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http://mmqb.si.com/2015/04/23/nfl-d...ta-andrew-luck-robert-griffin-blaine-gabbert/
Damian Strohmeyer/The MMQB :: Todd Rosenberg/The MMQB :: Adam Bettcher/Getty Images
T-Minus 7 Days: The Draft’s QBs, Now and Then
We’ve spent months comparing Winston and Mariota to each other. But how to they compare to other recent first-round quarterbacks? An NFL team shares five years of its pre-draft quarterback grades. Plus, notes on Landon Collins, Marcus Peters and the race to be the fourth receiver taken
By Robert Klemko
Here’s an idea: What if we took Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota and every quarterback drafted in the first round over the last four years, and ranked them in order of how they would be drafted if they were in the same class?
I asked a high-ranking evaluator from an NFL team that has been in the QB market to do just that. He checked back on the final grades for each of the 12 first-rounders, added Winston and Mariota, then seeded them on the condition of anonymity.
From Luck to Ponder, Team X’s Top 14:
1. Andrew Luck
2. Jameis Winston
3. Robert Griffin III
4. Cam Newton
5. Blaine Gabbert
6. Marcus Mariota
7. Ryan Tannehill
8. Blake Bortles
9. Jake Locker
10. Teddy Bridgewater
11. EJ Manuel
12. Johnny Manziel
13. Brandon Weeden
14. Christian Ponder
In case you’re wondering, this isn’t coming from the Buccaneers or the Titans. This team and this evaluator doesn’t have a horse in the Winston/Mariota race. He submitted the list in the interest of debate, with a caveat: The grades span multiple management regimes.
So in that interest of debate, here is the evaluator’s view on the top of the list:
SCOUT X: You have Luck, who is in his own category. The only guy who compares well to him in the last five years is Jameis. A quarterbacks coach will tell you that Winston has fewer issues than Cam or RG3. Most guys are looking for a strong-armed pocket passer with the ability to read coverage. There’s no projecting that with Jameis; he’s already able to do it. We have Winston high, but don’t believe he’s quite as skilled as Luck.
The MMQB: But what about the interceptions?
SCOUT X: The 18 picks are more of a discipline issue. He has such a small sample size, so it’s hard to say he’s a chronic interception thrower. You had Kelvin Benjamin lost to the draft. You ask him who his go-to receiver was and he’ll tell you Nick O’Leary, who doesn’t project as a starting tight end in the NFL. You had drops, wrong routes. I think every game he was taking it upon himself to go win it.
The MMQB: And the off-field immaturity?
SCOUT X: Even with that, we still [have him rated higher] than both Cam Newton and RG3, because Cam had his own off-field issues, and RG3’s projected success was a question because he never had a playbook. With RG3, we felt he had all the tools, but there was still some heavy lifting to do.
The MMQB: And what about Mariota? Behind Gabbert?
SCOUT X: The only reason Gabbert was rated higher than Mariota is that I think they saw fewer fundamental flaws with Gabbert. Obviously you fast forward and this guy’s a gigantic bust. Mariota falls into the Manziel category for us, though bigger and with a little more polish.
* * *
Just remember: That is one team’s collective opinion. The exercise shows what Team X thought of the QBs before the draft, so the Mariota believers shouldn’t take the Gabbert comparison as a slight. This is, after all, an inexact science.
Damian Strohmeyer/The MMQB :: Todd Rosenberg/The MMQB :: Adam Bettcher/Getty Images
T-Minus 7 Days: The Draft’s QBs, Now and Then
We’ve spent months comparing Winston and Mariota to each other. But how to they compare to other recent first-round quarterbacks? An NFL team shares five years of its pre-draft quarterback grades. Plus, notes on Landon Collins, Marcus Peters and the race to be the fourth receiver taken
By Robert Klemko
Here’s an idea: What if we took Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota and every quarterback drafted in the first round over the last four years, and ranked them in order of how they would be drafted if they were in the same class?
I asked a high-ranking evaluator from an NFL team that has been in the QB market to do just that. He checked back on the final grades for each of the 12 first-rounders, added Winston and Mariota, then seeded them on the condition of anonymity.
From Luck to Ponder, Team X’s Top 14:
1. Andrew Luck
2. Jameis Winston
3. Robert Griffin III
4. Cam Newton
5. Blaine Gabbert
6. Marcus Mariota
7. Ryan Tannehill
8. Blake Bortles
9. Jake Locker
10. Teddy Bridgewater
11. EJ Manuel
12. Johnny Manziel
13. Brandon Weeden
14. Christian Ponder
In case you’re wondering, this isn’t coming from the Buccaneers or the Titans. This team and this evaluator doesn’t have a horse in the Winston/Mariota race. He submitted the list in the interest of debate, with a caveat: The grades span multiple management regimes.
So in that interest of debate, here is the evaluator’s view on the top of the list:
SCOUT X: You have Luck, who is in his own category. The only guy who compares well to him in the last five years is Jameis. A quarterbacks coach will tell you that Winston has fewer issues than Cam or RG3. Most guys are looking for a strong-armed pocket passer with the ability to read coverage. There’s no projecting that with Jameis; he’s already able to do it. We have Winston high, but don’t believe he’s quite as skilled as Luck.
The MMQB: But what about the interceptions?
SCOUT X: The 18 picks are more of a discipline issue. He has such a small sample size, so it’s hard to say he’s a chronic interception thrower. You had Kelvin Benjamin lost to the draft. You ask him who his go-to receiver was and he’ll tell you Nick O’Leary, who doesn’t project as a starting tight end in the NFL. You had drops, wrong routes. I think every game he was taking it upon himself to go win it.
The MMQB: And the off-field immaturity?
SCOUT X: Even with that, we still [have him rated higher] than both Cam Newton and RG3, because Cam had his own off-field issues, and RG3’s projected success was a question because he never had a playbook. With RG3, we felt he had all the tools, but there was still some heavy lifting to do.
The MMQB: And what about Mariota? Behind Gabbert?
SCOUT X: The only reason Gabbert was rated higher than Mariota is that I think they saw fewer fundamental flaws with Gabbert. Obviously you fast forward and this guy’s a gigantic bust. Mariota falls into the Manziel category for us, though bigger and with a little more polish.
* * *
Just remember: That is one team’s collective opinion. The exercise shows what Team X thought of the QBs before the draft, so the Mariota believers shouldn’t take the Gabbert comparison as a slight. This is, after all, an inexact science.
