NFL Spin Zone
Fansided

Tennessee Titans: Smokescreen or overconfidence in Zach Mettenberger?

By Kevin Parvizi

facebooktwitterreddit

Although there is precious little in the form of depth at the quarterback position in the 2015 NFL Draft, two lucky teams will be able to snag Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, who are both incredibly gifted prospects and could easily become top-ten quarterbacks in the near future. There are risks involved with selecting both, but Winston and Mariota are by far the top two QBs and have been ranked as the No. 1 and 2 overall prospects by many outlets, including CBS Sports.

The Tennessee Titans selected Zach Mettenberger with a sixth-round pick in last year’s draft and received much better play from him than expected when he was thrown into the mix. In seven games and 179 attempts, Mettenberger averaged 7.9 yards per attempt thanks to his excellent arm strength, but he also threw seven picks and completed less than 60% of his passes.

More from Tennessee Titans

Still, that was better than what we expected, as Mettenberger showed erratic accuracy and raw decision-making at LSU despite playing with current NFL standouts Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, and Jeremy Hill in his final season.

We’ve heard reports circulating throughout the offseason about how Ken Whisenhunt, whose coaching acumen has been put into question at this early point in his newest gig, and the Titans are big fans of Mettenberger, but no report has been stronger- or more outlandish- than one that was released yesterday.

According to The Tennessean’s David Climer, who admits that he doubts Mettenberger can be the Titans QB of the future, the Titans are so high on Titans that they inexplicably think of him as a “poor man’s Tom Brady“. Per Climer, GM Ruston Webster and “Whiz” believe they “pulled the steal of the 2014 draft”, and it looks like they are going to ride their “steal” until it costs them their jobs.

Because if they stick with Mettenberger and he fails, then they are obviously goners in Tennessee. In all honesty, sticking with Mettenberger isn’t foolish, because maybe his big arm carries the day for him, and maybe Whisenhunt is able to get him to shake of his accuracy and decision-making woes. I remain unconvinced, especially since there’s a reason Mettenberger fell to the sixth round in this era of non-stop scouting, Draft Breakdown, and analytics; he’s not that good. He underachieved with a great supporting cast at LSU, which, again, included three players who are already stars in the league after their rookie seasons.

Unless if the Titans dislike Mariota, I can’t see them passing up on him at No. 2, because this could all be a smokescreen. For their sake, I hope so, because Mettenberger is nothing like Brady. Nothing. In fact, they couldn’t be more different. Mettenberger fits the profile of a boom-or-bust gunslinger who needs to take care of the football, whereas Brady has always been an accurate, smart QB who can anticipate throws into windows and doesn’t like taking too many risks downfield.

While Mettenberger exceeded my admittedly low expectations of him as a rookie and looked more comfortable in the pocket than most immobile first-year starters, his lack of accuracy is disturbing. Per Pro Football Focus, he completed just 49.0% of his passes on throws 10-19 yards away from the line of scrimmage, including six of his seven interceptions. Meanwhile, Brady had a 58.6% completion percentage and fellow rookie Derek Carr a 53.7% completion percentage.

I see the 10-19 range as a key area of the field, and Mettenberger made too many mistakes on those throws.  Mettenberger, however, looked more impressive than Blake Bortles and Carr as a rookie, was one of the league’s best deep passers, and looked very comfortable in the pocket, which definitely makes up for his lack of mobility. So there’s one accurate Brady comp.

Feb 21, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota throws a pass during the 2015 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Look, I don’t mind the fact that the Tennessee Titans like Mettenberger, because they did get a steal. I wouldn’t be upset if they decided to roll with him next season, but that assumed they don’t like Mariota, who is a more well-rounded QB and a more talented prospect overall.

The sheer hyperbole of calling Mettenberger a “poor man’s Tom Brady” could just be Climer’s way of phrasing it, otherwise it’s an irksome amount of praise for a QB who clearly hasn’t proven himself to be an average starter yet. He has a chance to be “the guy”, but Brady is an outlier in the realm of late-round QBs.

If the Titans like Mettenberger and aren’t fans of Mariota, it makes sense to either take Leonard Williams, who is a quality pass rusher and a sure-fire impact player against the run, or trade down to shore up the many needs on their roster, including right tackle and wide receiver.

I only see one possible thing (pocket presence) in Mettenberger that somewhat resembles Brady, and I find it strange that the Titans did not sign a veteran QB of the Brian Hoyer quality to pair up with their late-round 2014 QB, which indicates that they are interested in snagging Mariota at No. 2. But that’s just smokescreen speculation on my part.

Next: What is the Titans best option at No. 2?

More from NFL Spin Zone

Home/Tennessee Titans