12. Minnesota Vikings- Jake Locker, Washington Huskies
The Vikings were another team that fell short of their preseason goals of being a super bowl contender last year, and now with the departure of the ol' gun slinger Brett Farve, Minnesota has a serious hole to fill when it comes to quarterback. Head coach Leslie Frazier and his staff could go a variety of different ways with the twelfth pick, but I think the smartest move would be to take a pro-style college QB that can compete for the job from day one, and the best left on the board in this mock draft is Jake Locker.
Locker is a natural born athlete with a cannon for an arm, in fact he's been drafted twice in the MLB with the Anaheim Angels owning his baseball rights until 2015. But what will interest the Vikings the most is the fact that he is a mobile QB for his size (6'2" 231), shows good instincts when reading coverage, and is tough enough to take an big hit and still make the completion (kind of sounds like Brett Farve a little, doesn't he?) At the scouting combine Locker was only .03 seconds behind Tyrod Taylor for the fastest 40-yd dash time, and led all QB in the 3-cone drill at 6.77 seconds, very impressive indeed. His technique is good but it could use a little polishing, but if drafted, I think he can be a contender with Tarvaris Jackson and Joe Webb for the starting spot as soon as he enters mini-camp.
According to ESPN's Kevin Seifert, the Vikings were inexplicably absent from his Washington pro day, but apparently had a private workout with him earlier this month, so they may already be set on how they feel about him. Locker is a guy that brings the intangibles like heart and leadership to the table,things that the Vikings desperately need out of a QB, and in my opinion will be a successful player in the NFL.