Todd McShay believes Marcus Mariota a good fit on Chargers

Would Marcus Mariota be a good fit in San Diego? Todd McShay believes he would be.

With all the talk about Marcus Mariota and a Philip Rivers trade, we never really have talked about how Mariota would fit on the Chargers roster if he were actually drafted. I guess I never actually wrote about it because I never believed that it would happen, but as each day passes I start to believe the rumor more and more. Who in the heck started this mess? Would the team still be able to compete?

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Todd McShay believes that Mariota would be a good fit in San Diego. He thinks that we have enough playmakers on the roster in order to make it work.

Personally, do I believe that Mariota will work? We won’t know till we actually see him on the field. He does have some issues with accuracy, but he has some incredible potential that many are salivating on. People want to compare his style of play with all the other running quarterbacks in the league. People have said Tim Tebow. People have said Russell Wilson. People have said Colin Kaepernick. He will have his own style and will have to prove himself. It would be a huge risk.

As a rookie, we don’t know what we would get. The team would need to adjust the offense in order to make things work. The team would need to lean on a different style to make the most out of Mariota’s play. It would be stupid for the team to keep running the same style of offense with that change in quarterback. Mike McCoy has had to deal with that type of change in offense in the past and would have to do it again. At least Mariota has a better arm than Tebow ever has had. The team should lean on the running game more if they were to bring him onto the roster to be the immediate starter.

Feb 21, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota does the shuttle run during the 2015 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

At this point, the Chargers would have to lean on Danny Woodhead and Branden Oliver to make the plays in the running game. Another running back would be top priority for the team in the draft if they were to get Mariota. If Philip Rivers were the quarterback of the team, the running back doesn’t have as high of a priority, but with Mariota in there, they would have to find someone that can produce immediately. I would expect the team to take Melvin Gordon in the first round with the 17th pick if they added Mariota to the roster with the 2nd pick and then find a right guard to line up next to D.J. Fluker in the next 2 rounds.

The offense would lean on that running game. It was a successful plan when Rivers was on the roster and could be as successful with Mariota in the backfield. Teams would have to be aware of Mariota’s ability to run on offense and that could open up some nice lanes for our backs.

In the passing game, Mariota has some solid pieces to work with. Antonio Gates is still one of the best in the league and would be huge for the rookie. Keenan Allen is great at winning at the line of scrimmage and could be big in the screen game for the Chargers. Danny Woodhead also would be huge in the screen game out in the slot. The team has playmakers to surround a rookie quarterback and it would allow Mariota to ease his way onto the roster.

I believe that this team would be successful running the ball down the throats of teams. Teams have been loading up on smaller ends that can get to quarterbacks with their speed for the last few years. They have been loading u on corners to stop the passing game and at some point the power running game would be able to have huge success again. Look at the Seahawks and their ability to lean on the running game.

Do you think Mariota would have success in a Chargers uniform? This is not a question of if you would like him on the roster. Simply a question on his ability to have success with the team. I think he would be successful. More successful than Philip? Probably not.

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