More intrigue at top of draft … The 2015 may not have quite the overall talent as other recent drafts, but it has never lacked for intrigue. In fact, about the only thing that one could take to the bank with some certainty regarding this year’s draft is that Tampa Bay was going to take Florida State QB Jameis Winston with the first pick. It turns out, however, that that branch wasn’t necessarily open for business. And while it hardly rises to even the level of buzz right now, there is quiet undercurrent around the league that just maybe Tampa Bay still isn’t quite sold on Winaton. The Buccaneers certainly have yet to make any kind of commitment to Winston himself and, in fact, are still in the process of evaluating prospects. Senior Tampa Bay personnel execs, for example, were at back-to-back private workouts for Oregon QB Marcus Mariota and Winston earlier this week, although it should be noted that they only had Winston throw 25 passes at his workout suggesting they had seen enough in the past. The Buccaneers are even still checking ont non-QB prospects and had Florida OLB Dante Fowler in for a visit on Friday, although we have seen an unconfirmed report that Fowler was quoted as saying he left town believing that Tampa Bay was going with a QB with the first pick. At the same time, earlier in the week, there were reports that some in the Buccaneers’ ownership group still weren’t sure about Winston becoming the face of the franchise. Then earlier today, Winston’s own attorney, who represented him against that sexual assault allegation, reportedly said that Winston may be ready to be an NFL player, but was not necessarily ready for the NFL off the field. The attorney, though, did walk those comments back later saying that he didn’t think anyone is ever really ready for what they meet when they go from college to the pros. If it was up to the Bucs’ fans, though, it appears that Winston is very much their man. According to reports from a conference call involving Bucs’ club seat holders earlier this week, support for Winston was pretty much unanimous. Perhaps the most telling comment from that conference call, though, came from Tampa Bay G.M. Jason Licht who replied “we’ll leave that door open” when asked about the possibility of the Buccaneers trading first overall pick. Indeed, it is possible that with as many as a half dozen teams supposedly thinking seriously about trying to move to the second pick currently held by Tennessee in order to acquire Mariota, that Licht and the Buccaneers have started to think “hey, what about us.” In the end, the odds are still stacked that the Buccaneers end up keeping the first pick and taking Winston, but their actual preference may be to trade the top pick for a package of picks. Stay tuned!
