Rookie Report Card: Marcus Mariota and Rashad Greene
Each week throughout the season, I’ll cover at least two rookies in the Rookie Report Card and try to always include the biggest performers from that particular week. On top of reviewing my expectations for each player coming into the league and covering how he’s performed at the NFL level to this point, I’ll actually give him a grade in three categories. Those categories are performance to date, 2015 potential and long term upside.
The series kicks off with a look at Marcus Mariota and Rashad Greene.
Marcus Mariota, QB TEN
Week One Stats: 13/16 passing, 209 yards, four touchdowns, two rushes, six rushing yards
Although it was easy to see his immense upside, I haven’t been completely convinced over the last year and a half that Mariota possessed the skills to develop into a great NFL quarterback and consistent fantasy contributor.
Coming out of Oregon, I saw him as a bit of a system passer who benefited greatly from an incredible amount of talent around him as well as a simple passing offense that didn’t require him to read the defense very much or go through many progressions. Furthermore, being the unbelievable athlete he is he often relied on his legs to get himself out of trouble when the pocket broke down or his first and second receiving options weren’t open which made me question if he could stand in the pocket consistently and deliver the ball to open targets. Finally, playing nearly exclusively out of the shotgun I also questioned whether he’d be able to transition to a more traditional pro offense.
Through one game in the NFL, Mariota eased each of those worries.
With a solid pre-season that saw him complete 21 of 30 passes (70%) for 326 yards (10.9 yards per attempt), a touchdown and an interception, Mariota impressed and showed he’s improved from the confines of the pocket.
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Instead of playing out of the shotgun during the preseason, Mariota spent a majority of his time on the field working on his drop backs from under center. Standing tall in the pocket and delivering the ball on time, Mariota looked particularly good on timing patterns such as slants and curls on three and five step drops. Only relying on his athleticism when absolutely necessary, he only tucked the ball five times in 37 drop backs during the preseason.
All that progress continued to show during the opener in Tampa Bay where he ran just twice and once again looked good under center and in the pocket.
On the third play of the game, Mariota stood in the shotgun and receiving the snap. He then faked the handoff to the tailback to bring the linebackers towards the line of scrimmage before slinging the ball to slot receiver Kendall Wright in one, lightning quick motion. The ball was perfectly thrown, hitting Wright in stride and the receiver sprinted 52 yards for a touchdown.
Later in the first quarter, Mariota showed how his athleticism can help with more than just running down field. After taking the snap from under center he sprinting right on a designed roll out and hit tailback Bishop Sankey in the flat, who took it 12-yards for another score.
In the second quarter, Mariota threw two more touchdowns, one with a flick of the wrist from the shotgun hitting Harry Douglas on a four-yard quick slant and the other from under center when he hooked up Delanie Walker on a one-yard curl route after a very quick five step drop. Although none of his touchdown passes were difficult to execute, he was decisive and each throw came out of his hand quickly and accurately.
Overall, it was obvious the Titans’ coaching staff tried to put Mariota in the position to succeed early and they executed that game plan to perfection. Not having to make multiple reads more than once or twice in the entire game, he got comfortable early and with the exception of an impressive throw down the seam to Walker early in the game, primarily threw quick slants and passes to the flat in his first game.
Over the course of his rookie season, Mariota won’t be afforded the luxury from playing from ahead and will no doubt be forced to push the ball down the field a lot more than he did in his first professional game, so fantasy owners shouldn’t get used to seeing such an efficient stat line from the former Heisman winner. That said, he has proved since the beginning of training camp that he can improve as a pocket passer and potentially become a relied upon fantasy quarterback in that role. We’ve all known of his consistent QB1 upside for some time, but seeing him execute an NFL offense with such ease in his first start makes it seem that potential could be realized sooner rather than later.
Although he shouldn’t be relied upon as anything more than a QB2 with upside as a rookie, Mariota has the potential to be one of the best fantasy quarterbacks in the game if he continues to improve from inside the pocket and the Titans continue to get better as a team and don’t see a lot of coaching changes that could impede his progress.
Dynasty owners should be ecstatic about Mariota’s start and shouldn’t be looking to move him unless he can fetch a King’s ransom.
| Rookie Report Card | ||
| Player: Marcus Mariota | ||
| Performance To Date | 2015 Potential | Long Term Upside |
| A+ | B- | A- |
Rashad Greene, WR JAX
Week One Stats: seven receptions, 28 yards, one touchdown
With a stat line of seven catches for 28 yards and a touchdown, Greene may not appear to be one of the top rookie performers of the week. But when you consider he was targeted by Blake Bortles 13 times in the opener against the Panthers, it’s easier to see why I wanted to take a closer look at the rookie receiver.
Despite being liked by some for his potential as a slot receiver coming out of Florida State, I wasn’t a fan of Greene going into the NFL Draft. Standing 5’-11” and weighing just 182 pounds, he doesn’t have the physique of a game changer at receiver and with a 40-yard dash clocked at 4.53 seconds and just a 36.5-inch vertical, he doesn’t possess the athleticism to consistently make an impact.
While playing for the Seminoles, Greene proved to be the top receiver for Jameis Winston because of a quick first step, the ability to get behind defenses and a knack for making big plays in big games. While in Tallahassee, he ran quality routes and showed the ability to separate from college corners because of his quickness in and out of his breaks. He was also able to put up good run after catch numbers while in college. Again however, it appeared that his success could be attributed to playing against college level defensive backs. Making the move to Sundays looked to be an uphill climb for Greene.
Through the pre-season as well as Sunday’s game, nothing has made me waver on my opinion of Greene. The 13 targets he saw in the opener against the Panthers were a head scratcher. In four preseason games, he was targeted just seven times, converting them into five grabs for just 39 yards.
While some may see the high amount of targets and his touchdowns as a sign Greene’s fantasy value may be on the rise, I wouldn’t bet on it. A majority of his targets (both in the preseason and on Sunday) were on short crossing routes or quick out routes where he was an outlet for Bortles who was under pressure for much of the game. The fact he converted just seven of those targets into catches and those seven grabs into just 28 yards should be proof enough that he’s not looked at as a big playmaker.
All things told, Greene only had a role as big as he did in week one because Marqise Lee is out with a hamstring strain and Julius Thomas missed the game with a hand injury. Even if he holds onto the slot job for a few more weeks, it’s difficult to envision Greene turning into anything more than a placeholder for a more talented receiver.
If you happen to have Greene on your dynasty roster and a fellow owner sees his numbers in week one as anything more than sheer happenstance, I’d try to capitalize and move him for whatever I could get that could develop into something useful.
| Rookie Report Card | ||
| Player: Rashad Greene | ||
| Performance To Date | 2015 Potential | Long Term Upside |
| C | D | D+ |
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