If you don't factor in the inherent knucklehead risk. Sure.
The ceiling by definition removes the risk.
There is no way he has a higher floor.
The floor is higher because you know he can operate in a NFL scheme.
Can we get over this "NFL throw" and "NFL scheme" crap? There are a ton of NFL schemes and a ton of NFL throws, and a lot of them look a lot like Oregon. Philip Rivers took 92% of his snaps out of the shotgun; league-wide, 58% of offensive snaps are out of the shotgun. 56% of NFL formations have at least three wide receivers. The Broncos go no-huddle on 48% of snaps.
If Mariota were entering the league in 1978, he'd have trouble with the schemes. In 2014 there are plenty of places which can use his talents as-is.
I said scheme, not throws.Rivers displayed both even from the shotgun. He won from the pocket and was my top QB that year. This is a terrible comp.
What does "NFL scheme" mean, then? To me, a hurry-up scheme with snaps taken mostly from the shotgun and 3+ WRs on the field per play looks a whole lot like Oregon's scheme, and there are more and more teams running those schemes.
Lots of things.NFL routes
NFL throws
NFL reads
NFL drops
NFL route progression
Whole field read progression responsibility
Route combinations
Throwing receivers open into space based on timing
Attacking all areas of the field with throws
Pocket awareness and responsibility
Manipulation of coverage with eyes
Presnap read responsibility
Post snap recognition of coverage
I'm sure I'm missing some. It seems some of you are the ones trying to make this only about throws when I and many others have talked about a much wider spectrum than that.
I'm wondering which of these things you think Oregon or Mariota doesn't do.
- What routes are run in the NFL that aren't run at Oregon?
- What is an "NFL throw"?
- What is an "NFL drop" when more than one NFL team plays out of the shotgun over 90% of the time?
In terms of read responsibilities, I think Mariota is above average in the NCAA context. He makes bad decisions very rarely, and he often stands in the pocket, or breaks the pocket and resets looking for a receiver.
Just grabbing some random highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_M0xfn5u6L0
0:54: Looks left, comes back deep middle and hits the receiver deep in stride.
1:02: Starts right, reads at least one, maybe two receivers there, comes back left and lobs a soft pass.
1:55: Looks downfield, pump fake, hits outlet receiver in stride.
2:39: Checks one read, slides away from pressure, checks another, breaks the pocket, keeps his head up, communicates with the receiver and makes a completion across the field.
3:30: Throws across his body while rolling left
3:33: Keeps head up, uses pump fake to freeze defender while rolling right, lobs soft pass
3:56: Checks read, ducks pressure, resets, throws to second read in tight window
Those are not isolated plays. He plays like that all the time. So even leaving out his top-notch athletic ability, he's a pretty dang good college QB. And he has top-notch athletic ability.