Marcus Mariota's NFL Draft Stock Shouldn't Be Impacted by National Championship

Whether you're a fan of Marcus Mariota or not, 60 minutes shouldn't change your opinion of him as a potential NFL quarterback.

Mariota's only a junior, but it's all but a foregone conclusion by this point that he'll eschew his final year of eligibility and enter the 2015 NFL draft. Should he do so, he's almost certainly a lock for the first round and would likely be a top-10 pick.

Should he officially declare, it's inevitable that whatever Mariota does against Ohio State will be used to either bolster or weaken his draft stock. A great performance would "silence the doubters," while a mistake-laden loss would "raise some red flags" as to whether Mariota is a true No. 1 overall pick.

The thing is, one game, no matter how important it is, can't overshadow Mariota's overall body of work. He's a Heisman Trophy winner who's thrown for 10,463 yards and 103 touchdowns to just 13 career interceptions. He also added 2,198 yards and 31 touchdowns on the ground.

More impressive was Mariota's ability, especially early this year, to almost singlehandedly push Oregon through to victory. Mariota demonstrated both his athleticism and ingenuity, keeping plays alive and avoiding potential sacks. He also showed the kind of arm strength necessary to fit the ball through the tiniest of windows.

None of that could be erased with one loss. Mariota could take off both of his cleats and have a seat on the AT&T Stadium turf and be just as good as he was before Monday night.

Similarly, the question marks surrounding Mariota's NFL readiness shouldn't suddenly disappear in victory. And there are some major question marks about his pro potential.

Bleacher Report's Matt Miller watched more game film and decided to place Jameis Winston instead of Mariota atop his draft board.

ESPN's Trent Dilfer went so far as to say Mariota isn't worth a top-15 pick, via ESPN.com's Brett McMurphy:

Beating Ohio State won't answer whether he can operate in a pro-style offense or if he can be accurate enough to become an All-Pro quarterback. It's not even possible to have those answers until he's actually in the NFL.

If you want to understand the folly of reading too much into one game, look no further than Vince Young and the 2006 Rose Bowl. He had 200 yards passing, 267 yards on the ground and three touchdowns. Young also scored two touchdowns in the final four minutes to give Texas a 41-38 win over heavily favored USC.

PAUL SAKUMA/Associated Press

The Houston Texans owned the No. 1 pick that year. They were never convinced by Young, and they drew that conclusion after hours upon hours of research and analysis.

"We did an evaluation of Vince Young and it was unanimous not to take him," said former Houston general manager Charley Casserly in 2009, per Sports Illustrated's John P. Lopez. "There wasn't anyone in the room who thought he was ready."

Houston didn't let that transcendent performance, a strong pro day or what was a growing tide of public sentiment, cloud their judgment. It turns out that the franchise's concerns weren't unfounded, given Young's brief NFL career.

If you want to argue that Mariota's college legacy hinges on winning a national championship, then have at it. That's a topic that hinges much more on a player's on-field accomplishments and failures and less so on his individual skill set/talent level.

Mariota's draft stock shouldn't go anywhere, though.