Marcus Mariota has ability, but will the Titans be a good fit for him?
The Tennessee Titans selected Marcus Mariota with the 2nd overall pick in the 2015 draft. Despite speculation that the Eagles, Browns, or Jets would successfully strike a deal for the No. 2 pick and the right to select Mariota, the Titans stood pat and drafted their man. Mariota enters the league as the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, coming off one of the most efficient tenures ever produced by a collegiate QB. As a three year starter at Oregon, Mariota averaged 67% completion percentage, 35:5 TD to INT ratio, and a ridiculous 9.3 yards per attempt.
In addition to his passing efficiency, Mariota consistently rushed for over 700 yards in each of his three seasons and sported a swift 4.5 40-yard dash at the Combine. With other above average measurements such as a 36-inch vertical jump and a 10 foot broad jump, Mariota is obviously top-shelf in terms of overall athleticism. Combining those positive between-the-line metrics with his stellar 33 Wonderlic score, Mariota offers quite an attractive package for a rookie QB. What could possibly go wrong?
Culture
Due to the heritage Oregon offensive scheme, Mariota has not called plays from a huddle, nor taken a set step drop back from under center. Due to the Mighty Ducks’ hyper-aggressive, fast paced tempo, they called in the plays directly to the position players from the sideline rather than syncing up on field in a huddle. Had Mariota ended up in Philadelphia with Chip Kelly’s Oregon-based scheme, the X’s and O’s transition would have been seamless. However, not only did the young QB fail to land with Eagles, but he also wound in Tennessee, who was (based on their draft position) the worst team in football last season.
During head coach Ken Whisenhunt’s short tenure in Nashville, he has proven to stick with his preferred offensive philosophy, rather than adapt to the skill of his players (as we saw last year with his insistence on making Jake Locker a pocket passer). Though Whistenhunt claims that he plans to tailor the offense around Mariota’s ability, it doesn’t match with his past actions. Even if the Titans play to Mariota’s strengths, he’ll still have to learn and interpret an entire new “football language” while adjusting to the speed and intricacies of the NFL.
Supporting Cast
As mentioned previously, the Titans were picking at the top of the draft for good reason: they were downright dreadful in 2014. Their running game consisted of Shonn Greene and Bishop Sankey. Their best receiving option was H-back extraordinaire Delanie Walker after getting inconsistent production out of Justin Hunter and Kendall Wright. While the 2014 group was less than impressive, the Titans’ front office does deserve credit for addressing some of the skill position gaps by adding monster WR Dorial Green-Beckham (6’5”, 240 lbs.) and thumper RB David Cobb (5’11”, 230 lbs.). This rejuvenated supporting cast should improve the options around Mariota, but the team and QB have a long way to go consistently produce at a high level.
Wrap Up
Rookie QBs seldom make an instant fantasy impact in year one. We have seen flashes from RGIII and Colin Kaepernick early in their careers, but those signal callers quickly fizzled out and rarely showed the consistency needed in re-draft leagues. Due to Mariota’s dual-threat presence in the pocket, he’ll certainly draw comparisons to other mobile QBs in the league, but only time will tell whether his career will go the way of struggling QBs RGIII and Kaepernick, or playoff contenders like Cam Newton and Russel Wilson. Given Mariota’s plus athleticism, football IQ, and positive work ethic, the smart money is on the latter if the Titans tailor the offense to his God-given talents.
Patrick Johnson is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Patrick, check out his archive and follow him @PattyJ38.
