The NFL draft is a month away and Marcus Mariota is getting the most attention, as Jameis Winston is expected to go number one overall to the Buccaneers and if the Titans don't want to take Mariota at number two, teams like the Philadelphia Eagles, San Diego Chargers, Cleveland Browns, NY Jets, Washington Redskins and Chicago Bears could be interested in trying to take him.
Mariota is coming off of a Heisman winning season for Oregon and with most draft experts predicting Winston will be the first pick, Mariota is in line to be the second quarterback off the board. According to ESPN.com, the NY Jets, Washington Redskins and Cleveland Browns are working out Mariota in private sessions and he is also meeting with the Tennessee Titans and Buccaneers. Teams are doing their due diligence, but Mariota is also receiving a lot of buzz heading into the final month before the draft.
CBS Sports reports that one general manager thinks that Mariota will go second overall, but it may not be the Titans who take him. There are a number of teams that have been connected to Mariota, including the Eagles, Browns and Jets. The Browns have two first round picks and they could use one of those to move up and they also have the most selections of any team in the draft. The Jets have Geno Smith and Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback, but they could look at moving up to take Mariota or hope he falls to them at six.
Pro Football Talk wrote over the weekend that if the Titans keep the pick and do not take Mariota, they likely will select Leonard Williams at number two. Head coach Ken Whisenhunt was asked about Mariota and he said that the quarterback has the ability to start right away once he comes into the NFL. The Titans plan on giving Mariota a full workout and meeting with him ahead of the draft and if they feel he is a good fit, the team could take him over trading the pick.
Mariota has received plenty of attention heading into the final month and now teams are starting to set up workouts with Mariota. According to ESPN.com, the Jets are sending six important decision makers to their workout with Mariota, while the Redskins have also scheduled a private meeting. The pre-draft process is always an important step with quarterbacks and if a team becomes enamored with Mariota, they could look at trading up with the Titans to get him.
ESPN's John McTigue writes that the Raiders should consider selecting Mariota if he falls to number four in the draft, but right now he may not even get out of the top three. The Browns may be penalized a pick for what they did last season with the text messaging play calling incident, but that wouldn't take them out of the running just yet.
The Chargers have been mentioned late in the game as a team that could jump in and Kevin Acee at UT San Diego writes that there is "serious speculation" that the team could trade up for Mariota. Philip Rivers is coming into the final year of his contract and the Chargers have not exactly worked out a succession plan yet.
