3 years agoAtlanta Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota will be going into his eighth season this year. The last two seasons he spent playing backup to Derek Carr in Las Vegas. This season he will spend in Atlanta as presumably the starting quarterback, at least for the first game. And this is the first reason that Mariota's ceiling is low, he will be looking over his shoulder at his replacement Desmond Ridder. The Falcons drafted Ridder with the 74th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Ridder has a high ceiling, but perhaps not with this supporting cast. The second reason Mariota has a low ceiling, are the weapons that surround him. The Falcons will start the season with rookie Drake London (who is coming off a broken ankle injury), running back/wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson and second-year tight end stud Kyle Pitts. A considerable downswing from the Falcons' heyday. Last season then quarterback Matt Ryan finished as QB20 averaging 13.82 fantasy points per game, and that was with Russell Gage and for a short time Calvin Ridley. Mariota won't have such luxuries. Fantasypros.com currently has his ADP #190, which may be too high. Mariota has not started a game since 2019 in Tennessee. That year after six starts, he was replaced by Ryan Tannehill. He finished the 2019 season with a 59.4% completion percentage and seven touchdowns with two interceptions. Most are finding hope in Mariota's performance in 2020 against the Los Angeles Chargers. In that game, Carr went out with a groin injury and Mariota played over 80% of the offensive snaps. In that Week15 game, he attempted 28 passes completing 17 for a 60.7% completion rate. He had one touchdown and one interception. He also had nine rushing attempts for 88 yards and a rushing touchdown. His rushing ability is what fantasy managers are banking on, as Mariota has never been the most accurate passer, In his last three seasons he has a completion percentage of 59.4% in 2019 (seven games), 60.7% in 2020 (one game), and 50.0% in 2021 (nine games). His rushing ability hasn't vaulted him into top-10 fantasy finishes. The two seasons that excelled didn't produce fantasy top-10 finishes. In 2015 he rushed for 252 yards on 34 attempts and finished as QB22. The next season he rushed for 349 yards on 60 attempts and finished as QB12 his highest fantasy finish. Last season he rushed 13 times for 87 yards and one touchdown, in nine games. Playing behind an offensive line that allowed 200 pressures and ranked 29th in pass-blocking efficiency, per Pro Football Focus will not help. Sharp Football Analysis has the Falcons with the 10th hardest football schedule and a win total of 4.45. Mariota's low ceiling is a reflection of his supporting casts, the rookie breathing down his neck, and our inability to depend on his rushing skills.--Gladys Tyler