Ranking NFL quarterbacks–something everyone tries to do and will always cause controversy. The Score took a stab at it, ranking Marcus Mariota 12th among starters. Here is what The Score had to say about Mariota:
“Mariota taking a major step forward during his sophomore season has left little doubt regarding his status among the NFL’s best young quarterbacks. The former first-rounder has always had the ability to beat defenses with his legs, and he’ll still uses that on occasion, but he’s now quickly becoming a top-flight passer. Tennessee could soon be a perennial playoff team because of Mariota’s presence under center.”
Marcus Mariota Ranked 12th Among NFL Starters
When the Tennessee Titans took Mariota second overall out of Oregon in the 2015 draft, concerns abounded. It seemed like Oregon had not produced a quality NFL quarterback since Dan Fouts. Images of Joey Harrington came into mind and the thinking was, “how could a quarterback that played in that offense ever translate to the NFL?” But for every rule there is an exception.
So far, Mariota has been everything you could have hoped for in a starter. Without much help in the passing game, he has outperformed number one overall pick Jameis Winston. Other than Delanie Walker, his top targets have been the likes of Tajae Sharpe and Rishard Matthews. Still, Mariota improved leaps and bounds over his rookie year as he improved from 19 touchdowns to 26 and reduced his interceptions from ten to nine and fumbles from eight to two in three more games in 2016.
Nearly not a Titan
The Chip Kelly led Eagles offered a bounty for Mariota (Philly offered the Titans their 2015 first and second-round picks, their 2016 first-round pick, any quarterback on their roster and any defensive player on their roster in exchange for the number two overall pick) but the Titans refused the deal and took Mariota with the pick.
However there has been only one drawback to the Mariota selection—he has missed four games in his first two seasons. If he had not gotten hurt in the week 16 game in Jacksonville last season then presumably the Titans win that game and set up a winner take all showdown in the division title race against Houston in week 17, which Tennessee ended up winning with Matt Cassel at the helm—granted the Texans had nothing to play for in that game either. But with Brock Osweiler (or the equally uninspiring Tom Savage leading the show), there is no doubt the result would have stayed the same and the Titans would have emerged victorious.
But look at some of the names that Mariota is ranked ahead of. For starters Winston, but also Dallas phenom Dak Prescott, who threw 23 touchdowns and just four interceptions his rookie year. He also ranks ahead of Eli Manning, a two time Super Bowl champion. But if you were to give Mariota Odell Beckham, look out.
Is the Rating Accurate?
So is this a fair rating for Mariota? It may be a tad higher than expected because as Brett Favre said, your greatest ability is your availability. Of course, unlike Jake Locker, Mariota can actually play. But will the constant risk of injury be worth it in the long term? One can only hope. Even though he probably belongs at 13 or 14, there’s no need to raise a stink over him being ranked a few spots too high.
The guys who deserve a spot over Mariota without question are Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Russell Wilson, Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers (one of the most underrated quarterbacks of the last decade who had a scrap heap offense around him last season), Cam Newton, Matt Ryan and Matthew Stafford.
I would put Mariota in the mix with young guys like Derek Carr (who has had a loaded offense the last two years), Dak Prescott, Andrew Luck (who started great but has had two injury-plagued years) and Winston. You can debate about Winston because he has Mike Evans to bail him out but he has stayed healthy and looked like he will continue to improve. Still, Winston is the only quarterback to have two 4,000 yard seasons before turning 24. Both are great options, which is better could be debated.
But if Mariota stays healthy over the course of 16 games in 2017, there is no doubt the Titans will win the AFC South this coming season and he will rank in the top ten of NFL starters heading into 2018.
