Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota?

The NFL Draft first-round is tonight at 6 PM Mountain Time. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the first pick. They will draft a quarterback and most likely it will be James Winston. Should they really select Jameis Winston over Marcus Mariota?

Jameis Winston was the Florida State starting quarterback for the last two years. In 2013 he passed for 3,907 yards with 25 touchdowns and threw 18 interceptions. He won the Heisman Trophy that year. 2014 he played even better throwing for 4,057 yards and 40 touchdowns. He only threw 10 picks. Those are excellent numbers considering he only played two years as a starter in college football.   Winston played in a pro-style offense which will translate well in the NFL

The only downside for Winston are character issues off the field. During the football season he was in trouble. He had to sit out one game in September for yelling an obscene phrase while standing on the table, outside the Florida State University Student Union, mimicking an Internet video.

Last spring he was suspended from the baseball team for stealing $32.72 worth of crab legs. According to ESPN he told Michigan Head Coach Jim Harbaugh “Well, a week before was my buddy’s birthday and we had got a cake. We met a dude that worked inside Publix and he said, ‘hey, anytime you come in here, I got you.’ So that day, we just walked out and he hooked us up with that. And when I went to get crab legs, I did the same thing and he just gave them to me and I walked out. And someone from inside the store had told the security that I didn’t pay for them and that’s how the whole thing started”. He thought he didn’t do anything wrong. Winston also had sexual assault charges that were dropped in 2013. Unless he matures in the NFL, a team can’t trust him off the field. If he continues to have off the field issues, the Buccaneers will need to hire somebody to make sure he isn’t getting in trouble like the Dallas Cowboys did with wide receiver Dez Bryant.

Marcus Mariota was the starter for the University of Oregon for three years. His best year came last season. He passed for 4,454 yards and 42 touchdowns. That earned him the Heisman Trophy. In his college career he had a total of 10,796 passing yards and 105 touchdowns. Mariota was a guy who rarely turned the ball over, throwing only 14 interceptions. Mariota has never had character issues nor trouble off the field.

The only issue with Mariota is the style of offense Oregon used. It’s not a pro-style offense. It was an up-tempo style offense with play calls by hand signals. He will need to learn to make play calls in the NFL. It will be interesting to see which team will take a chance on Mariota. He will go in the first round. Both athletes have the ability to be productive players in the NFL. Time will tell just how decent they will be.

   Who would you pick first, Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota?