Rule of three says Tennessee Titans QB Marcus Mariota set for career year
By Will Lomas
Can this actually happen?
All of this looks great on paper and I think every fan would sign up for this in a heartbeat. Ultimately we have to ask how realistic this is.
Forgetting the fact that Marcus Mariota would have to stay healthy for the full season, the numbers alone would be tough to manage. When you break it down though, it really isn’t that difficult to imagine.
An average stat line would be 265 yards, 1.75 TDs per game. That is just around 50 yards more per game than he has averaged for his career.
It all boils down to talent. Mariota averaged 213 per full game last year, so do you think that this offense improved enough to get those 50 yards per game?
On the offensive line, Rodger Saffold is a huge improvement as a pass protector and should immediately make an impact. Jack Conklin and Dennis Kelly are going to fight for that right tackle job and Kelly has shown that he is going to give you the same thing every game which is a good, not great performance, so at worst you should have a good right tackle.
Even if the C/RG spots don’t get any better from last year that is still improvements on 40% of your offensive line which has to make a difference in pass protection and with handing play action passes.
At receiver, this is what you are looking at, is group A better than group B?
A: Delanie Walker, Adam Humphries, A.J. Brown
B: Jonnu Smith, Taywan Taylor, Tajae Sharpe
Based off of Walker’s resume and the investment the front office made in the two receivers I think you have to say yes.
Are those changes enough to bump Mariota’s performance up from 30 more yards per game to 50 more yards per game? I think the answer again has to be yes.
Call me optimistic or excited, but it isn’t hard to imagine a world where those improvements earn the Titans 30-50 more passing yards game. Those yards are the difference between finding a new QB at the end of the year and making Marcus Mariota the highest paid QB in the NFL.