Jameis Winston vs Marcus Mariota in 2015 NFL Draft

Oct 30, 2014; Louisville, KY, USA; Florida State Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston (5) passes the ball against the Louisville Cardinals during the second half at Papa John

Skill-set

When you look at the skill-set that Winston and Mariota bring, it’s easy to see that Winston is a prototypical pocket passer. At 6’4″, 240 pounds, Winston is the bigger (Mariota 6’4″ 211) and stronger to throw tacklers of ala Ben Roethlisberger. He isn’t as fast as Mariota, who’s a blazer but he’s mobile enough to avoid sacks, keeping his eyes down the field to look for targets.

Winston also has anticipation, throwing the ball to a spot, before his receiver makes his break, for his receiver to gets to that spot for the catch. He also takes more snaps under center and has an offense that’s much more pro based than Oregon’s run-and-gun. The biggest thing is from Randall Cunningham to Michael Vick to Robert Griffin III, running quarterbacks run themselves into injuries.

NFL teams don’t like to be without their franchise quarterbacks too long so that has to be a factor in a G.M.’s decision.  Mariota does have the quicker release of the two but doesn’t really use it, choosing to run when pressured instead of holding out to find a receiver. Both players have good arm-talent but Winston has more velocity and down-the-field accuracy to go with his 95 mph fastball in baseball while Mariota depends too much on bubble screens.