New York Jets Draft Countdown: Making the Case for Marcus Mariota

After 40 years, the wait is over.

Maybe.

The New York Jets have another chance to take a quarterback with an early first-round pick, and Oregon's Marcus Mariota has the ceiling of a franchise signal-caller.

Potentially. 

There are a lot of maybes and potentiallys when talking about Mariota, who has put up video game-like statistics in his three-year career in Eugene, but there are a few things for sure: 

1. The Jets are no closer to having their franchise quarterback now than they were two years ago when they handed in the selection card for Geno Smith.
2. The quarterback position is one of the hardest to fill.
3. Mariota is one of only two top-tier quarterbacks available.

The Jets know they can't stay put at quarterback if they want to get over the hump and into the playoffs anytime soon. 

"We want competition at every position," head coach Todd Bowles said on a conference call with season ticket holders last week. "Ryan is going to compete, as well as Geno is going to compete, and we hope to add somebody else to compete with them, along with [Matt] Simms."

A little extra competition could go a long way to improving the quarterback position. 

Of course, the reasons run much deeper as to why the Jets should draft Mariota at No. 6. 

Dual-Threat

Both Rob Rang of CBS Sports and Lance Zierlein of NFL.com compared Mariota to San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, citing both strengths and weaknesses as reasons for the comparison.

Player	Colin Kaepernick	Marcus Mariota
Height	6'5"	6'4"
Weight	233 lbs.	222 lbs.
Arm length	33.5"	32"
40-yard dash	4.53 sec	4.52 sec
Vertical jump	32.5"	36"
Broad jump	9'7"	10'1"
3-cone drill	6.85 sec	6.87 sec
20-yard shuttle	4.18 sec	4.11 sec

The strengths: A cannon arm and a fast accelerator. Mariota averaged 6.6 yards per carry in college and picked up 29 rushing touchdowns in his three-year career. 

The weaknesses: Accuracy and pocket presence.

Rang says "inconsistent accuracy is one of several reasons why Mariota most closely resembles Kaepernick among current NFL quarterbacks." Zierlein says Mariota "will face the same challenges that several quarterbacks before him have faced in terms of learning how to read defenses and go through progressions."

Both Rang and Zierlein comment that Mariota—like Kaepernick—is not the kind of quarterback with pinpoint accuracy who will throw his receivers open on a consistent basis. But quarterbacks who can do that don't come around very often, and the Jets are no better off waiting for that perfect prospect than they would be if Mariota turned out to be a bust.

Bleacher Report's Matt Miller has a different comparison: Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, who has a similar skill set to Kaepernick but is a bit more accurate.

Mariota isn't completely inept as a passer; how else would he have put up 42 touchdowns against four interceptions in 2014? That being said, he'll have to be ready for some changes. In college, Mariota's job was easy. He often relied on his first read, with plays that were designed to get a particular receiver open. In the NFL, things will get much more difficult.

He'll have to learn how to read more complicated defenses and go through his progressions, all while building the pocket presence he'll need to succeed in that area. Until then, he can at least get by on his athleticism. 

Skilled Offensive Coordinator

So much has been made of Mariota's scheme limitations, but not enough has been said of Jets offensive coordinator Chan Gailey's ability to work within his quarterback's skill set to field a competent offense.

GENE J. PUSKAR/Associated Press

He's done it with the likes of Kordell Stewart (Pittsburgh Steelers), Jay Fiedler (Miami Dolphins), Tyler Thigpen (Kansas City Chiefs), Ryan Fitzpatrick (Buffalo Bills) and others. Gailey has shown that he's willing and able to use college concepts to help a quarterback make the transition to the NFL, with a sprinkling of zone-read and pistol formations in his time with the Chiefs and Bills. 

Mariota may be limited in what he can do as a passer in his rookie year and even in his second year; it may be wiser for the Jets to take their time rather than thrust him into the starting job. But if they want to throw him in the deep end and see if he can swim, Gailey will have to tailor the offense around Mariota's strengths.

That means giving Mariota plenty of opportunities to run with the ball and get outside the pocket. 

Pieces in Place

By most accounts, the Jets have had a slam-dunk offseason with one big move after another. They've methodically checked off almost all of the boxes with regard to filling their needs. 

Wide receiver? Brandon Marshall; check. Guard? James Carpenter; check. Cornerback? Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie; double-check. Now, only two major needs remain: Outside linebacker and quarterback. 

The Jets have already put the pieces in place for a successful offense, but the biggest piece is missing. 

Make no mistake, the Jets have proved in the recent past that you can, indeed, make a deep playoff run with a serviceable-at-best, detrimental-at-worst signal-caller (see: Sanchez, Mark). In doing so, they also proved that success is exceedingly difficult to sustain when the quarterback does not show marked improvement over the course of his career. 

The Jets may need a pass-rusher, but they aren't going to get any closer to a Super Bowl until they satiate their need at the game's most important position. You only get so many chances to pick a franchise quarterback; you have to take the shots while you're within striking range. 

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained via team news release.