunt:
Ever so quietly, Falk has strung together some very impressive victories for Washington State in 2016. In a three-week span he engineered defeats of Oregon, Stanford and UCLA. Those are considered three of the best programs in the Pac-12. He has a live arm, throws with good ball placement, has enough size for the position and puts up big numbers. Winning and production are two huge keys for any quarterback going into the draft.
Why he’s not there yet:
Falk faces the same road block as most others. His tremendous numbers are inflated to a large degree by the system he plays in. Washington State is a throwing offense. Almost exclusively. It’s news if they don’t put the ball in the air at least 40 times. So is Falk really that good or is he just a beneficiary of the scheme? At the same time he has a bad tendency to hold the football, resulting in too many unnecessary hits and sacks. That speaks to a slow internal clock.