Adrian Fedkiw
Each day leading up to the official start of the NFL football season, I will be providing you with player rankings, team previews, analysis, predictions, opinions and a whole lot more.
So much for being a project and needing a lot of time to develop.
Marcus Mariota tossed six touchdown passes in his NFL debut last year against Jameis Winston and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a battle of the top two picks in the NFL Draft.
After having the No. 2 pick and using it to land Mariota in 2014 despite several trade offers, Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson didn’t stay put at No. 1 overall this past draft. Instead, he traded it away and acquired six picks in all, including four this year.
Tennessee removed the interim tag from Mike Mularkey during the offseason after he took over for Ken Whisenhunt, who was canned just 23 games into his tenure following a 3-20 mark. He reportedly refused to make changes in his offense in order for it to fit Mariota’s skill set better.
We’ll see how long Mularkey lasts.
Grading the Roster
QBs- Marcus Mariota (7.8), Matt Cassel (7.2)
RBs- DeMarco Murray (7.4), Derrick Henry (7.3), Dexter McCluster (7.2)
WRs- Kendall Wright (7.3), Rishard Matthews (7.3), Andre Johnson (7.3), Tajae Sharpe (7.2)
TEs- Delanie Walker (7.6), Craig Stevens (7.3)
Ts- Taylor Lewan (7.7), Jack Conklin (7.3), Dennis Kelly (7.1)
Gs- Chance Warmack (7.3), Jeremiah Poutasi (7.2), Quiton Spain (7.1)
Cs- Ben Jones (7.3), Brian Schwenke (7.2)
DEs- Jurrell Casey (8.1), DaQuan Jones (7.3), Ropati Pitoitua (7.3), Karl Klug (7.3)
NTs- Al Woods (7.4), Austin Johnson (7.1)
OLBs- Brian Orakpo (7.9), Derrick Morgan (7.5), Kevin Dodd (7.2), Deiontrez Mount (7.1)
ILBs- Wesley Woodyard (7.6), Avery Williamson (7.5), Sean Spence (7.2), Nate Palmer (7.2)
CBs- Jason McCourty (7.4), Perish Cox (7.3), Antwon Blake (7.3), Brice McCain (7.2)
Ss- Da’Norris Searcy (7.6), Rashad Johnson (7.4), Daimion Stafford (7.2)
K- Ryan Succop (7.3)
P- Brett Kern (7.3)
KR- Antonio Andrews (7.3)
PR- Harry Douglas (7.3)
Team Rankings
Team- 7.35 (29/32)
Offense- 7.35 (23/32)
Defense- 7.39 (17/32)
Quarterbacks- 7.5 (20/32)
Running Backs- 7.3 (19/32)
Receivers- 7.33 (25/32)
Offensive Line- 7.28 (27/32)
Defensive Line- 7.42 (5/16)
Linebackers- 7.4 (6/16)
Secondary- 7.34 (22/32)
Special Teams- 7.3
Coaches – 7.2
PREDICTION– 3-13 (4th AFC South)
QUARTERBACKS
In all, Mariota finished his rookie campaign throwing for 2,818 yards with 19 scores and 10 interceptions in 12 games.
Mariota showcased the ball placement and accuracy that he had at Oregon to go along with solid mechanics where his throwing motion is compact and smooth. He’s mobile in the pocket and outside of it, and showed the awareness to keep his eyes downfield to look for open receivers instead of always taking off and running, which many athletic rookie quarterbacks do. He doesn’t have the strongest arm in the world, but his other positive qualities make up for it.
Matt Cassel will be the backup to Mariota after the Titans shipped off Zach Mettenberger to San Diego.
RUNNING BACKS
Tennessee has an intriguing pair at running back, acquiring DeMarco Murray from Philadelphia for cheap and drafting Derrick Henry in the second round. The Titans rushing attack was putrid last year, with Antonio Andrews leading all rushers with just 520 yards on the ground.
Murray ran for just 702 yards averaged 3.6 yards per carry during his lone season with the Eagles after leading the NFL with 1,845 yards rushing in 2014. Murray wasn’t used as a between-the-tackles runner the way he was in Dallas, instead being utilized more along the edges on Chip Kelly’s signature sweep. He didn’t showcase much vision last year at all. Henry was a workhorse at Alabama, carrying the ball 45-plus times on several occasions.
