I feel the same way and have said it all year! Winston's risk taking by forcing throws that leads to interceptions is down right scary... His off the field issues also down right scary... He has a nice arm and does have heart but IMO he has 2 MAJOR red flags. Mariota's production, numbers, athleticism, ball security and pure football skill are impressive. His lead by example approach is similar to Andrew Luck. He also has ZERO off the field issues. This kid is going to be a stud. If there is a hope in the world the Bucs want to gamble on Winston and pass on Mariota... Mac has to pick up the phone and call the Titans!
While he's in the minority, its not absurd at all to think Mariota is the better QB prospect. My question is what changed his mind between Mayock Board 2.0 and 3.0? What changed between March 2nd and now that would lead you to believe Mariota was suddenly a better prospect. Did he not do a good enough job looking at tape earlier in the off-season? Did Mariota's tape change? Both of his player rankings were done after the combine so that didnt change anything. Were the pro day's enough to change his opinion? He killed Bridgewater because of his ProDay and now Teddy looks like he has a real future ahead of him. My guess is he is purposely going against the grain. If he's right and Mariota is the better player (super possible), than he looks great. If he is wrong, it doesnt matter, because no draft analysts are ever held accountable when incorrect. In this case, Mariota could without a doubt be the better player. Winston has serious off the field concerns. I just wish some of these draft analysts had some consistency in their rankings. Jaws pulled the same crap last year with Manziel. The entire off-season, Jaws said Manziel is not a pro QB and shouldnt be taken in the first 3 rounds. Manziel has his pro day and Jaws falls in love. No one is ever held accountable in this business.
You want to know what happened? Team board are beginning to shape up and sources are letting him know who they have ranked where. "Player stock" doesn't flucutate that much. The scouts have these guys pegged, the analysts make their guesses and adjust as info becomes available.
I think Mayock is a guy who talks to a plethora of pro scouts off the record and IMO he has been persuaded to favour Mariota. Plus as you said if he's right he's a genius if wrong who cares...
So wouldnt that make him just a reporter and not an analyst? I was under the impression that his job was to evaluate prospects and rank them. Not evaluate prospects until a source tells him his ranking was incorrect.
My take is earlier he was possibly influenced by everyone else. Because Winston was so great last year and played in a pro offense and was easier to assess, he got caught up in that. As he reviewed the film again and thought about their strengths and weaknesses again, perhaps he saw something he had missed earlier or looking at it a second time opened his eyes. Perhaps he saw that Mariota was making a lot of NFL type reads and throws, and with more research he realized that Mariota is a better and safer pick. For all of Winston's supposedly off the charts football IQ, he sure did make a lot of HORRIBLE decisions/reads last year, put his team in big holes and turn the ball over a lot. Maybe Mayock really started focusing on how Winston has been severely overrated because of the talent he played with at FSU. I could be wrong of course, but I don't see Mayock as the type to intentionally go against the grain just to be a contrarian.
Certainly an option. I 100% think he is just trying to play the contrarian. I doubt he let his first two mocks be influenced by other people and is just now coming to the realization that Mariota is the superior prospect. I think its more likely that he has sources within the NFL that have leaked (or smokescreened) how teams feel about him.
well he's always got to be different. how else is he going to generate more clicks and ratings? Especially since McShay and Kiper have the exact same QB ratings. Him switching it up is a no brainer marketing decision.
Rankings aside, if you watched any Mayock interview on the subject prior to him making the change, it was clear he wasn't completely on board with that Winston was the "unquestioned" #1 QB. I saw several interviews where he said he was still struggling with who his #1 QB was. So it's not for show.
http://www.nfl.com/draft/story/09000d5d80dff358/article/mayocks-top-prospects-at-each-position Jus sayin
Every talent evaluator (professional or amateur)has their misses, so to point out one of his misses, because you disagree with his opinion is just silly IMO.
And that's fine. I have no problem with being conflicted, he certainly isn't the only one. It's a legitimate discussion for some. I just wanted to know what's changed between last month and now. That's why I think he's just going against the grain.
One thing I've learned, the more time people have to research and go over and over prospects rankings will change. Things will change again in the next 3 weeks, it always happens. A player that is a top 20 prospect will rise in the top 10 in 3 weeks.
He is pointing out that he may be wrong in this instance because he was VERY wrong in the past with a similar against the grain proclamation. That's silly?
In 2011 Mayock had Blaine Gabbert ahead of Cam Newton (and the Red Rocket Andy Dalton). Sometimes he is right, sometimes he is wrong. These "analysts" make best guesses based on overall skills but with a QB in particular their success depends on the system they get drafted into. I think whoever gets drafted by TB is in a much better situation with better targets (Vincent Jackson, Mike Evans, ASJ, etc) and a better running game then Tennessee.
pfft..and some say the bucs won't take either of them..mocks are a complete waste of time, rankings are even worse.
