Recent Heisman Winners: Where They Are Now

Hey everybody! Welcome back to My Take. This week I will cover the past three Heisman Trophy winners, predict their success in the pros, and rank who will be the best Heisman winning quarterback at the end of their careers. The past three Heisman Trophy winners are Marcus Mariota, Jameis Winston, and Johnny Manziel.

Marcus Mariota

Compared with the other Heisman winners from the last three years, Marcus had the most yards, the least interceptions, and the most touchdowns in college. But fans usually don’t look at your college success. They want to see how you will do in the pros. For Marcus it’s a little early to tell how good he will be -- he has only played a few games with the Tennessee Titans. He won one game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but lost to the Cleveland Browns and the Indianapolis Colts. The biggest question is -- can he make all the NFL throws? The throwing windows in the NFL are tighter and quarterbacks need to be precise. He played in a system back at Oregon where they didn’t throw downfield. Most of the time he threw screen routes and short passes. So far he looks like he has the arm to make the throws in the NFL. Only time will tell if he can make the adjustment. 

Jameis Winston  

Jameis Winston is a more traditional pro-style quarterback like Ben Roethlisberger. He can stay in the pocket and throw darts. He can also throw deep downfield. From what I have seen, he has a cannon for an arm and can make the tight throws. He has been known to have some off- the-field issues, but if he can keep his head on straight, I believe he will be a great quarterback in the NFL.

Johnny Manziel

In my previous blog I predicted Johnny and the Browns would do terrible this year. Then Johnny led them to 28-14 victory over Marcus Mariota’s Tennessee Titans. Even though it all looked great after the game for Johnny, his coach benched him for backup quarterback Josh McCown the next week. I have had a little change of heart. Johnny isn’t a terrible quarterback; he just needs a change of scenery. I believe in the right system he can live up to his potential. If he played on a warm weather team with good wide receivers, and a strong defense, he could be successful in the NFL.

My Take On How They Rank    

After breaking down each recent Heisman winning quarterback, here are my rankings on how they will finish their careers. In third place, I have Johnny Manziel. I don’t think he will find a system that fits him fast enough. He might end up being a backup for the Browns for a long time, or he will be a journeyman backup quarterback. In second place I have Marcus Mariota. I believe he will have an above average career. Maybe he will make the playoffs a few times with the Tennessee Titans. In first place, I have Jameis Winston. He might need to find the right system and grow up as a person, but I believe he will make it to the Super Bowl at least once in his career.

Thanks for reading this week’s blog. Next week I may revisit some of my earlier predictions and comment on where I was wrong, and where I was right!