NFL New York Jets

2015 NFL Draft: Pick By Pick Mock With New York Jets At No.2

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By @rickstavig

Marcus Mariota, NFL Draft

Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

The semi-annual pick-by-pick mock of the 2015 NFL Draft is underway yet again, and only one prospect is off the board. Shockingly, it isn’t a QB, LT or edge rusher, but a penetrating defensive tackle to help shore up the interior of the porous Oakland Raiders defensive line. So, with Leonard Williams (Southern Cal) off the board, and the New York Jets on the clock at number two, who do they pick?

Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon.

By now it should be clear that Geno Smith is clearly not the long term answer at QB. Even though the weapons surrounding him improved from ’13 to ’14, Smith has regressed developmentally. It seemingly came to a head this week against the Buffalo Bills when Smith threw three interceptions on three straight drives early in another ugly loss, and was benched in favor of 34-year old Michael Vick. Through a season and a half playing on a talented yet fractured team, Smith has completed less than 56% of his passes with a 19/31 TD to INT ratio to go along with 13 fumbles.

More than likely, in fact almost assuredly, head coach Rex Ryan will be gone after or even before this season is complete. GM John Idzik could also be gone. The franchise will be going in a new direction with new faces. There’s absolutely no better way to help this transition than selecting an elite young QB prospect like Mariota.

Mariota has just about everything you look for in a franchise QB. He’s got size (6-foot 4, 220-pounds), speed (projected sub 4.4 40), tremendous athleticism, arm talent to make every throw necessary, high football IQ, poise in the pocket and is blessed with the clutch gene. And unlike another elite QB potentially in this draft class, he’s not a constant headache off the field.

Sure, the stats Mariota puts up are freakish (68% completion, 2,283 passing yards 24/1 TD to INT ratio and 325 rushing yards with 5 TD’s), but much of that is due to the Oregon offense. Stats aren’t a good way in terms of projecting pro ability (e.g. Smith, Geno), but just a few minutes of game tape on Mariota and you can see his undeniable ability. He’s got franchise QB written all over him, what the J-E-T-S haven’t had arguably since Broadway Joe Namath.

Who else was considered here? Jameis Winston, QB, FSU. Winston may have even more raw talent than Mariota, but comes with a tremendous amount of baggage. Without a doubt though, the Jets need to start thinking about finding a true franchise QB, especially with the flood of changes expected this offseason.

Rick Stavig is an NFL Draft Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @rickstavig or add him to your network on Google+.

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