Mariota vs. Winston: We Used "Madden NFL" to Determine Which Quarterback Could Save the New York Jets

Mariota or Winston? We figured out which QB should go No. 1 in the 2015 NFL Draft.

The NFL Draft: that special time of year when dreams are made and prayers are answered. For a brief moment, every fan feels that their team has found that missing piece, while the league’s new band of professionals ready their game for the next level.

This year, the two prospects that nobody can stop talking about are Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston, each a recipient of the coveted Heisman trophy award, and each touted as a potential savior for the league’s bottom-feeders. Mariota: a strong-armed product of Oregon’s “point-a-minute” offense who can run and throw with the best of them. Winston: the problematic but prosperous former national champion who finished 26-1 as a starter throughout his collegiate career with the Florida State Seminoles. Both quarterbacks are smart, talented, and dynamic in more ways than one, making them the targets of numerous front offices around the league.

Smart money indicates that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Tennessee Titans will snatch up these two, up-and-coming signal-callers. But after a busy offseason in which they signed cornerback Darrelle Revis and traded for wide receiver Brandon Marshall, and sitting No. 6 overall on draft board, who’s to say that the New York Jets couldn’t make a play for one of these gifted QBs? Sorry, Geno.

But, if they were to roll the dice and trade up for one of these players, which quarterback would the Gang Green want to set their sights on? Mariota, or Winston? It’s the question of the draft, and with the first pick just hours away, we’ve put together a series of simulations to judge which player has the best chance to turn their future franchise around in the forthcoming season.

Using Madden 15, we stuck both Mariota and Winston in New York, and allowed them to run their new teams, free of our interference. Using updated rosters and the schedule assigned for each team in the 2015-16 season, Mariota and Winston each had their chance to pilot the Jets against opponents like the New England Patriots and the Dallas Cowboys. Here’s how they each fared.

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