The Mariota Sweepstakes
Anyone who’s ever been to a job interview has probably been asked something along the lines of “where do you see yourself in ten years?” For Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, the question should be, “where do I see myself next week?”
With only days remaining until the draft, it’s anyone’s guess where Mariota is headed. Here are ten teams that should be in the hunt.
CHICAGO BEARS
Contracts aren’t fully guaranteed in the NFL, so a bad deal isn’t the prison sentence found in other sports. Dealing Jay Cutler, though tough to pull off given his $15.5 million cap hit, is not impossible.
But does anyone want him? Given his age, inconsistency and overall demeanor, there won’t be many teams lining up for Cutler’s services.
A Cutler trade is probably what it would take for the Bears to consider Mariota. With so many quarterback-starved teams picking ahead of them, landing Mariota with the seventh pick is probably wishful thinking.
If Mariota does fall into the Bears’ lap, he’ll have a solid foundation on offense. Alshon Jeffery and Martellus Bennett were stellar last season and Matt Forte’s role as a dual threat would give Mariota plenty to work with. Eddie Royal can be useful in the slot. Mariota would have a good but not great line protecting him in Chicago.
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CLEVELAND BROWNS
The Browns find themselves in the same place they were last year: in need of a quarterback. If we’re being honest, that’s really been the case for the last decade.
It’s safe to say the Johnny Manziel experiment has failed. Cleveland’s current starter, Josh McCown, turns 36 this summer. He’s not the team’s long or short-term answer at quarterback.
The complicated part is that Mariota figures to be long gone by the time the Browns head to the podium with the 12th pick. Cleveland has two first-round picks they can package in a trade. Whether that’s enough to move into the top five, which is where Mariota is likely to go, remains to be seen.
If Mariota does wind up in Cleveland, at least he’ll be protected. Joe Thomas doesn’t let much slip through the cracks, as the Browns allowed just 31 sacks last season. In Pro Football Focus’ year-end rankings, only the Packers’ line scored better in pass protection.
Cleveland’s crop of wide receivers isn’t the greatest. Dwayne Bowe is in steep decline and his new address won’t change that. Andrew Hawkins is actually coming off a decent year (11th in PFF’s receiver rankings) but calling him a star might be a stretch.
People forget this was a 7-9 team last season. If Mariota falls to the Browns, Cleveland could be in the wild card mix.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
The Saints have baffled us repeatedly this offseason. They traded away the game’s best tight end not named Rob Gronkowski (Jimmy Graham, if you didn’t get the hint) as well as promising young wideout Kenny Stills. If New Orleans wants to keep defying logic, all they have to do now is trade Drew Brees.
Don’t put it past them. As excellent as Brees was last season, he won’t last forever. For the Saints, it’s time to start thinking about the future. Maybe that simply means drafting a quarterback in one of the later rounds. Or it could mean the Saints are ready to part with their franchise player.
There is one other option. New Orleans could draft Mariota and let him serve as an apprentice to Brees similar to the way Aaron Rodgers sat on the bench while Brett Favre finished out his career.
Taking a couple years to learn from Brees might actually be in Mariota’s best interest. Look at how fast Robert Griffin III burned out in Washington. Quarterback is a nuanced position that takes time to learn.
Alas, Mariota to the Saints is probably little more than a pipe dream.
NEW YORK JETS
The Jets seem to have recognized that Geno Smith is better suited for backup duty. Ryan Fitzpatrick is a fine placeholder but he’s not someone the Jets can stake their future to. Of course, with the additions of Brandon Marshall, Antonio Cromartie, Darrelle Revis and a host of others, the Jets are built to win right now.
New York is a tough place to succeed. Smith has folded under the pressure the last two seasons and Mark Sanchez wasn’t much better during his time with the Jets. If Mariota was hoping to avoid the spotlight, this isn’t the place for him.
With that said, the Jets have some nice toys for Mariota to play with on offense. Marshall is a top-ten wide receiver when healthy and Eric Decker has two 1,000-yard receiving seasons on his resume. Tight end Jace Amaro hasn’t made the leap yet, but it’s coming. Meanwhile, Stevan Ridley and Chris Ivory are physical backs who can keep the chains moving.
Looking at some of the other teams in the running for Mariota, this wouldn’t be a bad offense to inherit. The question is whether or not Mariota will still be around at pick No. 6. If we’re going by the most recent mock drafts, that seems unlikely.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
Bill Belichick seems to have handed the mad scientist baton off to Chip Kelly.
What did Kelly do this offseason? Well, let’s see. He looted the Legion of Boom by stealing away Byron Maxwell and turned DeMarco Murray against the hated Cowboys. On top of that, he traded Napoleon Dynamite lookalike Nick Foles for Sam Bradford and shipped LeSean McCoy off to Buffalo.
All of that leads us to Mariota. We all know how much Kelly enjoys stockpiling players from Oregon. Kelly brought his fast-paced style to Philadelphia, so Mariota wouldn’t be in a vastly different offense than the one he ran at Oregon. Mariota played with a million Darren Sproles types in college and slot receiver Jordan Matthews seems like a good fit for his skill set. The Eagles don’t have a home run threat now that Jeremy Maclin is gone, but Mariota didn’t throw many deep passes at Oregon anyway.
Bradford’s contract is up at the end of the year, so there is incentive to pursue Mariota. Barring an unexpected slide, Mariota will be gone by the time the Eagles pick. Packaging Bradford with the 20th pick would certainly spark trade interest, but it may take more than that to move into the top five. Think of all the picks the Redskins gave up in 2012 just to move up four spots to draft RG3. Kelly’s lust for Mariota might be the worst kept secret in football, so the Eagles won’t have much leverage.
