Buccaneers Reportedly Prefer Jameis Winston To Marcus Mariota

According to Pat Yasinskas of ESPN, “early indicators” are that Florida State QB Jameis Winston is the favorite to be drafted No. 1 overall by the Buccaneers.

Sources tell Yasinskas, that Buccaneers HC Lovie Smith prefers Winston over Oregon’s Marcus Mariota.

“From what I have gathered, Smith chose Dirk Koetter as his offensive coordinator over Marc Trestman,” writes Yasinskas. “The logic was simple. Although Smith and Trestman had similar philosophies about how to run an offense, they disagreed on the quarterbacks. Trestman preferred Mariota.

“Smith favors Winston and Smith is the boss. There is lots of logic behind Smith’s preference.”

There has already been a good amount made about the fact that Mariota ran a spread offense during his time at Oregon, while Winston ran a pro-style offense.

Many evaluators around the league have said that Winston is clearly the better NFL prospect than Mariota.

However, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported a few weeks ago “there’s a real sense” that the Buccaneers have their sights set on Mariota.

The Buccaneers have the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s draft, so they obviously have their pick of the top two quarterback prospects.

Yasinskas mentions that the Bucs still have to do plenty of work to do on Winston and his off-the-field issues, but he ultimately believes the FSU product has a “big edge.”

We’ll have more updates regarding the Buccaneers and who they could target at No. 1 overall as the news is available.