Kurt Warner skeptical Marcus Mariota can succeed (Audio)

Kurt Warner is skeptical about how effective Marcus Mariota can be in a pro-style offense.

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Super Bowl champion quarterback Kurt Warner has some strong opinions on the top two quarterbacks in the draft. Warner is convinced Jameis Winston will go No. 1 overall to Tampa, but is very curious what Tennessee will do with the second overall pick,

“I think Winston will obviously go first, but one of the interesting picks for me is Tennessee at number two. Because they have a young quarterback and because of some of the questions that I have on Marcus Mariota playing a pro-style offense,” Warner said. “But, if you like Mariota, how do you pass on a guy like that when you know you need that position to win.”

Warner expanded on why he would have such a hard time picking Mariota or any quarterback who has not played in a pro-style system second or at any point early in the draft,

“It is so hard to judge the quarterback position, talk about guys who haven’t even taken snaps under center,” Warner said. “They haven’t even called plays in the huddle. I can’t even fathom coming into the league and having to learn that. I can’t fathom having never taken a snap from center and learning how to do that. You are very much up against the eight-ball. Add-in you have never played in a system that has you work right-to- left, or one-to-four. I just don’t know how you can assess how good they can ever become. We know Mariota is smart, we just have no idea what his ceiling is.”

Warner was also asked about two veteran quarterbacks and whether San Diego or Chicago should cut ties with Philip Rivers and Jay Cutler. His answers were somewhat similar.

“In a league where it is hard to find a good quarterback, I can’t imagine guys like that getting traded,” Warner said in regards to Rivers. “Philip is such a good quarterback, it has to be hard for any team to let go of a known commodity. I don’t see it happening and its hard for me to believe anyone in the organization would want it to happen.”

Warner’s take on Cutler was not as complimentary, but more on his still yet realized potential.

“If you got a guy that has all that upside, all that talent, if you can just tap into it you got something special,” Warner said about Cutler. “But the flip-side is, how long do you wait for it to happen? The dilemma is if you let him go, who is out there that you can get. That becomes the problem for so many of these teams. There is just not that many good quarterbacks. There are not 32 of em.”

Getting back to the rookies, Warner is not ready to anoint Winston, or completely rule out anyone else. It is about the work for him along with the talent.

“I think so much of the quarterback position is how you grow,” Warner said. “Jameis Winston is the most pro-ready quarterback right now. So what. I’ve seen many college players come into the league and the five years later they are the same quarterback. It’s about how you grow.

Warner does think Winston is in an odd but favorable position where he could have a major impact immediately,

“The one good thing is that they have got some pieces offensively. Very seldom do you see a team with a No. 1 pick with some difference making players and Tampa has them,” Warner said. “That is one thing that bodes well, but there is always a learning curve. The whole key in Tampa is can they get back to running the ball like they did a couple of years ago to take the pressure off of him. (Winston) If you are going to ask a young quarterback to throw the ball all over the yard, that is not going to go well even for Jameis Winston.”

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Listen to Kurt Warner speak a day before the draft:

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