At the owner's meetings one general manager told CBS Sports that he is confident Oregon Ducks prospect Marcus Mariota, the 2014 Heisman Trophy winner, is going to be taken second overall. This GM gave no assurances that Mariota will be taken by the Tennessee Titans though, who do hold the second pick.
This is a look at the five teams most likely to take a stab at Mariota.
Tennessee Titans
We shouldn't get cute right out of the gate. This is the obvious pick if this anonymous GM is correct. Tennessee does have a bunch of holes on its roster, but quarterback just might be one of them. They've publicly expressed confidence in Zach Mettenberger, a fifth-round choice last year, but he's no model of stability.
Mettenberger threw eight touchdowns and seven interceptions last year in six starts and got hurt. He also fell to Round 5 because he had torn his ACL in college, and failed a drug test at the Combine. Mettenberger has talent, but Mariota projects to have more. Don't be surprised if Tennessee stands pat and takes their QB of the future.
Washington Redskins
Washington (No. 5 pick) doesn't have too far to move up for the No. 2 pick, and they have a history of big moves to snap up a quarterback they think is a star. That history could work against a deal for Mariota though, since Robert Griffin III hasn't panned out since a stellar rookie campaign.
Griffin burst onto the scene with 20 touchdowns and five picks as a rookie, and in the two injury-plagued years since has thrown 20 scores and 18 interceptions. Washington gave up a ton of picks to the Rams to move into the No. 2 slot and pick RG3, so Tennessee's haul likely wouldn't be as large. Still, for a prospect that threw 42 TDs and just four picks en route to the National Championship game, there will be a big cost.
Chicago Bears
The Bears haven't been mentioned much in these kinds of talks because they have an expensive veteran, Jay Cutler, under center right now. It doesn't seem as if new coach John Fox is in love with Cutler though, and he may still have enough name value to be dangled in Tennessee's face as part of a package for the second pick.
Chicago's gotten rid of some of the old guard, most notably wide receiver Brandon Marshall. Adding Mariota to develop chemistry with new No. 1 receiver Alshon Jeffery isn't out of the realm of possibility.
New York Jets
Gang Green seems less and less likely to make a move on Mariota based on their moves this offseason. They've eschewed a rebuild and entered win-now mode, signing veteran corners and bringing Ryan Fitzpatrick aboard to compete with Geno Smith at QB.
The thing is, they may view themselves as fairly complete as is-they did add Marshall to the receiving corps-and decide that they can part with some picks to grab Mariota. The thinking might be to let him compete with the veterans in camp, and if he can't beat them out, let him learn from the sideline for a year or two. These days that scenario doesn't play out very often, so it is a bit of a long shot. Fitzpatrick is no long-term answer though, so nothing's impossible.
Houston Texans
The Texans, like the Jets, moved to bring in a veteran in Brian Hoyer to lead the way this year. Picking at No. 16 though, that might've been a mere insurance policy if a master plan of going for Mariota falls through. Houston hasn't had a franchise QB in their existence, so Mariota would be an exciting player to add to a core that includes defensive bookends J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney. Houston may have to give up a lot of picks since they're not picking very high, but adding a dynamic run-pass threat under center to an offense with game breakers such as Arian Foster and DeAndre Hopkins could be electric.
[CBS]
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