Marcus Mariota is starting to get his due as the Tennessee Titans quarterback made a strong debut on the NFL Network"s annual player rankings
The NFL Network's "Top 100" has been a staple since it debuted several years ago. Fans love to talk about it. Players? Eh, not typically so much. In fact, many I've spoken to have never been polled. That leads to some ridicule of the list in locker rooms. But I digress.
I bring up the "Top 100" because Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota made his initial appearance on the list this week, coming in at No. 50.
That in itself isn't remarkable. Mariota has made tremendous strides in his two NFL seasons, posting 6,244 yards, 45 touchdown passes and just 19 interceptions. He's done that in just 27 games. The interesting thing is who Mariota ranked just ahead of on the list.
First was Jameis Winston, the quarterback selected just ahead of him in the 2015 draft. Winston went to Tampa Bay with the No. 1 pick, while Mariota was second. In his two seasons, Winston — ranked 57th on the list — has thrown for 8,132 yards, 50 touchdowns and 33 interceptions in 32 games.
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Comparing Winston and Mariota — they will always be compared since they were in the same draft class — is a matter of taste. Winston has thrown for more than 4,000 yards in each of his two seasons, but Mariota has taken better care of the football.
The other quarterback ranked just behind Mariota is Indianapolis' Andrew Luck, which is surprising. Luck was 51st, one spot behind Mariota. That means the players polled feel the Titans have the best quarterback in the AFC South. We don't need to see any more of the list unveiled to know that Jacksonville's Blake Bortles and Houston's Tom Savage aren't on it.
They both have their issues. Bortles has been terribly inconsistent, while Savage us completely unproven. That being the case, there should be no excuses for Tennessee not winning the division this season.
And if that happens, it will likely be because Mariota not only made it through a season healthy for the first time in his career, but also because he lived up to his ranking. There's also a good chance he continues his upward trajectory and finds himself even higher on the list for 2018.
