The 2015 NFL draft is currently underway and the two quarterbacks who NFL experts had as the top two QBs in the draft went one and two in the first round. Former Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston was selected number one overall by the Tampa Bay Bucs and former Oregon Ducks QB Marcus Mariota went to the Tennessee Titans with the second pick.
According to ESPN,
The Bucs drafted Winston on Thursday night in a sign that they don’t believe a series of off-field incidents in college will be an indicator of future behavior.
Buccaneers coach Lovie Smith and general manager Jason Licht said repeatedly over the past two months that they were comfortable with the prospect of taking Winston, who also generated negative headlines when he was cited for shoplifting crab legs from a supermarket and later suspended for one game last season after climbing onto a table in the Florida State student union and shouting an obscenity.
On the field, there are few questions about Winston, who led Florida State to the national championship during his Heisman Trophy-winning freshman season in 2013. The 6-foot-3, 231-pound Winston passed for 3,907 yards and 25 touchdowns with 18 interceptions last season, completing a collegiate career in which he went 26-1 as a starter for the Seminoles.
Winston was not in Chicago for the draft; instead, he was in his hometown of Bessemer, Alabama with family and friends. Winston did tweet after the Bucs made the pick.
#MyDraftReactions@TBBuccaneers#JameisDraft2015pic.twitter.com/T4uyNfkH6Q
— Jameis Winston (@Jaboowins) May 1, 2015
General manager Ruston Webster and coach Ken Whisenhunt said they grew increasingly comfortable with Mariota during the pre-draft process which included a combine meeting, a private workout and meeting after his pro day and a visit to the team’s headquarters.
“Every minute we spent with him it just felt better and better,” Webster said.
“I felt that through all of our conversations and everything that we did we developed a pretty close relationship,” Mariota said of Webster and Whisenhunt during a conference call. “I’m looking forward to playing for them. I’m excited for this opportunity. I’m going to work hard at this and make the most of it.”
The Oregon Ducks star had been coveted by several teams. A league source told ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky that the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears were pushing hardest for the pick. A source told ESPN’s Bob Holtzman that the New York Jets, Cleveland Browns and St. Louis Rams also had talked with the Titans about the selection.
But ultimately, Webster said the team felt strongly that taking the Heisman Trophy winner was the way to go and that late in the process the conversation was more about searching for a reason not to select him than it was about making the pick.
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