Jan 12, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) warms up prior to the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2015 CFP National Championship at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Quarterback prospect Marcus Mariota is a good athlete and the kind of person you root for. Many tried to will him into being the first overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft over Jameis Winston. But it seems to have become clear by now that it’s not going to happen for the former Oregon Duck.
Then suddenly, the scouting media had Mariota slipping all the way to his old coach Chip Kelly at No. 20. The Mariota noise level started to die down until Tennessee Titans head coach Ken Whisenhunt said he was “impressed” with Mariota. Shortly after that, the Titans said it would take a lot to trade into their No. 2 spot.
The latest thing out there is the San Diego Chargers trading Philip Rivers for the spot to pick him. But the bubble-screen quarterback with the inflated completion percentage isn’t accurate enough, missing wide-open targets down the field, even while beating Jameis Winston. As much as people talk upside with him, he has an average arm with decent speed.
His 4.52 40-yard dash is pretty good and when the scouting media says, “He can make all the throws,” that’s a nice way of saying he has an average arm. Mariota is a poor-man’s version of Robert Griffin III, who ran a 4.4 and has a big arm and it isn’t working out for him so far. The NFL adapted to R.G. III so I just don’t see where a poor-man’s version of him gets picked No. 2 overall.
Whisenhunt didn’t even like Jake Locker, who came from the same type of system so I can’t see him really loving Mariota. He undoubtedly hyped him up so he can get a trade he likes because he needs to sit for two years. He’s not worth a Top-15 pick and he especially isn’t worth a franchise quarterback like Philip Rivers.
The teams the scouting media is trying to see Mariota go to in the top 15 are trying to convert spread quarterbacks. The Washington Redskins are at No. 5 trying to get R.G.III going while the Jets have Geno Smith, who made some progress late last year. The Chicago Bears are at No. 7 but are much better off with Jay Cutler and the Cleveland Browns have too many other needs to draft a quarterback two years in a row while their dealing with a spread quarterback.
The only team he’s ready to play for right away is the Philadelphia Eagles but even Kelly isn’t willing to mortgage the team’s future to move up. Other than the Eagles at 20, there’s no team in the NFL that he can go in a play right away for. Remember, Aaron Rodgers sat a few years after he was picked No. 24 overall and he has 10 times more arm talent Mariota.
I tried my best to see it, even mocking him there a few times but I just can’t.
Please, no more about Mariota going No. 2.
No G.M. that knows football will do that one.