John Glennon

jglennon@tennessean.com

In terms of background, Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota and rookie wide receiver Tajae Sharpe couldn’t be more different.

Mariota led his Oregon team to the national championship game, won a Heisman Trophy and was the second overall pick in the 2015 draft.

Sharpe, on the other hand, played his college football in relative obscurity, piling up just enough statistics at Massachusetts that the Titans chose him in the fifth round last April.

After just a couple of preseason games together, however, Mariota and Sharpe are looking like they’re a combination that will be making an impact for quite some time.

Mariota has targeted Sharpe eight times in the limited stretch that both have been on the field, and Sharpe has caught every pass for 103 yards — an average of nearly 13 yards per reception.

“I think it’s a big trust level,” Titans coach Mike Mularkey said of the chemistry between Mariota and Sharpe.

“What you’re seeing is basically what (Sharpe) does in practice. He’s made some bigger catches today, some big catches that we haven’t had here in a while.

“It’s a trust factor. He believes and knows he’s going to be in the right place at the right time and to this point — since he’s been here — he has.”

The connection between the two could not have looked any sharper than it did in the Titans’ 26-16 loss to Carolina on Saturday. Mariota and Sharpe were only in the game for three series, but that was enough for the Titans’ starting quarterback to complete six passes to Sharpe for 68 yards.

The two biggest plays came on third downs:

On third-and-14 during the Titans’ first drive, Mariota hit Sharpe deep down the middle for a 20-yard gain. On third-and-11 during the Titans’ third drive, Mariota hit Sharpe for a 16-yard gain, one that helped Tennessee score its first touchdown.

“I want to be where I’m supposed to be all the time because I know with him, being the great quarterback he is, he is going to find you,” Sharpe said. “I want to be a reliable target. If he’s looking for me, I want to be where he is expecting me. That's something I take pride in and like I said, it all starts in practice.”

The Titans twice in recent years used second-round picks to select “X” receivers with a lot of potential — Justin Hunter in 2013 and Dorial Green-Beckham in 2015. But based on early returns, it looks as if Mariota has found his favorite target — and it’s Sharpe, the 140th overall pick in 2016.

“He makes it easy,” Mariota said of Sharpe. “He is a very versatile athlete. He has done a lot for us already, and he gets great separation in and out of his routes. We are going to continue to expect these things out of him.”

Reach John Glennon at jglennon@tennessean.com and follow him on Twitter @glennonsports.

RELATED