A likely suspension for Jameis Winston has been the big NFL news story lately, but the quarterback selected just after him in the 2015 NFL Draft was discussed this past week also, for different reasons. Jim Wyatt of titansonline.com was impressed by what he saw at OTAs.
According to Wyatt, "Minus the bulky knee brace he’d worn previously, Mariota has sure looked fast on the occasions when he’s taken off." A faster Mariota can only be a positive for his fantasy prospects; better mobility in the pocket, and perhaps more rushing production.
What's really needed (and maybe a new coaching staff will help) is more productivity all the way around. Mariota started 15 games and threw only 13 TDs a year ago. Even when you add in his rushing scores (5), he was one of the worst-producing starting quarterbacks in the league last year in terms of touchdowns.
| QUARTERBACK TDS PER START, 2017 (MINIMUM 7 GAMES) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | St | Pass | Run | Tot | TD/St |
| Carson Wentz, Phil. | 13 | 33 | 0 | 33 | 2.54 |
| Russell Wilson, Sea. | 16 | 34 | 3 | 37 | 2.31 |
| Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 7 | 16 | 0 | 16 | 2.29 |
| Tom Brady, N.E. | 16 | 32 | 0 | 32 | 2.00 |
| Kirk Cousins, Wash. | 16 | 27 | 4 | 31 | 1.94 |
| Jared Goff, LAR | 15 | 28 | 1 | 29 | 1.93 |
| Ben Roethlisberger, Pitt. | 15 | 28 | 0 | 28 | 1.87 |
| Matthew Stafford, Det. | 16 | 29 | 0 | 29 | 1.81 |
| Alex Smith, K.C. | 15 | 26 | 1 | 27 | 1.80 |
| Josh McCown, NYJ | 13 | 18 | 5 | 23 | 1.77 |
| Dak Prescott, Dall. | 16 | 22 | 6 | 28 | 1.75 |
| Philip Rivers, LAC | 16 | 28 | 0 | 28 | 1.75 |
| Cam Newton, Car. | 16 | 22 | 6 | 28 | 1.75 |
| Case Keenum, Minn. | 14 | 21 | 1 | 22 | 1.57 |
| Andy Dalton, Cin. | 16 | 25 | 0 | 25 | 1.56 |
| Drew Brees, N.O. | 16 | 23 | 2 | 25 | 1.56 |
| Jameis Winston, T.B. | 13 | 19 | 1 | 20 | 1.54 |
| Derek Carr, Oak. | 15 | 22 | 0 | 22 | 1.47 |
| Blake Bortles, Jac. | 16 | 21 | 2 | 23 | 1.44 |
| Jay Cutler, Mia. | 14 | 19 | 0 | 19 | 1.36 |
| Eli Manning, NYG | 15 | 19 | 1 | 20 | 1.33 |
| Carson Palmer, Ariz. | 7 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 1.29 |
| Matt Ryan, Atl. | 16 | 20 | 0 | 20 | 1.25 |
| Brett Hundley, G.B. | 9 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 1.22 |
| Marcus Mariota, Tenn. | 15 | 13 | 5 | 18 | 1.20 |
| Joe Flacco, Balt. | 16 | 18 | 1 | 19 | 1.19 |
| Trevor Siemian, Den. | 11 | 12 | 1 | 13 | 1.18 |
| Tyrod Taylor, Buff. | 14 | 13 | 3 | 16 | 1.14 |
| Jacoby Brissett, Ind. | 15 | 13 | 4 | 17 | 1.13 |
| DeShone Kizer, Clev. | 15 | 11 | 5 | 16 | 1.07 |
| Mitchell Trubisky, Chi. | 12 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 0.75 |
| Tom Savage, Hou. | 7 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0.71 |
So Mariota winds up down with some lightly regarded or struggling first-year starters as well as seemingly declining veterans like Joe Flacco. Interesting that Tyrod Taylor is also down there, although most would agree he was operating a really talent-thin offense. (Aside: Tom Savage shows up last on this list; if it were expanded to include 6-game starters, fellow Texan Deshaun Watson would have been first, at over 3 TDs per game.)
In any case, Mariota needs to do a better job, or the new offense needs to do a better job, of putting the ball in the end zone. Maybe a faster Mariota will be a better Mariota, but he'll need to show it on the field.