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This tweet from Sigmund Bloom caught my eye yesterday:
Initial impression is that Mariota is somewhere on the Jeff Garcia-Alex Smith continuum
— Sigmund Bloom (@SigmundBloom) February 3, 2015
So if Marcus Mariota is going to have a career similar to that of Jeff Garcia or Alex Smith, where would you take him in the draft? Garcia had a solid career, and Smith is having a solid career. Those guys aren't transcendent talents like Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady, but you can win with those guys if you surround them with the right pieces.
We all want that franchise guy, the one that can take the team on his back and make everyone around him better, but how many of those guys are there? By my count there are 4- Rodgers, Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees. Andrew Luck is right on the cusp of joining that group, so you can make the number 5 if you like. In case you didn't know, there are 32 teams in the league. That means that the large majority of the teams are going to be led by a guy that isn't truly elite.
So while you don't love the idea of your team being by a Garcia or Smith, there are worse things in the world. Is that an endorsement of the Titans taking Mariota at 2? Absolutely not, especially with this coaching staff, but taking him at 2, even if he just turns out to be solid/good, isn't the worst thing in the world.
It would mean, however, that you have to be really good at adding pieces around that guy. That is something the Titans have really struggled with lately (I know, thanks tips.)
What are your thoughts on the subject?
