NFL Draft Profile: QB Jake Luton

With the fully-virtual NFL Draft set to start on April 23rd, BeaversEdge.com will be starting a series of NFL Draft profiles for the Oregon State hopefuls who hope to be in the mix over the course of the three-day event.

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Following a three-year stint in Corvallis that saw him go through all the highs and lows, Oregon State quarterback Jake Luton is primed to hear his name called in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Exactly when he will hear his name is up for debate, but make no mistake, Luton is one of the most underrated QBs in this draft class.

The 6-foot-7, 229-pounder is coming off his best season in Corvallis as he took full advantage of the weapons around him en-route to 2,714 passing yards and 28 touchdowns against just three interceptions.

His statistics and leadership were certainly impressive in 2019, but perhaps the biggest feat achieved by Luton this past season was the fact that for the first time in his college career he was healthy for the (almost) the entire season.

The 'almost' comes from Luton missing the final game of his college career (Civil War) with an injury, but outside of that one contest, the 2019 season was by far Luton was the most healthy and productive he had been in his career.

There's no doubt that some NFL scouts and teams will pause when looking at Luton's injury history, but that's why him playing a near-full season should help ease those concerns.

There's a case to be made that Luton's stats were largely buoyed by the sheer-dominance of Isaiah Hodgins on the outside, but regardless, he proved that he can make all the throws at the college level and just needs to fine-tune his accuracy and decision-making to have a chance to succeed at the next level.

LUTON's NFL DRAFT COMBINE PAGE

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Highlights & Draft Analysis

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Projected Draft Position: Late 5th Round to HPFA

Heading into the NFL Draft, there's definitely a buzz around Luton being one of the real sleepers picks at quarterback. Luton isn't one of the highest QB's on the draft boards by any means, but there's a lot of NFL scouts and opposing college coaches that are quite high on him.

UW coach Jimmy Lake told News Tribune's Lauren Kirschman several months ago that Luton was the best "NFL quarterback that nobody is talking about" and that speaks volumes about what his potential is at the next level.

Despite the NFL seemingly shifting towards quarterbacks that are more mobile, Luton is old-school in the sense that he's a prototypical pro-style quarterback. He's going to be able to stand tall in the pocket and see over just about anyone on the defense and that's going to be a big plus for him at the next level.

He'll have to improve his decision making and look to make quicker reads at the next level in order to succeed, but given that he earned a combine invite and already has buzz, there's no doubt that at least several teams see his potential.

The two teams that have continued to come up when talking about Luton has been the New England Patriots and the Minnesota Vikings. It's hard to put much stock into mock drafts and speculation, but the Pats and Vikings have been the two teams most associated with Luton's likeness thus far.

Luton will have his work cut out for him at the next level to prove he belongs and can stay healthy, but there's no doubt in my mind he'll be drafted in the 5th, 6th, or 7th round. Some mocks have Luton going undrafted, but I don't see it based on the body of work he's presented to teams following the conclusion of the season.

The odds may be stacked against Luton to make it in the NFL, but this is a guy who successfully fought himself back onto the field from a thoracic spine injury back in 2017 that many thought would end his career. Luton has a never-say-die/never-give-up mentality and that drive to succeed is going to do wonders for him in the NFL.