NFL Draft 2015: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Coach Lovie Smith Appears All in On Jameis Winston
ByWith the Tampa Bay Buccaneers all but locked in to take a quarterback first overall in the NFL Draft, the only question is which one.
Joel Glazer, whose family owns the team, recently told the Tampa Bay Times he has given general manager Jason Licht the green light to draft either Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota. Licht and head coach Lovie Smith have indicated they are favoring Winston, but Glazer's declaration leaves room for speculation.
"What do you want a quarterback to do? Well, you want him to be able to win and get people to believe that you can help be the reason why we win every game," Smith told reporters at the NFL's annual owner's meeting, according to ESPN. "I think he's done that. He's got a track record - he's got a Heisman behind him. He's got a national championship.
"You start talking to his teammates and they all say the same thing. You talk to coaches that have been around him in the room. You put him on the board, you start talking about his football intelligence. You let him sell himself. He can sell himself."
The Buccaneers hosted both Winston and Mariota at their Tampa facility, though they brought in the former much earlier than normal for a top pick. If nothing else, the Buccaneers have been thorough in vetting Winston and his disciplinary record at Florida State.
"I don't buy that. I'm not a part of that group that's saying that," Smith said. "Marcus isn't as outgoing as Jameis - very few people are. But that doesn't mean that that's a bad thing. He's won just about as many games. He's had a great career in college.
"As I have, and we've had a chance to get him in our building and spend time with him one-on-one, he's very comfortable being in that leadership role and he has a little different leadership style but it's a leadership style that a lot of teams would love."