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NFL Mock Draft 2015: Jets find another QB project in Marcus Mariota

We find a landing spot for one of the toughest players to project in this year's draft.

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

With one quarterback off the board right away in APC's 2015 NFL Mock Draft, one of the tougher things to project for us is where the second quarterback will land. With the sixth pick in our Mock Draft, Brendan Kennedy thinks that the Jets will use another high draft pick on a QB, this time to replace Geno Smith.

The Jets select Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon

Height: 6'4"
Weight: 222
Combine 40 time: 4.54 seconds

Here's our Brendan Kennedy explaining the pick:

This is pretty much the dream scenario for the Jets. I mean, they've already spent huge money on a washed up Brandon Marshall and given Darrelle Revis enough cash to literally buy an island. The only thing left to complete the Jets off-season trifecta is to draft a fresh-faced kid from the West Coast, only to ruin him just a few years later. Mark Sanchez nods vigorously.

In all seriousness, Mariota could be just the thing the Jets need. They've already got a great defense and Geno Smith has proven to only be a slightly more competent version of Blaine Gabbert. They need a quarterback and with a new coach, could actually give the Jets a bit of a luster they haven't had in years.

As for how Mariota will actually fare, who really knows? He's drawn comparisons to Aaron Rodgers, but that was from Jim Mora and Tony Dungy, two people who are very bad at making player comparisons (among other things). The Heisman winner certainly has the athleticism and, from all accounts, the smarts to make plays in the NFL. But again, we're talking about the Jets here, a team so dysfunctional that its biggest fan peaced out on them. Could Mariota be the franchise's savior? I don't know. But I'm cheering for him.

Here's the mock draft so far:

Pick Team Player Position School
1 TB Jameis Winston QB Florida State
2 TEN Leonard Williams DT USC
3 JAX Amari Cooper WR Alabama
4 OAK Randy Gregory OLB/DE Nebraska
5 WAS Dante Fowler, Jr. OLB Florida
6 NYJ Marcus Mariota QB Oregon
7 CHI