Is Oregon Ducks QB Marcus Mariota Worthy of the No. 1 Overall Pick?

Oregon's Marcus Mariota is everything a team wants in a franchise quarterback. Mariota isn't an infallible NFL draft prospect, though. 

The common theme that will resonate throughout the draft process over the course of the next four months is, "There is no Andrew Luck in this year's class."

While that may be true, it also doesn't preclude teams from selecting a top talent at quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick. The reality is prospects like Luck, Peyton Manning and John Elway come around once every 20 years or so. But there are plenty of top-notch quarterbacks that have played in the NFL between their selections. 

As with any prospect, the evaluations begin with an assessment of the player's physical tools. Does the prospect possess the baseline physical traits necessary to excel at the NFL level?

Mariota does and then some. 

The Ducks quarterback stands 6'4" and weighs 219 pounds. He clearly has the requisite height where his vision won't be impeded by offensive linemen and enough girth to take some of the pounding he'll receive in the NFL. The Hawaiian native could even add five to 10 pounds to his lanky frame as he matures and not lose any of his athleticism. 

Some questions will be raised about Mariota's arm strength. He doesn't have a howitzer attached to his right shoulder, but he still owns an above-average arm. The velocity on his passes are helped by a smooth, compact delivery, quick hip turn and an ability to consistently spin the football. 

Entering the Pac-12 Championship Game, Mariota proved to be highly efficient driving the ball down the field:  

But the area that will be discussed most—potentially to Mariota's detriment—is his pure athletic ability. 

Player	Team	Official time
Griffin III	Redskins	4.41
Kaepernick	49ers	4.53
Wilson	Seahawks	4.55
Newton	Panthers	4.59
Locker	Titans	4.59

Mariota isn't simply one of the most athletic quarterbacks in the nation; he's one of the best athletes, period. 

The quarterback glides about the field. Oregon coaches claim Mariota has been timed in the low 4.4-second range when the team ran 40-yard dashes last spring. Since the NFL started posting official times on its site in 2006, four quarterbacks ran a 4.4-second 40-yard dash. Only Robert Griffin III is still playing quarterback in the league. 

To illustrate Mariota's pure speed, he already proved he can run stride-for-stride with one of the college football's fastest men. Oregon wide receiver Devon Allen also competes on the school's track team, and he is the current NCAA champion in the 110-meter hurdles. 

Mariota's 40-time was supposedly faster than Allen's, while the wide receiver told FOX Sports' Bruce Feldman that the quarterback was able to keep up with him in a 100-meter race: 

However, Mariota will be incorrectly identified as a run-first quarterback due to his immense athletic gifts and Oregon's spread offense. 

Yes, Mariota is dynamic when asked to run the football. Once he hits his top gear, he's usually gone. Oregon also employs the zone read. 

The most impressive aspect of his game, though, is his decision-making within the Ducks' offensive scheme. 

Below is a look at some of the top prospects drafted in the past three years that were also considered highly athletic. Only the aforementioned Luck ran the ball less, but none were more effective than Mariota. 

Player	Team	Carries	Rush Yards	YPC	Touchdowns
Mariota	Oregon	319	2,136	6.7	28
Manziel	Texas A&M	345	2,169	6.3	30
Griffin III	Baylor	528	2,257	4.3	33
Luck	Stanford	163	957	5.9	7
Newton	Auburn	285	1,586	5.6	24

To place those statistics into further context, Mariota started for three years at Oregon. Manziel was behind center at Texas A&M for two years, while Newton was only a full-time starter for one year after transferring from the Florida Gators to the Auburn Tigers with a stop at Blinn College sandwiched between the two. 

Unlike other spread quarterbacks to enter the NFL in recent years—ahem, Mr. Manziel and Mr. Griffin—Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich, who previously served as the team's offensive coordinator before Chip Kelly left the program, asked his signal-caller to consistently make more than one read in the passing attack. Mariota really grew in this area in 2013 and only improved this season with better overall footwork and awareness in the pocket. He could be seen regularly checking to his second or third options. Some can argue Mariota's options weren't exactly NFL-caliber reads, but quick eyes tend to translate at the next level. 

Due to an ability to process information quickly on the field and a strong work ethic off it, Mariota posted an astounding 101-to-12 touchdown-to-interception ratio during his career. As a starter, the Oregon signal-caller averaged over 33 passing touchdowns per season to four interceptions.

Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost admitted to Feldman that he marvels at Mariota's recognition: 

This is where the crux of the argument for or against Mariota as a top prospect begins. 

As talented as he is, there are still lingering concerns about how his skills will translate to the next level due to Oregon's tremendous offensive scheme. 

