A Tale of Two Quarterbacks

Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston have spent the better part of the last year linked. Reigning Heisman Trophy winner versus the player who everyone thought would be the next Heisman trophy winner. Pro-style quarterback versus spread quarterback. Their play did little to separate and we spent the better part of four months looking for flaws. Even when they met in the College Playoff semifinal, very little was discovered about the two quarterbacks.

I bring all of that up to say that Mariota has to throw at the NFL Combine this week, while Winston should not throw. Winston has shown what he can do on the field in a pro-style offense. His numbers this past season aren’t all that different from his numbers during his Heisman season and he has been doing in an offense that is suited toward NFL offenses. Mariota has put up eye-popping numbers, for sure but he has done it in an offense that capitalizes on open receivers. While that is good for the college football, we just spent a year watching Johnny Manziel trying to make that transition and failing miserably (for 2014 at least). Marriota is no Manziel, but his lack of preparation reading the field will hurt him. He needs to show he can make all of the throws.

Winston on the other hand just needs to ‘pass’ all of the personal interviews from now until he plays in his first regular season game. If you watched any college football over the past year, you know that Winston made the news a LOT. Many were for off-the-field issues and some were wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy more serious than others. His plays on the field are there for the viewing and a bad day throwing would feed the people who think he will be a bust the vitriol they need to spew that.

In the end, I personally think Winston goes first to Tampa (not sure that is the best place for him, but that’s for another blog) and Mariota could slide. After the Bucs, the next team with an immediate need for a quarterback is the NY Jets and they have Geno Smith already. So Marriota might be in for an Aaron Rodgers type fall which might be the best thing for him. I think he needs an edge and dropping in the draft will give that to him.

Despite all of that, this week won’t be the end of the tale of these two quarterbacks.