Make or Break Year: Marcus Mariota

Marcus Mariota is the starting quarterback of the Tennessee Titans. He was drafted with the number 2 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. He is a former Heisman trophy winner (first Hawaiian- born athlete) from the University of Oregon. Since he has been drafted the Titans have been living in a state of mediocrity. The Titans offense hasn’t been looked at as an elite offense since drafting Mariota, in fact, they have been one of the least effective offensive units in the NFL. You could make the argument that the Titans are a run first offense, but in a division with Andrew Luck and Deshaun Watson, you have to be able to put some points on the board. Another thing that is slowly killing Mariota’s stock is that he always seems to be injured. Last year, he had an elbow injury (throwing arm), a concussion, and a stinger (whatever that is). When he was drafted people thought he would bring the Titans back into relevance. He has not done that, and his time as a starter in this league is running short. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Titans go in another direction in the 2020 NFL Draft whether Mariota is healthy or not. They brought in Ryan Tannehill this offseason to motivate Mariota to be better, or just to be a backup for when Mariota inevitably goes down. It is ironic that Mariota and Jameis Winston (QB for the Buccaneers) are both in a similar position after going 1 and 2 in the 2015 Draft. Both are entering a season where if they don’t perform their team should move on from them. I think in the 2020 offseason we see the Titans go in a different direction at the quarterback position.