The landscape of the NFL Draft may have changed after Ohio State’s thrashing of the Oregon Ducks in the College Football National Championship game on Monday.
All season long, the talk was Marcus Mariota or Jameis Winston for the top pick. Well, Winston already declared, and as Mariota was up in the air, a third guy entered the conversation.
In three games, Cardale Jones made as much of a name for himself as the other two players. Now, just with those three games, the possibility of entering the draft has fallen on him.
For both quarterbacks, Jones and Mariota, entering the draft is the smart decision.
Jan 12, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) runs the ball against Ohio State Buckeyes defensive lineman Tyquan Lewis (59) during the fourth quarter in the 2015 CFP National Championship Game at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Mariota’s reason is simple: he does not have the tools to be a long-term NFL quarterback anyway unless he’s drafted into Chip Kelly’s system. So he might as well go now, while he’s a projected first-rounder, and take his money before the book is out on him. The Oregon spread offense doesn’t develop quarterbacks. If anything, he puts himself at risk. So he should go.
Jones, meanwhile, only has the small sample size, three games, working against him. But he has the physical size, the right arm strength, impressive athleticism, and has now shown intangibles to prove he could be a good NFL quarterback. On Monday, one big concern of his was alleviated: whether or not he could go through his progressions or if he would just take off if his first option wasn’t open.
Against Oregon, Jones waited patiently in the pocket and went through his progressions on plenty of plays. Now, the major reservation is if he would still do that without an offensive line playing as great as Ohio State’s did. But that’s a skill he could develop as an NFL quarterback in the right situation.
With that only reservation, and knowing his best chance is to be drafted by a team with an aging quarterback, he should enter the draft and be willing to sit behind a star quarterback for a couple of years to learn how to play the position at the next level.
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Jones has all the measurements, he just needs to develop. And another year wouldn’t do him any good. For starters, he still will have to prove he is the starter. And also, as great of a coach as Urban Meyer is, he does not develop the mechanics of quarterbacks. That’s not his thing.
If Jones were at Duke playing for David Cutcliffe or at Florida State playing for Jimbo Fisher, then yes, he might want to wait another year because those guys develop quarterbacks. The best thing Peyton and Eli Manning ever did was stay until their senior seasons in college to get some extra teaching from Cutcliffe.
But Meyer doesn’t do that. Tim Tebow was drafted on raw talent, but he never really improved at Florida. The same will be true for Jones.
So before he has to compete for a starting job and risk injury, he might as well enter the draft and take the money. One team is certain to take a shot on him.
Mariota should just go before the book is out on him.
Next: Is Urban Meyer a Top 5 Coach of All Time?
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