Tennessee Titans: 5 players who can win an award in 2019

Marcus Mariota: Comeback Player of the Year

The 2018 season was a rough one for Mariota. Not only did he deal with an elbow injury for much of the season, he posted career-lows in touchdown passes and passing yards. Last season was certainly not his finest moment in the NFL.

Things could turn around quickly in 2019, though.

Mariota will have a revamped offensive line in front of him, that at the very least couldn’t do worse than last year’s version that allowed him to get sacked 42 times. Even in those conditions, Mariota was one of the most accurate passers in the NFL under pressure.

He also has the support of a great 1-2 punch in running backs Derrick Henry and Dion Lewis, who will force defenses to stack the box to stop them in what will be a run-first offense.

That will more than help create some space down the field for Mariota’s receiving corps., which is easily the most talented group he will have thrown to in his career. Along with wideout Corey Davis and the return of tight end Delanie Walker, Mariota will welcome the additions of receivers Adam Humphries and second-round pick A.J. Brown.

Beyond that, the Titans have more depth in Tajae Sharpe and Taywan Taylor, both of whom have yet another year of experience under their belt and are pretty good options behind the four aforementioned pass-catchers.

If bulking up this offseason works and Mariota is able to stay healthy for an entire 16-game schedule, he could easily put up the best numbers of his career, making him a Comeback Player of the Year candidate after a disappointing 2018 campaign.