The odds seem to be stacked against the Eagles, but we’ve learned never to count out Kelly. He’s pulled out all the stops before and he’ll do it again. If Kelly decides he really wants Mariota on draft day, he’ll find a way to get him.
SAN DIEGO CHARGERS
Enter the dark horse. The Chargers can’t risk having Philip Rivers bolt (no pun intended) at the end of his contract and the Titans have shown they could be willing to play ball with the second pick. Rivers and the 17th pick for the chance to draft Mariota at No. 2 is certainly a trade possibility the Chargers will want to think long and hard about.
California is closer to Mariota’s Hawaiian roots, but that isn’t even the Chargers’ biggest selling point. San Diego is a fringe playoff team already with young players like Keenan Allen and Ladarius Green ready to make big leaps forward. Ol’ reliable Antonio Gates always presents a tough matchup in the red zone while pint-sized Danny Woodhead offers more versatility than your average back. For Mariota, the tools are all there.
The question now is whether or not Mariota is ready for the spotlight of Los Angeles. The Chargers are hoping to share a stadium with the Raiders there in a few years and Mariota would surely be the face of the franchise. Mariota has had some of his best games at the Rose Bowl (2-0 there last season), so he’s no stranger to the City of Angels.
ST. LOUIS RAMS
The Rams subtly announced their interest in Mariota by flying to Eugene this past month to work him out. If you look at the Rams’ roster, it’s easy to see where Mariota fits in. Tavon Austin is the most Oregon player ever (bizarre, considering he went to West Virginia) and Stedman Bailey (another WVU alum, if you can believe it) has just as much talent. With gadget players like Austin, the Rams could really college things up if they wanted to. Screens, read options, pistol sets, whatever.
None of those plays would work with statuesque Nick Foles under center. Foles also happens to be entering the final year of his rookie deal, which might explain the team’s quiet pursuit of Mariota.
General manager Les Snead may have to put his trade hat on to make this work. Poaching Mariota at No. 10 seems like a long shot.
Mariota would be nice to have, but St. Louis has other needs. Adding Kevin White, a true playmaker at wide receiver (and amazingly another graduate of West Virginia!), makes a ton of sense for the Rams. There’s a good chance he’ll still be around at No. 10.
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
The Buccaneers own the first pick in this year’s draft, giving them the clearest path to Mariota if they choose to go that route.
Florida State’s Jameis Winston isn’t a lock to go first, though he remains the favorite for a variety of reasons. He played in a pro style system at FSU, lost just one game in his two years as starter and though Mike Glennon has done just fine for Tampa Bay, he offers a much lower ceiling than Winston. Plus, teams are intrigued to see what Winston can do now that he’s fully committed to football. Throughout his high school and college careers Winston spent half the year playing baseball.
Winston’s off-field concerns, including an ongoing legal battle tied to an alleged rape, are why Mariota is getting consideration for the first pick. Of the two players, there’s no doubt Mariota is the more accurate thrower. Among FBS signal callers, only New Mexico State’s Tyler Rogers threw more picks (23) than Winston (18) last season. That’s a major red flag.
If Mariota does go first, he’ll have some weapons to work with. Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans both went over the 1,000-yard hump last year and the Bucs believe enormous tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins is capable of a breakout season.
The downside is Tampa Bay’s running game isn’t very reliable. Doug Martin seems to have peaked and scat back Bobby Rainey isn’t workhorse material. Marshawn Lynch’s meteoric rise helped Russell Wilson immensely in his first few years in Seattle. Mariota wouldn’t have that luxury in Tampa. With the Bucs, he’d be dealing with a lot of third-and-longs.
TENNESSEE TITANS
Tennessee’s reluctance here is a bit puzzling. There’s a good chance they’ll end up taking Mariota at No. 2, but there’s also been plenty of talk about staying the course with Zach Mettenberger. That’s preposterous. Mettenberger started six games last year and won none of them.
If the Titans desperately needed a defensive end or an outside linebacker, taking Leonard Williams, Dante Fowler or even Shane Ray with the second pick wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. But that isn’t the case. Tennessee spent a boatload of cash to shore up those spots during free agency. If anything, that position is now one of Tennessee’s biggest strengths.
There’s a reason the Titans have the second pick in the draft. Even on a good day, the Titans don’t have much talent on offense. Kendall Wright regressed badly last season (57 catches, down from 94 in 2013) and Bishop Sankey seems to be going through the motions (3.7 yards per carry as a rookie). Delanie Walker was a bright spot, but he’s already in his 30s.
At least we know Mariota would be in good hands with head coach Ken Whisenhunt. He resurrected the careers of Kurt Warner and Philip Rivers at previous coaching stops and has also worked with Ben Roethlisberger. Of course, that link to Rivers could convince Whisenhunt to pull the trigger on a trade with San Diego.
WASHINGTON REDSKINS
Do they dare?
Robert Griffin III’s career has been spiraling out of control for two years. Either the Redskins haven’t tried hard enough to trade Kirk Cousins or nobody wants him. What’s left is one of the sketchiest quarterback situations in the league.
If the Titans pass on Mariota, there’s a very real chance he could fall to the Redskins at No. 5. Jacksonville and Oakland both drafted their quarterbacks of the future last season. It would certainly be a bold move, especially given Mariota’s similarities to RG3.
Washington’s offense isn’t a train wreck, but it wouldn’t be ideal for Mariota. DeSean Jackson is obviously a stud but Pierre Garcon can’t be trusted and neither can injury-prone tight end Jordan Reed. Mariota is used to running backs that double as receivers, and Alfred Morris isn’t one of those.
As a former quarterback himself, you would think Jay Gruden would have solved the Redskins’ quarterback conundrum by now. That hasn’t happened. Mariota might be talented enough to weather the storm in Washington, but this wouldn’t be the best place for him.
