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Greg Cosell says he would rather have Zach Mettenberger over Jameis Winston

By Andrew Ross

Nov 23, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterback Zach Mettenberger (7) throws the ball against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles won 43-24. Mandatory Credit: Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 23, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterback Zach Mettenberger (7) throws the ball against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles won 43-24. Mandatory Credit: Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /
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Who would you rather have on your team: Zach Mettenberger or Jameis Winston?

Greg Cosell is an analyst for NFL Films and is highly respected for his knowledge of the game.

The thing about analysts is that their opinions and thoughts are always out there. All of us can sit at home and think whatever we want, but those ideas aren’t out in the open for the whole public to see and pick at. So sometimes an analyst is going to say something that a lot of people won’t agree with, and Cosell may have done that today when he was talking about the quarterbacks in the upcoming draft.

At least Cosell threw in that last part where he acknowledges that his opinion would be in the minority. Cosell added that, “Mettenberger and Winston are very, very similar in their style of play. I’d argue Mettenberger is more advanced as an anticipatory thrower and has a little bit better arm.”

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This actually isn’t a jab at Winston as the analyst has said that the former Florida State player is the best quarterback in the upcoming draft. He’s staying true to his belief that Winston and Mettenberger are the same type of player, and he would rather have the one who has already played a year. There’s nothing wrong with that. In that same sense, it wouldn’t be crazy to believe that Cosell would take Marcus Mariota if he was drafting for the Tennessee Titans since the former Oregon star is such a different player from their current quarterback.

The only problem I have with this thinking is that it almost seems too simple. Like, alright, you think Winston and Metternberger play similarly – but what else? Isn’t there more to evaluating a player? The Titans are in desperate need of a franchise quarterback who can lead them into relevancy again. You probably wouldn’t be surprised if someone told you 15 years from now that Winston went on to be a superstar quarterback in the NFL, but wouldn’t you be surprised if the same thing was said about Mettenberger?

As lame as the “it” factor is to debate, it just seems like Mettenberger doesn’t have whatever “it” is. He wasn’t anything special in college, and in seven games with the Titans last year he passed for 1,412 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions for a total quarterback rating of 30.1. It just doesn’t seem likely that he becomes some juggernaut of a player out of nowhere and carries the Titans on his back.

Winston might not be able to do any of the things the Titans need either, but at least there’s still a chance that he might. Even though Mettenberger has only played one season in the NFL, Winston is still the player with much more upside.

At the end of the day, this debate between Winston and Mettenberger probably will all be for not as Winston is expected to be drafted with the first overall pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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