Top QBs offer no guarantees
S OMETIMES, c a n ’ t - miss options end up missing.
Remember that can’t-miss draft in 2015, with Jameis Winston going to the Buccaneers at No. 1 overall and Marcus Mariota to the Titans at No. 2?
Both quarterbacks were Heisman Trophy winners. Both led their respective teams to the College Football Playoff — Winston’s defending BCS champion Florida State team losing to Mariota’s Oregon Ducks in the semifinals of the first College Football Playoff following the 2014 season.
They joined the NFL poised to lead their teams to sustained success. Now, nearly five years later, what have Winston and Mariota brought to Tampa Bay and Tennessee? Not enough based on their rich draft capital.
The Buccaneers haven’t made the playoffs since they drafted Winston, who has a 23-37 record as a starter. The Titans made the playoffs once with Mariota, in 2017, won one playoff game and have never finished better than 9-7 with him.
This is not what you’re looking for with the top two picks of a draft.
This is a cautionary tale of sorts for the likes of the Dolphins, who are in an apparent “Tank for Tua” mode this season to ensure they have the No. 1-overall pick and the opportunity to take Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The drafting of Winston and Mariota was proof that can’tmiss sometimes misses.
Neither Winston nor Mariota will play Sunday. Mariota was benched for Ryan Tannehill in last week’s dismal 16-0 loss to the Broncos, whenhe was 7-of-18 for 63 yards and two interceptions in the first half. And Winston, on a bye this week, probably deserves to be benched after turning the ball over six times in last Sunday’s loss to Carolina.
Probably part of the reason Bucs coach Bruce Arians won’t bench Winston right now is because his No. 2 QB, six-year veteran Ryan Griffin, has never taken an NFL snap.
The Buccaneers and Titans will have franchise-altering decisions to make after the season. Both Winston and Mariota are in the team-option year of their respective rookie deals. If the teams cut bait, they’ll both be seeking another franchise quarterback just five years after believing they’d found one.