Marcus Mariota Needs Titans Receivers to Step Up to Achieve Early NFL Success

When the Tennessee Titans selected Marcus Mariota, they acknowledged what they'd needed to acknowledge for a long time. This team will not rebound back into relevancy without taking a new risk at quarterback. And while Mariota may not have been as ideal for a quick turnaround as Philip Rivers, there's at least a puncher's chance that Mariota can turn the tide around quickly enough to make Tennessee's offense interesting this season.

We often forget—mostly because we're preoccupied with pointing out flaws and "must improve" tags for even established guys—that quarterbacks who turn into stars tend to be at least fairly good off the bat. Over the last 15 years, the only quarterbacks who completely struggled in their rookie season and turned into fringe top-10 guys are Eli Manning and Matthew Stafford.

Mariota is the darling of Football Outsiders' QBase projection system, and while I know that there are clear flaws and system applications to deal with in Mariota's transition to the pros, the 30,000-foot view is that quarterbacks with Mariota's attributes have tended to do very well as a group in the NFL.

Tier	Percentage Chance
Mean	1275 DYAR
Bust (<500 DYAR)	22.8%
Adequate Starter (500-1499 DYAR)	40.5%
Upper Tier (1500-2500 DYAR)	24.1%
Elite (2500+ DYAR)	12.6%

But for that to happen right away, the Titans will have to produce a group of skill players worth Mariota playing with. Specifically, since there is no foundation back and an offensive line that is charitably rebuilding, the Titans will need their receiving corps to step up.

Last season was an incredibly bad year for Titans receivers not named Delanie Walker. Stocks dropped, and potential went unfulfilled. For Mariota to have instant success, and not have a more West Coast-oriented version of a Stafford or Manning rookie year, some of these guys will have to step up along the way.

Rebuilding Kendall Wright

Wideout Kendall Wright admitted after the season that he just has to keep his thoughts to himself, which tells you all you need to know about how he feels in head coach Ken Whisenhunt's system.

It's hard to blame Wright for the frustration. He went from 140 targets in 2013 to 93 in 2014, and it's not like Tennessee redistributed those targets to better receivers, because Wright was the best wideout on the roster.

Moreover, the Titans saw a huge percentage of uncatchable balls last season, per Football Outsiders. Wright finished 13th in percentage of targets considered uncatchable, which is a fancier way of saying "he played with Zach Mettenberger and Charlie Whitehurst."

Mariota will be able to remedy that—he's nothing if not accurate. The question is if, in the revamping of this offense to marry enough college concepts to bring Mariota along, the Titans will be able to better use Wright's natural vision and agility. That means more screens and more plays out of the slot, and more engineered free releases.

In theory, it shouldn't be hard for Wright to rebound. But it is going to involve some more open-mindedness from Whisenhunt and the offensive staff than they've shown so far.

The Past Justin Hunter and the Future Justin Hunter

While Hunter finished first in the uncatchable rate stat I referenced earlier, there's much more to worry about with him. Hunter finished last among all qualified receivers with a 42 percent catch rate. The list of players who did that in 2013 are rather grim for the hopes of a rebound:

Player	Team	Catch Rate	2013 Snaps	2014 Snaps	2015 Fate
Santonio Holmes	NYJ	39%	515	257	Unsigned
Kris Durham	DET	45%	970	109	Depth receiver in Oakland
T.J. Graham	BUF	40%	835	180	Depth receiver with Jets
Darrius Heyward-Bey	IND	45%	615	127	Depth receiver in Pittsburgh
Chris Givens	STL	41%	607	200	Depth receiver in St. Louis
Stephen Hill	NYJ	41%	607	0	Practice Squad in Carolina
Greg Little	CLE	41%	907	139	Unsigned

All the past hype about Hunter's size and speed can't overcome the fact that, in his third year in the NFL, we still have no real evidence that he can consistently run routes and catch footballs. The Titans are probably going to give him another chance this season because they have already made such a commitment to him that they might as well see it out. But odds are this year's vintage of Hunter will be chasing 2014's bad snaps with more of the same in 2015.

Now, the Titans do have a player with size and speed that should be a factor on the roster. He is often compared to Hunter because of his physical attributes, but there's no getting around the fact that second-round pick Dorial Green-Beckham is a more polished receiver than Hunter ever showed himself to be in college.

In ranking him as the second-best receiver in this year's draft class, the Matt Waldman RSP accentuated just how impressive Green-Beckham played. Not only does Green-Beckham have a physical talent, but he also uses it to play games other receivers just can't:

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He still needs to improve his attack of the ball, but Green-Beckham often catches the ball with his hands away from his body. He can also high-point the ball. His caliber of his work in tight coverage and under duress is rare. He manhandles defensive backs with his combo of strength, agility, and height, and he likes to be the aggressor when earning position. On the basis of these skills alone, Green-Beckham can become a primary starter for an NFL team tomorrow and thrive. He’s one of the few options who doesn’t need perfect release and route technique to create separation.

The rookie is neither as explosive nor as dynamic as Calvin Johnson, but he has the raw skill to be the best big/tall receiver I've seen since the former Georgia Tech receiver entered the NFL several years ago.

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The question with Green-Beckham is much simpler: Is he going to stay out of trouble off the field? A domestic violence arrest was the main reason the former Missouri receiver was available on Day 2 of the draft. Should he keep his nose clean, the Titans should at least get more out of him than they did out of Nate Washington last season.

The Husks

The Titans took chances on a pair of veteran wideouts in Atlanta's Harry Douglas and Indianapolis' Hakeem Nicks. They're both awkward fits for what the Titans are trying to do, though I can see the logic in each move.

Player	Team	DYAR	DVOA	Catch Rate
Harry Douglas	ATL	108	5.9%	69%
Hakeem Nicks	IND	0	-12.7%	56%

Nicks wasn't able to give much more than a dead-cat bounce in Indianapolis last season, despite situations which clearly called for the depth receivers to step up and do something. The odds of him becoming what he once was are microscopic at this point. But the Titans needed a big, physical receiver who could play outside in case Hunter goes completely off the reservation.

Douglas actually had his most effective season yet, though it was mostly because he was platooned with other targets like Devin Hester than any real indication of improvement. The further down the board you can slide Douglas, the better he'll be. The problem with him in Tennessee is, well, shouldn't Kendall Wright be the slot receiver? It's a nice depth addition in the event that Wright gets hurt, but the Titans shouldn't be thinking of that.

In addition to these guys, the talent that Tre McBride showed at William & Mary is worth noting, though I'm not sure the Titans are invested enough to really make him a worthwhile discussion topic at this point.

Ultimately, Marcus Mariota's success (or lack thereof) is going to be on himself and his coaching staff, but when it comes to immediate impact for a rookie, it really helps to have a solid supporting cast.

With run game optimism at a low point, it's going to be up to the Titans coaches to get something going to take the pressure off Mariota. I'm not a huge believer in a Justin Hunter comeback, but if the Titans can at least get Wright and Green-Beckham operating early, they can design enough good plays to keep the pressure off their rookie quarterback until he's ready to shine.

Rivers McCown is an NFL Analyst for Bleacher Report and the co-host of the Three-Cone Drill podcast. His work has also appeared on Football Outsiders and ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter at @riversmccown.