Contract disputes and offset language issues behind them, the Tennessee Titans are very pleased with what they’re seeing from Marcus Mariota, who seem to be further ahead than what anyone on the team expected.
Mariota still hasn’t thrown an interception in training camp, but that obviously doesn’t mean anything. He wasn’t an interception machine in college either, throwing just 14 in three years with Oregon, including four each in his sophomore and junior years. He completed 68.3% of his passes last season and 68.5% of them during his first year in Eugene.
Mariota was expected to need some time to adjust to the offense he’s supposed to orchestrate, but maybe Oregon offense is actually even more complicated than the legends say, because from what he’s been showing in training camp, he’s picked up on what he’s had to very quickly. He’s embracing the leader role right off the bat and although this isn’t actual game time yet, he’s causing a lot of optimism to spread around the Titans’ practice facilities.
One of the keys will be how good his receiving corps will be. Justin Hunter, who might be facing discipline from the NFL for assault charges and his arrest, might be the most talented of the bunch. Kendall Wright is doing very well in camp, Hakeem Nicks is trying to bounce back from a career down time and Dorial Green-Beckham is the wild card, who keeps wowing people with his size, although consistency has been an issue all offseason for him.