Marcus Mariota will be better than Jameis Winston in the NFL

Marcus Mariota will crush Jameis Winston in the NFL. He is the clear choice among rookie quarterbacks and in the 2015 NFL draft. Its all about the eye test. Dan Salem and Todd Salem debate in today’s NFL TD Sports Debate. Two brothers from New York yell, scream and debate the NFL and sports.

TODD:

Right now…well before the draft, before the combines finish up and workouts are complete, before the interviews, with just the college football season to go on…right now, who would you rather have, Marcus Mariota or Jameis Winston?

There is no correct answer here. It is as legitimate of an opinion-based answer as these things can go.

Concerns run rampant on either end. No one is sure whether Mariota can make all the NFL throws. After all, he’s never had to and never shown it during games.

No one is sure Winston can make everything else. He may have the arm for the NFL, but he may not have the brain. There is mounting evidence that points to him being either a criminal, a complete moron, or both.

For most of my sports life, I have been on the side of statistical, emotionless, analytical decision-making. I never put much stock in chemistry or being clutch or any of that non-math garbage. For once though, I think I’m going off script.

Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

I don’t want Jameis Winston on my football team. I would rather have Marcus Mariota.

Sure, I’m worried that he never threw to covered receivers in college, but a lack of evidence doesn’t prove the negative. It doesn’t mean he can’t make those throws; he simply hasn’t done it in-game action as often as other top QB prospects.

And everything else looks good. He’s a superb athlete and, by all accounts, a superb kid. He is accurate and knows how to win. He can play quarterback in the NFL.

I do not have confidence in saying the same thing about Winston. He may be better suited physically to make NFL throws and lead an offense, but he seems ill-suited to lead a team.

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DAN:

As far as opinions go, we rarely agree, and as much as you love to rely on numbers, stats, and real evidence, I refuse to ignore the eye test. You may dub this ‘off script,’ but I’m more inclined to call it what it is. There will be two quarterbacks taken in the top ten of the 2015 NFL Draft, but only one passes my eye test.

Marcus Mariota is the clear choice, the player I’d rather have on my team, the player I would draft, and the quarterback I hope my New York Jets select with the sixth overall pick. Jameis Winston fails the eye test.

Credit: Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports

I know what you’re thinking, Winston shined on the field. He put up great statistics. News flash, so did Marcus Mariota. Going beyond the numbers, both Winston and Mariota won the Heisman Trophy. Mariota defeated Winston in this past season’s Rose Bowl. The on-field eye test is pretty damn even, in my opinion.

Off the field there is no debate. Winston failed at every possible level, over and over and over again. Looking back at the three quarterbacks to win the Heisman Trophy prior to Mariota and Winston, the off the field issues certainly dictated NFL success.

Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III, and Johnny Manziel all won the Heisman Trophy in the three years prior. Cam Newton is having a stellar NFL career so far. Robert Griffin III had an excellent rookie season, only to succumb to injury and off the field distraction. He can rebound, but as far as a rookie year goes, he crushed it. Manziel had off-field red flags surrounding him. He had an awful rookie season and is now in rehab. Need I say more.

Marcus Mariota is intelligent, kind, and a superb leader. Jameis Winston was accused of sexual assault. He may be a great leader on the field, but if he’s the opposite in the locker room, what do you think will happen?

I wish both players success in the NFL. But Marcus Mariota has the intangibles, the skills you can’t teach, the ones a person must choose to learn. At worst, Mariota will be an excellent game manager. At best, Mariota can shine as a cross between Russell Wilson and Peyton Manning. Perhaps my comparison is too lofty, or perhaps Marcus has yet to be unleashed. The Oregon offense asked specific things of him and he dominated. That is the sign of a successful quarterback in the NFL.

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