Leading up to the 2015 NFL Draft, Oregon star QB Marcus Mariota was billed as a "project," bound to struggle with the transition from a college spread offense to a pro style. After an impressive showing in offseason practices, though, the Tennessee Titans have reason to believe Mariota will find instant success as a rookie. Veteran receiver Harry Douglas recently raved about the "unbelievable accuracy" Mariota showcased in OTAs and minicamp. "I feel like Marcus has done everything he needs to do to get the ball to his receivers," Douglas added, via ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky.

Mariota also drew praise from wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson who said Mariota has been "deadly accurate" in practices. Of course it's only practice. Mariota ranks just 26th on our QB list but certainly has a chance to improve on that. However, the Titans group of WRs isn't all that impressive. Kendell Wright ranks the highest at just 45th on our WR list. He's joined by Justin Hunter (70th), Dorial Green-Beckham (89th), Douglas (101st) and Hakeem Nicks (142nd).

Dorial Green-Beckham spent weeks sidelined by a hamstring injury. That aside, his former college coach believes the Titans have landed the equivalent of a "nightmare matchup for any cornerback at any level."

"I was with the Colts with Jim Mora when he had Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne, I was with the Raiders when they had Jerry Rice, Tim Brown, Jerry Porter and some other guys on the Super Bowl team," University of Texas receivers coach Jay Norvell told the Tennessean.

Norvell spent last season coaching the red-shirted Green-Beckham in practice at Oklahoma, saying: "When you go through the history of the draft and look at the guys with size and speed and all that, he is just unique. Calvin Johnson is probably one of the closest comparisons physically because of his size."

Armed with 4.49 speed and a 6-foot-5, 237-pound frame, Green-Beckham drew pre-draft comparisons from NFL Media's Charles Davis to Falcons star Julio Jones and former NFL wideout Plaxico Burress.

"He's not a finished product, but most players aren't," Norvell said. "So he's going to have to learn the pro game and that's a completely different game from college. But he's got some natural gifts that will help him in that game, and in some ways, the NFL is probably a better game for him than college football, just because of the bump rules and (less) contact and all of that. So there are some advantages he has. ... That's why they picked him."

If Green-Beckham picks up things quickly and proves he’s not as raw as his detractors say — one offensive coordinator said he was “completely lost” at the whiteboard in a pre-draft interview — he could certainly start early in the season opposite Kendall Wright, since it seems that Justin Hunter is on the outs with the current coaching staff. If he sees starter’s snaps, he should be fantasy relevant as a rookie, though he'll have to prove he's ready for the mental side of the game. Long-term, he has a chance to flourish if both he and Marcus Mariota are the real deal.

Titans WR Kendall Wright said that he was “definitely surprised” after seeing his catches, yards and targets drop sharply in his third year with the team. Wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson said that “it was indicative of our season,” which saw three different quarterbacks start games, but Wright wasn’t willing to blame lack of chemistry with quarterbacks for the downturn. He also won’t say if he thinks the change in schemes that accompanied head coach Ken Whisenhunt’s arrival had a negative impact.

“I think a lot of things, but thinking and doing what I have to do are totally different,” Wright said, via the Tennessean. “So I just keep my thoughts to myself. I don’t even speak them out loud. Whatever I have to do, I’ll do.”

Wright averaged 5.1 catches in his first two seasons. In his first year under Whisenhunt, he averaged 4.1 receptions, though he caught six touchdown passes, a career high. He should continue to provide low-end WR3/high-end WR4 numbers. His upside depends largely on the progress of QB Marcus Mariota.

Titans beat writer Jim Wyatt (of The Tennesseean) listed five players that looked good in OTAs. One was QB Marcus Mariota: The first-round pick is drawing all the attention, of course. He has looked better than I thought he would out of the gate, with impressive arm strength and confidence running the offense. He's bound to have some disastrous days as he finds his way, but he's not yet come close to embarrassing himself.

He also said this of RB Bishop Sankey: I'm not saying he's ready for a breakout year after an underwhelming rookie season. But I have been impressed with his work in non-contact drills. When you consider he was absent last offseason because of school commitments, this has to be viewed as a positive.

Mariota has a chance to work his way into a QBBC/streaming role this season if he picks things up quickly. His weapons are fairly mediocre, but if things break his way he could have a productive rookie year. As for Sankey, he may be a post-hype sleeper, but the team drafted David Cobb, who only serves as more competition for Sankey.

For the better part of his first two seasons in the league, Titans wide receiver Kendall Wright was given unusual freedom in his route-running: It didn't really matter to the previous coaching staff how he arrived at his route destination -- as long as he arrived.

That philosophy helped Wright put up some big numbers in his first two years, especially in 2013, when he caught 94 passes for 1,079 yards.

But Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt wanted Wright to take a more disciplined and precise approach to route-running last year, which is why the two seemed occasionally to be at odds. Wright's numbers took a noticeable dip in 2014, as he caught 64 passes for 626 yards.

Whisenhunt said last week that he and Wright have spent a lot of time in the offseason talking about their philosophical differences.

The article has more detail about why Whisenhunt wanted Wright to be more disciplined. He averaged 5.1 catches in his first two seasons. In his first year under Ken Whisenhunt, he averaged 4.1 receptions, though he caught six touchdown passes, which was a career high. He should continue to provide low-end WR3/high-end WR4 numbers. His upside depends largely on the progress of QB Marcus Mariota.

WR Dorial Green-Beckham gives the Titans a high-upside target, but his off-the-field issues at Missouri led one NFC personnel man to tell NFL Media's Lance Zierlein that the wideout "couldn't keep himself out of trouble, had no structure growing up and didn't take coaching at Missouri," adding: "He's tall and fast and has good hands, but he can't be trusted."

From another AFC coordinator: "We had him in for a visit and put him on the board and he was completely lost. Whoever takes him better have a plan for him because it could be rough early on."

The Titans added Green-Beckham to shore up the receiving corps for their new quarterback, Marcus Mariota. The pick certainly is a long-term boost for Mariota, who now has a dangerous downfield threat with which to work. If he picks up things quickly (which is a big "if," considering the above comments) and proves he’s not as raw as his detractors say, Green-Beckham could certainly start early in the season opposite Kendall Wright, since it seems that Justin Hunter is on the outs with the current coaching staff.

Las Vegas oddsmakers have made running back Melvin Gordon the favorite to with the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year.

The sportsbook Bovada.com lists Gordon's odds at 13 to 2.

Quarterbacks Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, drafted first and second, are next at 7 to 1.

Behind them are three other players drafted before Gordon: receiver Amari Cooper 15-2, running back Todd Gurley 8-1 and receiver Kevin White 10-1.

All six players were first round picks. We agree that Gordon has the best chance to shine among the running backs, especially since Gurley is coming off of an ACL tear.