Tennessee Titans: PFF reveals Marcus Mariota’s biggest weakness

Pro Football Focus says Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota’s biggest weakness is his pocket presence.

Pocket presence is the biggest weakness for Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota, according to Pro Football Focus.

ESPN made a list of the biggest weakness of every starting NFL quarterback in 2019, and for Mariota, it was his pocket presence.

Here’s what PFF’s Cam Mellor had to say about that (ESPN subscription required).

"“For such an athletic player, Mariota struggles to find a rhythm in the pocket. He takes off more than most, scrambling out of the pocket on 63 attempts since the 2017 season, the sixth-most scrambles among all quarterbacks. He has invited 12 sacks on his own over that time as well, finding unnecessary pressure far too often.”"

Mariota has indeed struggled in the pocket this season.

A lot of times, Mariota will drop his eyes and look to run instead of keeping them downfield when he actually does have time. Also, Mariota must speed up his internal clock with the abysmal protection he has seen this season because he’s holding on to the ball for too long.

In all, Mariota has been sacked 17 times, which is the most any single quarterback has taken through three games since 2002.

During the Thursday night Week 3 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Mariota absored 12 hits and nine sacks overall. Six of those nine sacks from Week 3 were attributed to the offensive line.

While there are things Mariota needs to fix, it’s impossible to expect him to play at his best when he constantly has to worry about pressure and getting hit. If the Titans want to see a better version of Mariota in the pocket, the offensive line must step its game up.

Sadly, that might not happen until the return of left tackle Taylor Lewan in Week 5, which will undoubtedly be a huge boost to this struggling group.

Right guard is another issue for Tennessee, as Jamil Douglas was routinely bulldozed by the Jaguars pass-rush, and namely Calais Campbell. Left guard Rodger Saffold has also been a major disappointment to start the season.

The hope is that rookie Nate Davis can solve the problem at right guard, but we just don’t know what to expect from a guy who has never played a snap in the NFL.