Are Mariota's statistics a byproduct of the Ducks' wide-open offense?

They are to an extent, but he has the natural ability to further develop and excel at the next level. Pro Football Focus' Steve Palazzolo provided an example below that displays the give-and-take teams must consider as it pertains to Mariota's production versus Oregon's system. 

The vertical route in the pictured play cleared the way for the short underneath route. Mariota saw an open target that resulted in an easy completion and a big gain. 

However, the scheme isn't the only positive on a play such as this. The quarterback still needs to recognize the right read and place the ball in a position where the receiver can run after the catch. Mariota did both.

There were cases when Mariota's ball placement could be erratic. Despite a 68.3 completion percentage during his Heisman campaign, he can be a streaky passer. This problem was exacerbated at times, as he was rarely asked to throw into tight windows. 

NFL teams will be concerned with Mariota's ability to recognize complicated coverage schemes and his ability to consistently throw into small, closing windows. At Oregon, he wasn't consistently asked to do so, but he displayed the ability to place the ball into very tight areas, particularly when he was on the run outside of the pocket. 

These are the areas where Mariota will need to grow as a quarterback during the early portions of his career in the NFL. Some of it is simply a natural learning curve that all young quarterbacks need to overcome. It will simply be magnified in Mariota's case due to what he was asked to do during his collegiate career. 

A much-anticipated measurement during the NFL combine in Indianapolis, Indiana, will be Mariota's hand size. 

The one physical trait that may be lacking for Mariota is his grip on the football. The quarterback showed a tendency to fumble the football when under pressure. He has a tendency to carry the ball loosely while in the pocket, and it can be knocked out by opportunistic defenders.

Also, football traditionalists around the league may view Mariota's laid-back attitude as a negative. He isn't a demonstrative leader. It's one of the knocks that followed the Vikings' Teddy Bridgewater throughout the process. It isn't necessarily a negative for Mariota, though. Instead, it may indicate his laser focus on the job at hand. 

Darnell Arceneaux, Mariota’s high school coach at Saint Louis in Honolulu, described Mariota's personality to SI.com's Lindsay Schnell: 

"

Everybody thinks he’s boring. I think he’s just sacrificing for his dream (of winning the Heisman and playing in the NFL). He’s not going to jeopardize this opportunity. This is a pride thing for him, for all of us in Hawaii: We are in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and people think all we can do is produce linemen. He can change that. He can help put us on the map.

"

Oregon teammates, such as left tackle Jake Fisher, don't view Mariota's attitude as a detriment, per the Associated Press' Dan Greenspan:

Should the Tampa Bay Buccaneers seriously consider Mariota with the No. 1 overall pick?

Absolutely. The positives for Mariota far outweigh the negatives.

Here is an a scouting report for Bridgewater from last year, courtesy of NFL.com: 

"

Has a very lean, narrow frame with limited bulk and small hands. Does not drive the ball with velocity down the field and can be affected by cold and windy conditions (see Cincinnati). Can improve placement and touch on the deep ball. Adequate athlete. Is not an overly elusive scrambler -- struggles escaping the rush and buying a second chance with his feet vs. pressure. Passing stats are padded from operating a passing game that relies heavily on short, lateral tosses. Long-term durability could become a concern without continued strength and weight gains.

"

Some of those same exact things—lean frame, small hands, does not drive ball down the field, passing stats padded—will be written about Mariota. However, Bridgewater turned out just fine during his rookie campaign and played as well as any quarterback in the NFL over the past month. 

Every top prospect is picked apart as the draft nears. It's the nature of the beast. 

A team can't simply look at the negatives regarding a prospect to determine its course of action. What that prospect can bring to the franchise and his overall room for growth are the important things to consider.

After a season with plenty of offensive struggles due to an unsettled quarterback position, the Buccaneers would be an ideal situation in which to place Mariota.

The team already owns a pair of 1,000-yard wide receivers in Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson. The career of running back Doug Martin was revived late in the season. He'll share time in the backfield next year with the team's third-round pick in the 2014 NFL draft, Charles Sims. Demar Dotson shifted to left tackle during the final two games and held his own, which makes the blind side less of a concern. The team recently signed tight end Brandon Myers to an extension. Plus, rookie tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, another 6'5" target, should be healthy and demand a bigger role in 2015. 

Aside from some inevitable tinkering to the right side of Tampa Bay's offensive line, the cockpit has been built for a top talent at quarterback to take over and excel early in his career. 

That quarterback should be Mariota, who is worthy of being the No. 1 overall selection in the 2015 NFL draft. 

Brent Sobleski covers the NFC South for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.