Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota are the top two quarterbacks in this year's draft class. They could easily go No. 1 and No. 2 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans. It is almost a guarantee that at least one of them will be taken No. 1 overall as Tampa Bay's biggest need is acquiring a quarterback. Mariota is making it clear that getting selected with the first pick is not his priority.
According to almost every mock draft available, Winston will be the first player off the board to the Buccaneers. Head coach Lovie Smith has done very little to downplay his interest in the former Florida State star and it can be expected that Tampa Bay grabs Winston with that first pick. According to Mariota, he is perfectly fine waiting his turn.
"Being the first pick, to me, it's not a huge thing," Mariota said, via ESPN.com. "I'd love to play for the Bucs. With that being said, if you find the team that wants you, that's going to be the right team. I look forward to marketing myself and finding that team."
The race is on to acquire Mariota in the draft. Several teams are being linked to a trade up, but none more than the Philadelphia Eagles who have Mariota's former college coach Chip Kelly eyeing a deal. Mariota told the media that he is flattered by all of the compliments Kelly has been throwing his direction, but he denies that is the team he is gunning for. Most believe Mariota is headed for the Eagles, but the quarterback actually likes the idea of the Cleveland Browns.
The Browns made a move to hire Kevin O'Connell to be the new quarterbacks coach. He also happens to be Mariota's old coach and the former Oregon star likes the idea of reuniting with him in Cleveland.
"All the situations, you kind of play in your head," Mariota said, via CBSSports.com. "It's totally out of our control. We won't know until draft day. That would an awesome opportunity. I'd love to play for the Browns."
The idea the Browns select Mariota is not crazy. The team has JJosh McCown who is only a short-term fix and Johnny Manziel who does not appear to be the long-term option. Mariota could easily step in and find his place on the field. However, the Browns also have to beat out the New York Jets, Washington Redskins and Chicago Bears for the quarterback. Winston is a lock for Tampa Bay which means the speculation around Mariota will only get worse until the draft approaches.
