Why Marcus Mariota transcends the Oregon offense

— -- This story appears in ESPN The Magazine's April 27 NFL Draft Issue. Subscribe today!

THE FIRST THING you notice about Marcus Mariota is that he looks like the prototypical NFL quarterback, only better. He stands tall (6-foot-4) and stable (222 pounds), like Brady and Eli. He runs fluidly (4.52 40), like Russell and Kaepernick. He throws quickly and over the top, like Rodgers, with more than adequate velocity to win in the NFL.

So why, according to draft analysts, is Oregon's Heisman winner polling a distant second to Florida State's Jameis Winston as the No. 1 pick? You won't find the answer in the stats. Winston threw four more interceptions in 13 games last season than Mariota did in his 41-game career. Since 2012, Mariota has won 36 starts -- including a 59-20 Rose Bowl rout of Winston's Seminoles. That's seven more W's than any other college starter in that span. You won't find it in background checks either. Mariota's file, by all accounts, is stain-free, just what you'd hope for from the face of your franchise.

So what's the problem? Oregon's offense didn't consistently ask Mariota to command a huddle, decipher complex defenses or throw in tight windows. The perception is also that the Ducks' fast pace and simplistic route tree rarely forced Mariota to make the NFL-level reads that became second nature to Winston in Florida State's pro set. But to view Mariota through such a basic lens would be a mistake, according to ESPN analyst Jon Gruden. "People don't always realize Oregon runs a lot of NFL concepts," he says. For example, Mariota has made full-field reads before picking a side to attack, à la NFL QBs. He's used progression passing concepts to great effect, finding third and fourth receivers with ease. Mariota went so far as to say his favorite throw was the seam route against three-deep coverage -- a ball he'll be asked to complete with regularity in the pros. As he said at the combine, "You have to put enough touch on it to get it over the linebacker and enough zip to [beat] the safety."

Meanwhile, the pro game is evolving toward Mariota's skill set. Since 2008, NFL shotgun use has nearly doubled, and teams now use three-plus wide receivers on close to half of first downs, up from 31 percent. While no NFL offense matches Oregon's playcall speed, 12 teams averaged less than 38 seconds between plays last season, compared with seven teams per season from 2010 to 2013.

None of this assures Mariota's NFL success, of course. But when we dived deep into Mariota's game tape from a home win over No. 7 Michigan State last September, it showed that the QB might enter the NFL on stronger footing than the mythology surrounding the Ducks' offense might suggest. Take a look for yourself at how he executed two staples of Oregon's offense, Z Spot Bengal and Bubble Y Over.

Z Spot Bengal

It's third and five from the Oregon 25; this is the Ducks' sixth play of the game after the first five netted five yards and a punt. Lined up in the gun, Mariota is on the verge of Oregon career records for total offense and passing touchdowns. But that's the last thing on his mind; Mariota doesn't want to put his team on tilt in a 0-0 game. The playcall is familiar to anyone in the NFL, even if coaches don't agree on terminology. Call it Z Spot Bengal or Spot Dragon or whatever, but just know Mariota needs to make a full-field read before picking a side and getting the ball out on time.

As Mariota surveys the defense pre-snap, a short motion to the right side tells him to read zone coverage. The defensive alignment, with the corner playing inside leverage, suggests an inside slant on the weak side (1) might not be there, but Mariota must still systematically read the play inside to out. No guesses. He passes the test, throwing a dart for a nine-yard gain to weakside slot Keanon Lowe, who it turns out was plenty open.

This isn't graduate-level stuff, but the concepts carry over to the NFL. Then, like every quarterback transitioning to the pro level, Mariota will find out right away how much tougher it is to hit even open receivers. Defenses will take away the slant side with an inside linebacker and nickelback. A well-coached linebacker can go straight past the tight end (2) to the Z receiver on the spot route (3), with the strong safety taking the halfback in the flat. Just like that, nobody is open. And playing fast won't have nearly the effect on the pro level, where defenses are more comfortable adjusting on the fly.

"Most college defenses sit in a two-high shell with safeties in stress, afraid to move," says one NFL defensive assistant. "TCU had one of the country's best defenses last year, and they left those poor kids in a shell the whole time. In the NFL you might get eight different defenses with five different looks in the first 10 plays, not three with one look like they do in college."

Bubble Y Over

It's third and 10 from the Oregon 41. Six minutes remain in the third quarter and the Ducks are wilting in the setting sun. Their previous five drives have totaled four yards on 14 plays, allowing the Spartans to build a 27-18 lead. The playcall -- Bubble Y Over, a progression passing play with a zone-read (4) fake and traditional NFL route concepts -- surprises no one who has closely watched Mariota's 27 previous starts.

"This was one of the signature plays of your career," Gruden tells Mariota at Gruden's QB camp months later.

Only one problem: "They have the right blitz called," Gruden says. Bringing six defenders, Michigan State gets heat on Mariota quickly, which means Bubble Y Over is now a scramble drill. Unfazed, Mariota escapes the grasp of two Spartans and finds running back Royce Freeman (5), normally his fourth read, with a lunging shovel pass for a 17-yard gain. The book says Mariota should have thrown to his hot receiver on the bubble (6), but as he explains to Gruden, taking that route would have given the Ducks zero shot at a critical first down. Mariota goes on to complete two more passes during the drive, including a 24-yard strike to Devon Allen for the first of four unanswered touchdowns in the 46-27 win.

Two NFL quarterbacks, who were given anonymity so they could speak frankly about their playbooks, say all teams have variations of Bubble Y Over. When Peyton Manning was in Indy, "Florida" signaled the Colts' version of the play; Miami, New Orleans, Philadelphia and Manning's Broncos all call it often. "A ton of teams run it with play-action and a bootleg/naked away," one of the QBs says. "Oregon ran it out of the gun and with the zone read. It's the same thing a different way."

When the blitz didn't force him to improvise, Mariota showed he could consistently read through his progression, going deep or dropping a perfect pass over a linebacker and under a safety. These are the types of pro-style reads NFL evaluators want to see.

In the pros, Mariota will need to ready himself for defenses that use never-ending wrinkles and disguises, which complicate even the most simplistic progression read. If you've ever wondered why a rookie QB often looks like a high schooler sitting in on a Ph.D.-level course, well, here's why: Is the D in a one-high or two-high contour? If two-high, stay strongside on the sail route. If it's cloud coverage or cover 2, go to the X. But against two-man, go with the sail. Oh, and if it's 3 Buzz, the field safety drops inside to nickel, and the Will defends the flat. And if it's third and long, the buzz safety plays the sticks, which looks like quarters coverage but might be disguising a coverage rotation to the strong side.

As one offensive assistant says, "It's a real bitch."

Yes, life on the field as an NFL quarterback moves fast. Fortunately, speed has never been Marcus Mariota's problem.