Picking Quarterback Luke Falk Was the Steal of the Draft
By Kyle Zwiazek
In a year where there was a plethora of quarterbacks knocking at the NFL door, the Tennessee Titans found a diamond in the rough with Washington State’s Luke Falk.
It is no secret that the Tennessee Titans have a starting quarterback in Marcus Mariota. He is one of the more exciting young quarterbacks in the NFL and Titans fans hope he continues to improve.
With that being said, the Titans needed to grab a quarterback in this draft. Since there were so many top prospects sitting at the top of the draft, guys like Luke Falk, Kyle Lauletta, and Mason Rudolph fell to the later rounds. These players would have been higher picks in a different draft class. That ended up being a blessing in disguise for Jon Robinson and the Titans.
The Titans need a backup quarterback. Some people think that they got their man when they signed Blaine Gabbert earlier in the offseason. Gabbert is about as inspiring of a backup quarterback option as Matt Cassel was. He is fine, but we all hope that he will not play a down next season. Luke Falk, on the other hand, has some upside and will fit into the Titans’ new offensive scheme.
Offensive Scheme
When Mike Vrabel came in as head coach. he hired the brilliant offensive mind of Matt LaFleur to take over as his offensive coordinator. With that move, the offense is changing to an uptempo system that should mirror what Marcus Mariota ran at Oregon. Luke Falk can fit into that system perfectly. According to his draft profile on NFL.com, Falk is a “rhythm passer”, which means he will be able to run this style of offense well. Think of the offense that Chip Kelly initially was running when he took over the Philadelphia Eagles. It was highly efficient and ran based on tempo.
Falk fits this style of offense perfectly. He will not wow anyone with his tools, but knows how to play the game of football. Also, he was picked with the same pick that the New England Patriots took Tom Brady with in the 2000 NFL Draft. Even if Falk becomes a third of the player that Brady is, this will be a successful pick.
Overall, Falk needs to be an adequate backup. No one is expecting him to come into the NFL and take it by storm. There is no pressure on the young man and that can be excellent for him. Marcus Mariota has all the pressure in the world to be a great quarterback. Falk is just trying to play football.