Tennessee Titans position breakdown: Quarterback
By Will Lomas
With the 2015 NFL Draft now over, it is time to get a look at what the roster looks like heading into the 2015 NFL season.
Today we will look at possibly the deepest position on the Tennessee Titans roster: quarterback.
Starter
Marcus Mariota a stellar quarterback prospect that the Tennessee Titans were smart not to trade. The rookie from Oregon has everything you want in a quarterback. He is smart, fast, tall, accurate, diverse, and understands how to follow a game plan to the letter.
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People will compare him to RGIII, but lets be honest, Mariota has always been a run-to-throw quarterback who has always used his legs as the last option unless a play was designed for him to carry the ball. He is more accurately a blend between Colin Kaepernick’s athleticism and height (plus he is a little faster) and Russell Wilson’s disposition and ability to make decisions.
If Jameis Winston is the next Big Ben, so be it (though, that is what everyone thought about Blake Bortes until he, you know, actually played a game) but I will be happy with the blend I described every day.
Backups
Enough with my infatuation with Marcus Mariota, let’s look at the backups behind the rookie.
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Well first and foremost there is Alex Tanney, trick shot ki-…just kidding. Zach Mettenberger has as many physical tools as you could want above the waist. He is big, strong, has good feet to move up in the pocket, and he has a cannon for an arm. Mettenberger isn’t too far away from being Joe Flacco, but instead of starting off his career with a stellar running game and elite defense, Mettenberger had the misfortune to start with a banged up Tennessee Titans roster.
I have no doubt in my mind that Mettenberger will get another chance to start in this league, and honestly his floor is probably Ryan Mallet who is basically the same player, but who never developed and has had injuries.
Charlie Whitehurst is also a fairly capable backup that did a decent job with backups and future free agents when all hope was lost last season.
Future
The future is as bright here as it is anywhere on the Tennessee Titans roster. Not only do they have a veteran with good knowledge of the system to hold the clipboard, they have two young starting-caliber quarterbacks to build around.
I expect that the Tennessee Titans will hold onto Zach Mettenberger until the end of the season before trading him, but if there is an injury in a place with only one real quarterback (Arizona, Chicago, Baltimore, etc.) I wouldn’t be floored if the Tennessee Titans had some strong interest.