Marcus Mariota's benching puts 2015 QB class in ignominious place

The Atlanta Falcons benched Marcus Mariota for rookie Desmond Ridder on Thursday. He was the last QB standing from that 2015 class.

Jameis Winston was drafted first overall and lost his job in New Orleans to Andy Dalton. Mariota was picked second overall. The only other QB drafted in 2015 to throw a pass in the NFL this season is Trevor Siemian.

In 13 starts, Mariota was 184-of-300 (61.3 percent) for 2,219 yards with 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions. In only three starts, Winston was 73-of-115 (63.5 percent) for 858 yards with four touchdowns and five interceptions. Siemian started on Nov. 27 for an injured Justin Fields (shoulder) and went 14-of-25 for 179 yards with one touchdown and one interception. 

One season a player is up, and the next one they're down in the NFL. Last year, the 2013 draft class looked as though it was the worst among the most recent QB crops. One incredible Geno Smith season later and the tides have turned.

The NFL draft is a crapshoot. It's an inexact science that franchises have not been able to solve. Otherwise, scouts would have been in agreement that Patrick Mahomes was a better prospect than Mitchell Trubisky and that Lamar Jackson had a more promising future than Josh Rosen. 

Maybe all Winston and Mariota need are coaches that believe in them the way Pete Carroll believes in Smith. It's will be up to them to keep the faith until that time comes. No one else is going to do it for them.