Jets think Geno Smith is ‘way ahead’ of Marcus Mariota

Dec 28, 2014; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith (7) throws a pass against the Miami Dolphins during the first half at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Woody Johnson, the owner of the New York Jets, believes Geno Smith is way ahead of Marcus Mariota.

It’s been a busy offseason for the New York Jets. After revamping their secondary by bringing in Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie, Buster Skrine, and even Marcus Gilchrist, the Jets will likely have one of the better defenses in the NFL in 2015. After all, Todd Bowles will be calling the shots and the Jets already have an excellent defensive line to pair with their secondary.

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However, one position they need to focus on upgrading this offseason is the most important position on an NFL roster, the quarterback position.

On Tuesday, Jets owner Woody Johnson talked about Marcus Mariota, one of the better quarterback’s in this year’s draft class, and their situation at the position. Despite Geno Smith failing horrifically in his first two seasons in New York, Johnson went as far as saying that Geno was better than Mariota, who won this past season’s Heisman Trophy.

"“Geno’s probably way ahead of him at this point, believe it or not,” Johnson said at the NFL meetings on Monday. “Whether you guys have skepticism or not… but certainly his college career was good.”"

It was believed that Geno would thrive in old offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg’s west coach scheme. However, under the new regime of Chan Gailey, there is a wide belief that a speedy, athletic quarterback like Mariota would fit better in the new offense. Although Johnson stated his favoritism towards Geno, he also talked about the competition the Jets intend to have at training camp.

"“That’s something that we’re going to look at,” Johnson said. “We’ve got from now until the start of the season to address every position, not only quarterback. We’re going to have competition at every position. We’ve said that before and we’re going to have competition here. Hopefully, it’ll bring out the best in the quarterbacks and all the positions.”"

Whether it’s Geno or Mariota, or even Ryan Fitzpatrick to run the offense in 2015, the fact of the matter is that the Jets have the pieces to win. They have an elite defense, and with receivers like Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker, as well as a high draft pick in every round. The reality is the Jets could make some noise in the 2015 season. However, the situation to really pay attention to remains at quarterback as it’s unclear just what is going to happen there.

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