Marcus Mariota is on the Tennessee Titans, well for now. Here’s why the Titans made the smart decision in drafting him.
There’s been a thought throughout the pre-draft process that the Tennessee Titans were going to trade away the second overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. Teams like the Philadelphia Eagles and the Chicago Bears were ideal suitors, but, even with the rumors of Zach Mettenberger being the guy for the Titans, the Titans made the smart decision in drafting the Oregon product.
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In 2014, the Titans, like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, didn’t get much production from their quarterbacks. Jake Locker was awful, Charlie Whitehurst was, well, Charlie Whitehurst, and Mettenberger really showed nothing to convince the Titans’ organization that he was the right choice to be the face of their franchise.
With the Buccaneers drafting Winston, the Titans had the opportunity to draft top players like Mariota, Leonard Williams, or even Vic Beasley. However, given their need at the position and the current players on their roster, Mariota will walk into offseason programs and immediately be the No. 1 quarterback. Sure there will be some competition from Mettenberger, but Mariota is a special player, and an offensive-minded coach like Ken Whisenhunt will notice that.
At 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, Mariota doesn’t have best build for an NFL quarterback, but you won’t find a quarterback that has better decision-making skills in this draft class than Mariota. In his three-year collegiate career at Oregon, Mariota only threw 16 interceptions. Coming from Oregon, Mariota obviously has excellent speed. Despite that, Oregon’s system hasn’t produced much, if any, NFL talent over the past decade.
Nevertheless, the Titans really do not have a face to their franchise. By drafting Mariota, the Titans now have that face to their franchise. There may be some growing concerns with Mariota, but if the Titans can assemble a solid offensive line in front of him, the reality is that the Titans will be much more competitive in 2015. The addition of Mariota will finally put Titans fans back in the stands.
Next: Titans: What will Hakeem Nicks bring?
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