Marcus Mariota put together a solid rookie season with the Tennessee Titans last year, though he left plenty of room for improvement. If the strides head coach Mike Mularkey has seen this summer carry over into Week 1 and beyond, Mariota could wind up being a Pro Bowler.
On Wednesday, Mularkey told reporters Mariota has already improved significantly from where he was at this time last year.
“I would hope to think he’s light years ahead of where he was at this time (last year),” Mularkey said, per Jason Wolf of The Tennesseean. “With all the game experience he had last year, all the things he’s had to go through since he’s been here.”
Mariota had his issues in 2015, particularly with turnovers. He fumbled the ball 10 times and lost six of them, but the Titans are hoping he has to scramble less this season with a revamped offensive line and running game that now features DeMarco Murray and exciting rookie Derrick Henry, who lit it up during the preseason.
Mariota’s first game as a pro was bananas, as he completed 13-of-15 passes for four touchdowns and no interceptions. He finished with a perfect passer rating of 158.3. Can he duplicate that against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday?
“I expect him to have similar numbers in the first game,” tight end Delanie Walker said. “He’s a gamer. And it’s going to be the opener, everyone is excited, he’s probably going to be a little bit more juiced, we’ve got a running game that is going to help that as well. I’d think that he’d probably have similar numbers.”
With plenty of new pieces to work with, no one really knows how much Mariota will improve this year. What we do know is Titans fans are starved for a decent season. A 3-13 record probably won’t cut it.
