Luke Falk

Luke Falk

• #4 QB
• Junior (Redshirt)
• Washington State
• Height: 6-4
• Weight: 215 lbs.
• DOB: 12/28/94

Statistics:

2014: 156/243 64% 1859 yards, 13 TDs, 7 ints

2015: 447/644 69% 4561 yards, 38 TDs, 8 ints

Luke Falk! The stats from last year are amazing aren’t they? But are they a product of the Cougars’ offensive system, as well as a poor conference, or is Falk really that good? The biggest knock on Falk is going to be Mike Leach the Head Coach at Washington State. Most of you know or should know Mike Leach from his days as the Head Coach at Texas Tech. Leach is a huge fan of the Air Raid Offense. This offense has made quarterbacks like Graham Harrell look elite and that is the concern about Falk. The deep-passing game is almost nonexistent in Leach’s offense, making Falk look relatively one-dimensional.

Physically, Falk possesses a solid build to exceed at the position. http://espn.go.com/video/clipTest?id=16924120  Falk’s not a threat as a runner, but he can really dance around in the pocket in order to elude oncoming defenders. Every time I watched him run for the pocket I just kept thinking please just go down. Slide and avoid the hit. Falk can make almost every throw and knows where to put the football. You’ll see this in the videos when he throws the fade, out, slant. Some of the throws where he pushes the ball down the field hang up for a little bit and I wish they had a little more zip on it or for him to find a way to get the ball there sooner.  However, for what Falk somewhat lacks in arm strength, he more than makes up for in his pinpoint accuracy, especially in the short and intermediate ranges. He is very good at getting the ball into tight windows and there are few better at throwing a receiver open. Washington State gives him a lot of decisions at the line of scrimmage. He does a great job of understanding defenses and where to go with the ball. The mental aspect of his game is what makes him such a good player.

Over the course of just three games against Oregon http://draftbreakdown.com/video/luke-falk-vs-oregon-2015/ , Oregon State http://draftbreakdown.com/video/luke-falk-vs-oregon-state-2015/ , and Arizona, Falk tossed 16 touchdowns and passed for 1,426 yards. Falk’s worst game in 2015 came against Stanford. Washington State plays at Stanford this season so that will be a good game to evaluate Falk especially since Stanford is probably the only team in the Pac12 that plays defense.

If Falk enjoys a productive 2016 season, he’ll virtually be a lock as a first round pick. I can’t remember whose mock draft (which btw it is way too early for) it was but someone had Luke Falk going 1.01 to Cleveland.  Pro Football Focus had Falk in the top 12 quarterbacks last season and noted he probably should have been in the top 10. With Falk’s great statistics from last year there is still some more room for him to add to those stats which basically ensures he will be in their top 10 this season.

The QB position is one that is hard to evaluate because it seems like prospects at the position either burn out before they get drafted or prospects come out of nowhere. For example, I don’t think anyone had Carson Wentz as the 2^nd overall pick in this year’s NFL draft. The combine really helped Wentz elevate his stock and I think the same thing can happen for Falk as NFL coaches will get to put him in NFL systems and situations and see that he can still produce.

In fantasy football the quarterback position isn’t one where you are taking a QB extremely early in a devy draft. The quarterback class for next year is assumed to be Deshaun Watson and Brad Kaaya at the top but after that I think it is really a wide open race for who is at the top of that next tier of quarterbacks. Enter Luke Falk. If you are in a super deep devy league and need a QB with Watson and Kaaya off of the board Falk could be a potential steal at the position.