The first day of Senior Bowl practices almost always result in inconsistency in the passing game as quarterbacks work to develop a rapport with their receivers. Such was the case on Monday as Washington quarterback Jake Locker hit the field for the first time in Mobile, Alabama, taking part skeleton passing drills. Locker didn’t shine, but that doesn’t mean his draft stock went in the tank because of it.
NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock echoed the sentiments about first day jitters while evaluating Locker’s performance (via The Seattle Times’ Danny O’Neil).
“He was a little bit erratic today,” Mayock said. “And I think a lot of the quarterbacks are the first day so I don’t worry too much about that, but it’s really important for him – starting tomorrow – he needs to be as accurate as possible in the pocket.”
He went on to say that Locker needs to show scouts he can make accurate throws. There’s no question Locker has a cannon for an arm and an impressive scrambling ability, but he needs to show the ability to work within the pocket and accurately deliver on all the throws in the route tree. If he does that consistently this week, expect his stock to shoot through the roof.
Overall, Locker’s day wasn’t great, but also wasn’t terrible. He’s a little shorter than advertised, but that was about the only revelation to come out of the first day of work at the Senior Bowl.
Locker and the rest of the Senior Bowl participants will be back at work tomorrow, running through the gauntlet in front of the NFL scouting contingency. You can catch all the action on NFL Network throughout the day.
For the latest on the Senior Bowl, stay with our StoryStream throughout the week. For more coverage, check out SB Nation’s 2011 Senior Bowl StoryStream.