RECEIVERS
The Titans don’t have any studs at wide receiver, but have a bunch of average guys. They’ve attempted to draft one, however, but Kenny Britt, Tyrone Calico, Paul Williams and Justin Hunter never panned out. Then they traded away their second-round pick last year, Dorial Green-Beckham, to Philadelphia because Mularkey didn’t approve of his lazy work ethic.
Plagued by injury the last few years, Kendall Wright hasn’t reached the same numbers since notching 94 catches for 1,079 yards during his sophomore season in 2013, but Wright remains the best threat Tennessee has. He’s quick and at his best working underneath and running after the catch.
The other options include Rishard Matthews, who comes off a solid season in Miami, the aging former superstar Andre Johnson and rookie Tajae Sharpe, who has turned head in Training Camp and the preseason.
Delanie Walker has broken out as a receiver the last two seasons, putting up 1,088 yards on 94 receptions in 2015 after tallying 890 yards on 63 receptions the year prior. He never had more than 400 in any of his seven seasons with San Francisco and that was because he was primarily used as a blocker. Vernon Davis was the one catching passes.
And speaking of his blocking, Walker can still do that too. He opens up a lot of holes in the run game due to his lateral agility and being able to wall off linebackers. He also does a solid job of cracking down on defensive ends.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
The offensive line was putrid last season, but do have a building block in former first-round pick Taylor Lewan and a new offensive line coach in Russ Grimm. He got better as the season went along last year and looks to build on that momentum heading into 2016. After initially trading back in the draft from the No. 1 spot to 15, Tennessee moved back up to No. 8 to select Michigan State’s Jack Conklin, who is a mauler and expected to be the immediate starter at right tackle.
Chance Warmack needs to show more consistency at right guards. He too is a former first-rounder. The other guard spot appears to be a battle between Jeremiah Poutasi and undrafted rookie Quinton Spain. Former Houston Texan Ben Jones will be the starter at center.
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN
Jurrell Casey might be the most underappreciated player in the entire league. At 6’1 305, Casey is probably better equipped being a 4-3 defensive tackle instead of a two-gapper, but he’s made it work with the Titans.
Despite being undersized Casey can still get to the quarterback using his quick hands when going to the swim move. Those hands make up for his lack of length. Against the run, Casey is very slippery and converts speed to power well although he’s not necessarily that strong. He has a quick first step and gets into the backfield pretty regularly.
DaQuan Jones is the other starter at defensive end and is a better run defender than pass rusher. He controls the line of scrimmage, finds the ball and makes tackles. The underrated Al Woods is the starter at nose tackle.
LINEBACKERS
The former first rounder Derrick Morgan plays with good instincts and his motor is always running, but it wasn’t a coincidence that the Titans defense fell once he was lost to a shoulder injury. Brian Orakpo is super talented and didn’t stay on the field in two of his last three years in Washington, but that wasn’t the case last year. His agility and strength make him a good pass rusher.
Wesley Woodyard and Avery Williamson are the starters at inside linebacker. Williamson doesn’t have good speed, but usually takes the proper angle to get sideline to sideline. Unlike Williamson, Woodyard is quick and uses it to his advantage when timing his blitzes and attacking through the A-gap. He’s also a sure tackler in the run game.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Jason McCourty played in just four games last season due to a groin injury and the secondary suffered because of it. He’s plays with aggression and has always been one of the better tackling cornerbacks in the game.
The depth behind McCourty is slim. Perrish Cox was brought in as a free agent last year and wasn’t great, he seems to be better off in the slot. Brice McCain and Antwon Blake are slotted behind Cox.
Da’Norris Searcy comes off a successful first season in Tennessee following a four-year stint in Buffalo, while Rashad Johnson was brought over as a free agent from Arizona.
TEAM PREVIEWS
Buffalo Bills | New England Patriots | Miami Dolphins | New York Jets
Baltimore Ravens | Cincinnati Bengals | Pittsburgh Steelers | Cleveland Browns
Indianapolis Colts | Houston Texans | Jacksonville Jaguars
NFL PLAYER RANKINGS