Jets schedule private workout with Mariota

The New York Jets are currently planning on a quarterback competition between a highly inconsistent third-year player (Geno Smith) and a 32-year-old journeyman expected to be out until training camp while recovering from a broken leg (Ryan Fitzpatrick). So it is understandable that the owners of the No. 6 pick in next month’s NFL Draft are conducting their due diligence on the top two quarterback prospects.

Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan flew to Eugene, Ore. to watch Oregon’s March 12 pro day highlighted by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback.The team has also scheduled a private workout with Mariota on March 28, and Maccagnan will be joined by Jets head coach Todd Bowles.

Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston is widely expected to go to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the first overall pick, but Maccagnan will attend Winston’s March 31 pro day.

Winston is the No. 2-rated overall prospect by NFLDraftScout.com while Mariota is No. 7. Maccagnan declined to publicly evaluate the two quarterbacks on a conference call Thursday.

“Yeah, I would probably not want to do that,” Maccagnan said, per NJ.com, “only because everybody else in the league would probably want to know what I think about that position and those two players.”

Mariota worked out for the Tennessee Titans, who hold the No. 2 pick, after his pro day, and is reportedly scheduled to work out for the Bucs and San Diego Chargers.

“I would say, simply, that I think when it comes to the draft, to me, you tend to want to take the best player available, in theory,” Maccagnan said. “In my mind, if the best player available were at that pick, I’m not going to say we’re going to lock into a certain player or a certain position, but that’s the approach you want to take.

“We have a long evaluation process to go through, to get to that point. I would say, simply, I don’t think any player is either on or off our board, in terms of what we would do, based on our current roster.”