Please no vitriol, I'm from iowa originally and I cheer for the Big 10. I amSpeaking as a student of football and former college player. I really like both of these prospects, they are very different and I think Mariota shouldn't be penalized for not being a pro style offense and assume he can't make all the throws. That being said, he simply has not had the nearly as much experience at making NFL type throws and routes as Winston. Because of this there are only 2 options for us if we were to draft MM. 1. Covert to spread/WCO with lots of quick screens and roll outs to help him ease into the NFL. This won't happen because we have already found our new OC and he doesn't run that offense and in fact almost nobody does in the pros. 2. Let Mariota sit a year or two and develop before starting. Mariota has the potential to be an Aaron Rodgers or RussellWilson. An elusive QB with quick release and but He needs to develop his medium and deep routes. Mariota has a reputation as a character guy and I believe he has the raw tools to develop into a great QB if given proper time to adjust in the necessary areas much like Aaron Rodgers and Steve Young did. If mm comes here and starts right away he will be ruined. Winston is high risk because our line sucks and we just plain have never done well at developing QBs. Also he has the very well documented character concerns. Lovie can't afford to let a new QB sit. I don't mind that MM isn't a swagger, brash guy. I think "swagger" is overrated by many scouts. I played in college with a Winston rah rah type QB and a quiet, lead by example guy. Both did a great job for us and led proficient offenses. I think our offense is so short on brash leadership that Winston would be a better fit if only because he might actually bring some fire to that side of the ball. Again this is not a strike against MM but a comment on the current state of our team. All in all, I think Winston is a little bit better prospect than MM partially because of his relevant skills but also because he wouldn't have nearly as huge a transition as MM will have in going to our style of offense under Koetter. If MM goes to another team and he starts right away he will likely be a slightly better version of Colt McCoy and Johnny Manziel. If he is given time to develop while working with a quality QB coach and mentor I think he could easily outshine JW long term. JW might not even be in the league a few years from now if he doesn't get a hold of himself. Normally I say BPA but we need a QB and barring something weird at interviews and combines I see us picking JW and nobody else because Lovie's seat couldn't be any hotter.
