QB Marcus Mariota Will Succeed For Falcons: 3 Reasons Why
When the Atlanta Falcons traded Matt Ryan earlier this month, the team took a massive gamble trading in a sure bet for a massive question mark in Marcus Mariota.
Mariota lost his starting job with the Tennessee Titans in 2019, five seasons after the team drafted him No. 2 overall in 2015.
Despite winning a playoff game in 2017, Mariota wasn't consistent enough to maintain his starting role with the Titans and he was benched in favor of Ryan Tannehill, who found himself in a very similar position that Mariota is in now.
Tannehill fell out of the starting quarterback fraternity in 2018 after the Miami Dolphins decided not to bring him back to South Beach. He signed on with the Titans to become Mariota's backup, but was thrust into a starting role and never relinquished it.
Mariota has that opportunity in Atlanta, and it could work under head coach Arthur Smith, who served as the offensive coordinator in 2019, Mariota's final season with the Titans.
Falcons fans can look at Tennessee's model when analyzing Mariota's ceiling. Since Tannehill moved back into a starter role, the Titans have made it to the playoffs in each year, even advancing to the AFC Championship Game two years ago. They also captured the No. 1 seed in the AFC this past season before losing to the eventual AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals in the Divisional Round.
That's the ceiling for Mariota. The floor? Well, he proves why he was demoted to backup status in the first place and is replaced by a rookie in the 2023 NFL Draft.
But Mariota will likely actually end up somewhere in between.
Mariota's biggest strength as a quarterback is his mobility, and with the Falcons' lack of receiver help, fans should expect a ground-and-pound attack this season with Cordarrelle Patterson, Mike Davis and Damien Williams, thrown with some option looks from Mariota.
This is only going to kill time off the clock and prevent the other team from scoring as often.
In order for this to work, a strong defense needs to be put in place as well. With the signing of Casey Hayward at cornerback and the ascent of third-year pro A.J. Terrell, the secondary should rival some of the best in the league. The front seven is the challenging part.
If the Falcons can focus on adding talent to the pass rush and linebacker spot in the second half of free agency and the draft, there is a winning formula for the Falcons in 2022.
Throw in the fact that Mariota is fighting for his life in the league as a starting quarterback, and there is a path to victory. He's been given a second chance, one that very few don't often get. And Falcons fans hope he'll make the most of it, otherwise he'll be on his way out of town as quickly as he arrived.
