Around NFL Draft time last year, I wrote a column about how, despite his poor showing at the NFL Combine and his Pro Day, Teddy Bridgewater – and not Blake Bortles – should have been the first quarterback off the board.
Of course, I’m not complaining, given that the beneficiaries of Bridgewater dropping to 32nd overall in last year’s draft were my Minnesota Vikings, and Bridgewater definitely seems to be our quarterback of the future and the clear top option from that 2014 Draft class. It was merely an aghast reaction to how quickly Bridgewater dropped off and Bortles picked up steam last offseason despite neither having seen active game action in that time.
This year, almost the opposite seems to be the case: Despite a reasonably weak combine from a physical perspective, Jameis Winston will, by most accounts, be taken by Tampa Bay at one. NFL scouts have been raving about Winston’s football IQ and innate intelligence, and his throwing session was also about as polished as we’ve ever seen – poor physical stats put aside.
Meanwhile, although Marcus Mariota of Oregon had a dazzling combine, he’s dropped more from a “No. 1 and No. 1A” status with Winston to the guy playing catch-up – the system quarterback with dazzling stats and athleticism but unproven ability to play in an NFL offense. A lot of metrics have Mariota dropping to the Jets at six, or maybe even chosen after a trade-up from a team like Philadelphia that actually has a system more befitting of Mariota’s skill set.
From a football standpoint, I think it’s a no-brainer: Jameis Winston should be the first overall pick in the draft and the Bucs’ quarterback of the future. He’s talented, he’s game-ready and he’s as polished of a product as you’ll ever see out of college. His lack of raw athleticism is made up for in leaps and bounds by his football instincts, which are said to rival those of Peyton Manning.
As tantalizing as the football potential is, though, the NFL isn’t played in a vacuum where the football is the only thing that matters – which would be the case in an ideal world. That brings us to Winston’s only major downside: his attitude.
Winston is… a free spirit, to say the least. It doesn’t seem like a matter of if something happens involving him; it’s a matter of when. He’s only been in college three years and he’s already been in the news in three major scandals: “crab legs,” alleged rape and, most recently, “f— her right in the p—-.” All this is to say: Jameis Winston is many things, but he is not a careful man.
That should be a huge red flag, and incredible football upside aside, the Bucs need to decide whether the baggage is really worth it. The NCAA is an overbearing ensnarement trap for its student-athletes; in comparison, the NFL is rather lax (to say the least), especially with Roger Goodell running the show. Take the reins off Jameis Winston? That’s like taking the safety off a gun. I’d be shocked if he didn’t end up in a semi-major scandal within his first two seasons.
Scandals distract players from the game. And, in some cases, scandals prevent teams from putting their best possible product on the field week in and week out. Winston has shown that he doesn’t really exercise particular caution even with important games looming – remember how he was benched for FSU’s toughest matchup of the season (which it almost lost to Clemson) due to his utter lack of self-awareness? That can be a poison in the NFL, especially given that most of the players and personnel think of it as a business. I could easily see this leading to a locker room – or organization – divided.
Me? I think that Winston won’t last a half-decade in the league because of the trouble he’ll inevitably get himself into. I hate to make harsh judgments like that, but he’s shown me absolutely nothing to lead me to believe anything otherwise.
The baggage won’t be worth it.
Jameis Winston is a short-term solution to a long-term problem.
Marcus Mariota might not be as ready to go immediately and comes with greater on-the-field risk (he’s just not a pocket passer in his skill set and it looks like one big hit will knock him into the stratosphere), but he showed just as much upside as Winston did at the combine in all elements of his game. And really, we can’t tell whether he’ll become Cam Newton or RG3 until he gets some NFL snaps in him and translates his skill set into a more pro-oriented offense. But significant upside does still exist there – again, his physical talent is incredible, and in the long term, I think he is the better solution for a rebuilding team.
And off the field, he’s the much safer option. Mariota will never get in trouble, and he’ll never make a team look bad. He’ll get along with everyone and impress everyone with his charm and poise. He can be a lovable face of a franchise.
With the first overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should select Marcus Mariota. But they won’t.
Although it isn’t nearly as reprehensible as stealing crab legs, Do-Hyoung Park has on multiple occasions drawn the ire of the staffers at The Stanford Daily for stealing mango Naked juices from people’s backpacks. Let him know why berry blast is the superior flavor by contacting him at dpark027 ‘at’ stanford.edu.