Scouting Report: Marcus Mariota, QB, University of Oregon
Scouting Report Oregon QB Marcus Mariota
There is no doubt in my mind who should be the top selection in the 2015 NFL Draft, and that player is Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. In fact, I think he is the top prospect to come out college since Andrew Luck came out of Stanford in 2012. What makes Mariota such an outstanding prospect is a combination of his passing skills, running ability, and intangibles this prospect possess.
When scouting Mariota the first thing that stands out to me is his playmaking ability. He has an outstanding arm that allows him to excel in the passing game. He throws a very catchable ball, and shows great accuracy overall. He is able to make great decisions as a passer evident by the fact that he has thrown for 101 touchdowns, and only 12 interceptions during his career. I also like the fact he is expected to make different reads in the pocket, and rarely locks onto one receiver. Mariota is more than capable of making plays with his feet as well. He has tremendous quickness, and I expect him to be the quickest quarterback in the year’s draft. He can throw extremely well on the run as well. The other thing that stands out to me is his overall character. He is a very competitive athlete, who has shown great leadership ability. He is a very coachable athlete as well, and will not be a problem for any team off the field.
While I would definitely take Mariota with the first pick, their are some concerns I have with him. The first concern I have with him is his pocket presence. He tends to stay in the pocket too long for my liking, which is part of the reason he has been sacked 29 times this season. He also needs to work on ball security in the pocket as he tends to hang onto the ball with one hand at times, which leads to fumbles. One other concern I have about his pocket presence is that he normally is in the shotgun. This raises some concerns about how well he will be able to adjust to being under center in the NFL, especially when it comes to dropping back from center. The last concern I have with him is that he played under Chip Kelly, who has been able to make most of the quarterbacks who have played under him look better than they really are.
Overall, I love this prospect and think he is the only franchise quarterback in this year’s draft. I could see it taking him a year or two before he realizes his NFL potential due to the concerns I talked about above, but I am extremely confident Mariota will be an All-Pro quarterback within five years.
NFL Draft Diamonds was created to assist the underdogs playing the sport. We call them diamonds in the rough. My name is Damond Talbot, I have worked extremely hard to help hundreds of small school players over the past several years, and will continue my mission. We have several contributors on this site, and if they contribute their name and contact will be in the piece above. You can email me at nfldraftdiamonds@gmail.com