Marcus Mariota enters the 2024 NFL season with his fifth new team as a Washington Commander backup quarterback. The Commanders and Mariota agreed on a one-year, $6 million contract that could go all the way up to $10 million.
Mariota will start his 10th year in the league looking to provide meaningful reps and mentor rookie quarterback Jaylen Daniels who shares a similar playstyle with the scrambler Mariota. The Oregon product has had some rough years recently, but could this be his chance to play meaningful minutes again?
Marcus Mariota 2022 & 2023 Production and Stats
Last season Mariota finished as the QB63 in PPR leagues. As an Eagle, Mariota only saw the field in three games and had 15 completions on 23 attempts for 163 yards, he had a single touchdown as well as a single interception. Mariota added eight rushes for 52 yards on the ground but never found the endzone with his legs. As a backup for Jalen Hurts, Mariota had nearly no role for the Eagles, but this season will be different, the Commanders do not have a seasoned quarterback at the helm.
In 2022, Mariota’s last season as a starter he had his ups and downs but was inconsistent overall. For the Falcons Mariota threw for 2,219 yards, 15 touchdowns, nine interceptions, and had a 61.3% completion percentage, which would have ranked him 30th in completion percentage this past year.
Marcus Mariota 2024 Fantasy Outlook
Marcus Mariota enters the 2024 season as the backup quarterback for the number two overall pick out of LSU Jayden Daniels. FantasyPros has Mariota ranked as QB50 with Mariota being more of a mentor than a starter. Mariota is projected to have just under 300 passing yards, 30 rushing yards, 43 passing attempts, one touchdown, one interception, and a grand total of 19 points on the season.
New head coach Dan Quinn was asked about the quarterback situation in Washington and said this:
“In a perfect scenario, a young quarterback would have a leader to also learn from, but perfect rarely happens. But we do have that in Marcus Mariota. Him sharing nine years of gold with Jayden, I think, has been something that’s really cool for us to see. Rookie quarterbacks usually don’t get that, and we do.”
What does this quote mean though? It means exactly what we think it does, that Mariota is not here to be a competing quarterback, but he is here to guide Daniels and mentor him.
Final Thoughts
Marcus Mariota is past his prime, and everyone got to see that in HD when he was the QB1 for the Falcons, and he led them to a 7-10 record in 2022. Taking Marcus Mariota as your QB1 or even QB2 is not a smart decision.
If you are playing in a 30-person league that is double flex, and you have to have a second quarterback, I would still advise against drafting Mariota. Unless Jayden Daniels is not able to play, the backup will not see reps on the field.
The only upside is that maybe, just maybe Marcus Mariota turns into the scrambling-improviser he was in Tennessee and can make some plays in Washington, but overall stay away from drafting Mariota.
The best-case scenario for Marcus Mariota is something happens to Jayden Daniels and the veteran finds himself as the starting quarterback for the Commanders. If Mariota gets that opportunity and turns into his former self, he could get offered smaller contracts from teams that keep him in the league as a perennial backup like Ryan Fitzpatrick or Teddy Bridgewater.
However, if the 30-year-old gets the starting job and goes back to how he was in Atlanta, he probably will not receive any more offers and his career will seemingly end.
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