Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota told reporters that he is still undecided about throwing at the combine, according to Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter). Mariota says that he’ll decide in the next day or two as he evaluates his sore shoulder. Meanwhile, he has kept his pre-draft routine and training regiment fairly close to the vest, so it’s unknown how much throwing he has even done to date. Here’s more draft news..
- Indiana running back Tevin Coleman won’t work out at the combine, Gil Brandt of NFL.com tweets. Coleman’s foot is still in a boot from offseason surgery and he won’t be ready to go in time, but he will work out at Indiana’s pro day on April 15th.
- NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock expects the Buccaneers to pick Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston over Mariota because of how the former Seminole fits into the Bucs’ offense, Matt Baker of the Tampa Bay Times writes. He doesn’t expect an easy decision for coach Lovie Smith and GM Jason Licht, however, and he expressed concern over Winston’s predilection for interceptions.
- On his conference call with NFL reporters, Mayock said that he believes this year’s class is deepest at running back and wide receiver, and thinnest at quarterback and safety (Twitter link via Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star). Mayock also said he believes there are eight top-tier defensive tackles in the 2015 draft class, with a drop off after that (Twitter link via Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer).
- Just 15 quarterbacks were invited to this year’s combine, the fewest in 13 years, according to Colleen Wolfe of NFL.com (on Twitter). Of course, things aren’t much better for quarterback-hungry teams on the open market.
- Off-field issues will be a major topic of conversation this year in Indy, Eric Edholm of Yahoo Sports writes. More so than the on-field workouts and athletic testing, the medical evaluation and the team interviews — the stuff that isn’t shown on TV — can be the most revealing information for NFL teams.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.