Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota will join the Tennessee Titans after being selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. Mariota is the first Ducks quarterback drafted in the first round since Joey Harrington went to the Lions with the third pick in 2002.
2015 NFL Draft: Titans select Marcus Mariota at No. 2
Tennessee decided to keep its pick and build around the 2014 Heisman Trophy winner.
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Mariota spent most of the draft process battling Florida State’s Jameis Winston for the top pick in the draft. While Winston dealt with questions regarding his off-the-field behavior, Mariota simply needed to prove that he could succeed outside of Oregon’s spread offense.
Over the past decade, the NFL has dealt with an increasing number of quarterback prospects who were not trained in traditional “pro” offenses during their college careers. Schools like Oregon, Baylor and Arizona have utilized these style of offenses with a great degree of success.
However, some of the signal callers coming out of these systems have struggled in the NFL. Most recently, Robert Griffin III saw his career take an unfortunate turn after the league found ways to take away his legs while attacking him in the pocket. It is due in large part to these kinds of struggles that Mariota has been viewed with a quizzical eye during the lead up to the draft.
But there are reasons for optimism as well. Mariota blew out the competition at the NFL scouting combine, producing the best 40-yard dash (4.52 seconds), vertical leap (36"), broad jump (121"), 3-cone drill (6.87 seconds) and 20-yard shuffle (4.11 seconds). All were the top scores among quarterbacks in Indianapolis this year.
The Titans will now build around the former Oregon star -- GM Ruston Webster confirmed that their new quarterback was in their future plans:
Webster of Mariota: "We're not trading him." #Titans
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) May 1, 2015 That leaves incumbent Zach Mettenberger out of a starting role. In fact, Mettenberger’s agent is reportedly demanding a trade under the new circumstances, though Webster said that the Titans wouldn’t trade him either. Head coach Ken Whisenhunt now has a young quarterback to develop into a franchise signal caller, something he has yet to successfully do.
Mariota was a three-year starter at Oregon. During his time in Eugene, he completed 66.8 percent of his passes for 10,796 yards, 105 touchdowns and just 14 interceptions. Mariota also averaged over 9 yards per passing attempt. On the ground, he rushed for no fewer than 715 yards in each season, finishing his career with 2,237 yards and 29 touchdowns.
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