Teddys offensive line sucks, and he has proven that he can stand in the face of the rush and manipulate the pocket under center. He also responds to blitzes very well and has shown the football smarts to get in and out of plays at the line based on what he sees from the defence.


Mariota ALWAYS has a perfectly clean pocket. Thats mostly because the threat of play fakes from the read option. He also never really faces advanced coverages or gets blitzed, again due to his mobility. Thats going to change in the NFL.


Now just because he hasnt faced it in college doesnt mean he wont be able to do it in the NFL. But its a big part of the evaluation puzzle. you know for sure Teddy is excelent at that and you have no clue how Mariota will respond to it. Teddy is better than Mariota in every way except the deep ball. Theres really no argument for picking Mariota over Teddy.

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