It's been an up-and-down three years for Jake Locker in Tennessee. Early on he struggled, and when he was showing promise at the beginning of this season, he got hurt. As a starter the last two years, he's missed 14 of a possible 32 games.
Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean says the Titans seem prepared to give Locker one more chance, but "he can expect to have some competition." Tennessee probably won't be able to select one of the draft's top three perceived quarterbacks at No. 11 (Teddy Bridgewater, Blake Bortles, Johnny Manziel), but the next wave of rookie passers should be there when the Titans pick in the second.
The second round has long been a graveyard for quarterbacks. Sure there's been Drew Brees and Brett Favre, but there have been far, far more the likes of Jimmy Clausen, Brian Brohm, and Kellen Clemens. But the last three years look a little better, maybe. Since 2011, four quarterbacks have been selected in the second round, and two of those guys (Colin Kaepernick and Andy Dalton) have multiple playoff appearances. Geno Smith could turn out OK for the Jets, and the Broncos seem to view Brock Osweiler as the heir apparent to Peyton Manning.
In any case, Locker figures to be the Week 1 starter for Tennessee. How much beyond that will depend on his play, and how much the Titans have confidence in him will probably be shown by what they do in this year's draft.
--Andy Richardson