The Tennessee Titans have Marcus Mariota coming into OTA workouts with the inside edge over Zac Mettenberger to start in 2015 and this comes as Dorial Green-Beckham, David Cobb, Tre McBride and Jalston Fowler add some solid depth for Ken Whisenhunt on offense with bishop Sankey Justin Hunter, Kendall Wright, Shonn Greene, Dexter McCluster and Hakeem Nicks on the roster.
Mariota was the number two overall pick this year in the draft and he likely will be the starter in Week 1, which happens to be against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Mariota and Jameis Winston could face off in that game and right now it appears that Mariota is lined up to be the starter. According to NFL.com, Ken Whisenhunt said that he thinks Mariota has the potential to start right away for the Titans.
According to Pro Football Talk, Mariota is working on his contract with the Titans and once he gets that signed, he will be ready to get things going in the upcoming minicamp and OTA workouts. The rookie contract process is not as wild as it once was for top picks, but Mike Florio writes that the two sides are currently working on offset language. The Titans are ready for Mariota to take over and they hope he can be like Russell Wilson or Andrew Luck and be successful starting right away.
Whisenhunt said it was the "plan" to start Mariota and obviously things could change if he struggles in offseason workouts or minicamp. NFL.com reports that Titans GM Ruston Webster said that the team will be re-working their offense to help Mariota get used to the NFL. Mariota played in a unique offense at Oregon and some scouts have wondered whether he will be able to adapt to the NFL quickly.
Green-Beckham has a better chance to start than McBride and he could fit in well with the group, as he has great size and speed, which is why the team took him despite his off the field issues. The Titans have depth with Justin Hunter, Kendall Wright, Jacoby Ford, Hakeem Nicks and Harry Douglas, but adding an explosive talent like Green-Beckham could be huge for the team.
The Titans won just two games last season and they have holes all over the roster, especially on defense. The offensive side of the ball has a lot of young players and Whisenhunt may push some of his rookies into starting roles. The Titans actually have some good depth at wide receiver, but after taking Dorial Green-Beckham in the second round and Tre McBride in the seventh, the team could push those players to contribute.
Mariota is obviously the star of this draft class for the Titans, but both Cobb and Green-Beckham could end up as the best picks for Tennessee. Last season Sankey rushed for 569 yards and two touchdowns for the Titans on 152 carries and after that so-so season, Cobb could push him to start. Cobb was one of the most productive running backs in college football last season, rushing for 1626 yards and 13 touchdowns while averaging over five yards per carry.
