Now only two weeks away from the NFL Draft, everyone is talking about the quarterback position.  With the top two teams in need of a quarterback, it seems as though the two heisman quarterback winners from the past two years will be the first players off the board.  At this point it’s more about who’s going to go first, and who has the potential to be a better quarterback at the professional level.  There’s little doubt in my mind that Jameis Winston from Florida State and Marcus Mariota from Oregon are going to be the first two players drafted in 2015.  Here’s a look at what makes both quarterbacks so appealing and not so appealing to NFL general managers.

Winston

Winston has great size for a professional quarterback.  Measuring in at 6’3” and 230 lbs, Winston has a large frame which makes him more durable and increases his arm strength.  He only outweighs Mariota by about ten pounds; However, he clearly has a much thicker frame meaning that with NFL training he will be able to put on a lot of muscle.  Jameis is not an easy person to bring down which is one of the reasons he’s such a good pocket passer.  He can take hits and continue moving his feet in the pocket in order to give his receivers more time to get open.  Another strength of Winston’s, what makes him so sought after, is his accuracy.  Whenever I mention his accuracy people look at me like I’m crazy.  Winston had eighteen interceptions this previous season.  What most people don’t understand is that a lot of those interceptions were off tipped passes that his receivers should have caught.  Also, Florida State, unlike Oregon, tends to throw the long ball down the sideline.  Winston loves throwing the long ball and is great at hitting his receivers in stride.  However, when throwing the longball there’s always a chance the cornerback can make an incredible play or you don’t see the free safety sneaking over to help out.  Those two things are why he had eighteen interceptions.  Winston can put the ball where it needs to be and loves to throw the backside fade.  Whether that’s down the field on a go route, or a three yard slant on the goal line.

There are two things that I don’t like about Jameis Winston.  Number one, his poor footwork.  He can make plays out of the pocket if he has to, but he’s not fast or quick enough to be a dangerous scrambler.  He tends to keep his feet still in the pocket which can affect his ability to throw faster.  He ran a 4.97 seconds forty yard dash at the NFL combine.  That’s slow for a quarterback in this era of football.  Also, his maturity and off-field issues are two things that GMs worry about..  He’s always in trouble for something.  If he can grow up and dedicate himself to working hard then I don’t think it will be an issue.  Or he could end up like Johnny Manziel.  I would compare Winston to Ben Roethlisberger.  Winston may not be the rookie of the year but he can definitely help his team in a positive way quickly.

Marcus Mariota

Mariota put some incredible numbers this year while leading his team to a national championship game against Ohio State.  He threw for a total of 4,453 yards, had forty-two total touchdowns, and only four interceptions.  Mariota is one of those guys who can keep a play alive for 10 seconds then throw it down the field fifty yards for a touchdown.  His footwork is incredible.  He ran a 4.53 seconds forty yard dash at the combine.  Mariota is a west coast offense type of quarterback, meaning he likes to run lots of quick plays in a short amount of time to tire the defense out.  Mariota can run the read option with the best of them.  He’s elusive, shifty, and flat out fast.  He’s good at throwing on the run, however, can be inaccurate.  Accuracy is his biggest issue.  He tends to over or under throw his receivers on the run.  The read option is Mariota’s specialty.  He has great field vision and almost always makes the right read.  Mariotta needs to learn how to stay in the pocket.  There are times when he has a perfect pocket and time to throw, but for some reason decides to try and make a play with his feet.  Because of this, I think it may take him a year or two to develop into a true NFL caliber quarterback.  I can see him as a Russell Wilson type of player.
He’s fundamentally sound and has a strong arm despite his occasional inaccuracy.  He’s an intelligent person and has a great football IQ as well.  His success on the next level will depend on the coaching he gets and what sort of system he gets thrown into.