INDIANAPOLIS -- Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota have not even arrived at the NFL Scouting Combine, but they were the talk of the town Wednesday among the two teams picking atop the 2015 NFL Draft.
In fact, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have the No. 1 overall pick, and the Tennessee Titans, who have the No. 2 pick, did nothing to change folks' minds that they would be drafting the two signal-callers in some order when the draft rolls around in a few months.
"We have a favorite, but we want to let the process play out," Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht said. "We'll have plenty of meetings with them. I don't know if 15 minutes will be enough for either of them. We might get through an incident or two, but we need to dive pretty deep and continue the process on both quarterbacks, and all quarterbacks in the draft and all players."
Licht and head coach Lovie Smith were each peppered with questions about the two quarterbacks, and they didn't exactly shy away from the fact that they're comfortable with taking either guy -- perhaps more so with Winston now than when they started the process. That meshes with a number of mock drafts that have the Buccaneers picking Winston, whose off-the-field issues seemed to be something the franchise was quite capable of handling.
"The two win football games. Jameis and Marcus, they've won a lot of games," Smith said. "Jameis didn't lose a game until the last one he played. That says a lot about him. We have two very good quarterbacks that both will have a lot of success in the league."
The Titans, meanwhile, didn't dampen any hopes they would take a quarterback with the No. 2 pick, failing to mention much -- if anything -- about using the pick on potential options along the defensive line. It's appeared quite clear they would be doing their homework on both signal-callers, but would reserve a lot of the time devoted to evaluating Mariota's work between the lines.
"The chance to see them on the field making some of the throws you want to see is an important part of it, but it's not a decision maker the first time we get it," Ken Whisenhunt said. "You've got to spend a lot of time with these guys to understand how they process things, how they handle different situations, what they're thinking about when they get to the line of scrimmage. When you get to this level, there are so many things going on from that position that you have to handle."
If there was one nugget you could safely walk away with Wednesday, it was that you're safe in putting Winston and Mariota atop your mock drafts.
Here are some other takeaways from Wednesday at the NFL Scouting Combine:
1. Smooth talker. One of the most well-spoken prospects during the media sessions at Lucas Oil Stadium was former Duke offensive lineman Laken Tomlinson. Tomlinson jumped onto a lot of teams' radars with a breakout performance at the Senior Bowl, but the big-bodied guard spent several minutes Wednesday discussing life after football, which Tomlinson said he hopes leads to him becoming a neurosurgeon. Not a bad career path for a Jamaica native who only managed to get into the game in middle school after eating "American food" made him gain weight.
2. For whom the Bell tolls. Former Oklahoma tight end Blake Bell is being poked and prodded by NFL teams interested to see what he can do during drills this week. The son of a former NFL player, Bell said he was the one who suggested to Sooners coaches that he move to tight end despite being the team's starting quarterback. "It was 100 percent me," Bell said of the move, noting his motives stemmed from it being better for his NFL future.
Count Bell among the Sooners who are sold on wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham. "He dominated over on the scout team," Bell said of Green-Beckham.
3. A work in progress. Don't expect much from Minnesota tight end Maxx Williams during the combine's bench press testing. Williams, who could be the first tight end chosen in the draft, said his biggest weakness as a player is a lack of strength. "Being only 20 years old I know my body isn't fully developed to what it could be," said Williams, who entered the draft as a third-year sophomore. "But I feel like my biggest weakness could turn into one of my strengths as I get to 21, 22, and get the experience in the weight room developing my body. I think the sky is the limit -- I think I could play at 250, 255, 260, however my body develops."
4. Maxx Williams has one of the best resources when it comes to learning about the NFL in his father, Brian, who played a decade in the league for the New York Giants. The Minnesota product seemed to be at ease no matter what was thrown at him during the combine media session Wednesday, and he seemed excited about becoming the third generation NFL draftee and the second to be taken in the first round. "Not many people can say they can go in the first round and so did their father," Williams said. "The opportunity to go in the first round would be something I'd remember for the rest of my life."
5. #HypeBunny. Florida offensive tackle D.J. Humphries is one of the fastest risers in the 2015 NFL Draft and one of NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah's favorite prospects at the position. He weighed in at 307 pounds -- the heaviest he's ever been -- to answer one of the biggest (literally and figuratively) questions about him at the NFL Scouting Combine. Curiously, Humphries disclosed that the NFL Draft Advisory Board told him to return to school for another season, but that he decided to leave early because of a gut feeling. Given that his stock is soaring and the first round is a definite possibility in April, it might be a good thing that he followed what his gut was telling him.
6. ... And here's the kicker. Kickers can't possibly serve as a mentor to offensive linemen, can they? They can if they've known each other long enough. Alabama OL Austin Shepherd said he grew up next door to former Atlanta Falcons kicker Morten Andersen in Buford, Ga., and has known the 25-year NFL veteran since age 5. "He's brought me through all this, from recruiting to this moment now. I call him for advice," Shepherd said. "I've known him since I was 5 when he moved next door to us. I just walked next door and didn't even know who I was talking to. Now our families are best friends. Both his kids are in my wedding."
7. A popular guy among teams. Clubs wasted no time sitting down with Arizona State OL Jamil Douglas upon his arrival in Indianapolis. Among those who engaged him for informal interviews were the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers, Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions. Although Douglas played tackle his last year with the Sun Devils, he said most of NFL clubs have projected him as a guard at the pro level.
Two more tidbits from Douglas:
» His toughest blocking assignment on the season: Utah's Nate Orchard.
» The toughest question he received in interviews with NFL clubs: "The hardest question I got was, if a team cut me, why would they cut me? That was hard to ponder -- I told them, 'I don't know why you would cut me, you would have to tell me.'"
8. Favre watch is still on.Brett Favre might have retired to television commercials, but he still resonates with incoming rookies. East Carolina QB Shane Carden said Favre was his favorite quarterback as a youngster, as did Southeastern Louisiana QB Bryan Bennett.
"I've been told I make some plays outside the pocket the way he used to," Carden said. "I just love the passion he always had for the game."
9. Backing his teammate. Louisville offensive lineman Jamon Brown on his former teammate Lorenzo Mauldin's pass-rush ability: "I've gone against quite a few guys -- Bruce Irvin when I was a freshman, to Vic Beasley at Clemson -- and Lorenzo measures up against any of those guys."
10. Character counts. When combine participants are asked what separates them from other draft prospects, the typical answers deal with skill sets and on-field exploits. Not so with South Carolina guard A.J. Cann. The All-SEC player, whom former Florida coach Will Muschamp called the best offensive guard in the SEC last year, said his character is what separates him. "You can ask anybody I've played for -- I've never been a problem for anyone," Cann said.
11. Par for the course. Florida State tight end Nick O'Leary, the grandson of golf legend Jack Nicklaus, apparently inherited some of the Golden Bear's prowess on the links. "When I play a lot, I shoot in the 70s," O'Leary said.
12. Quotable: Arizona State offensive lineman Jamil Douglas on why he gave up basketball for football in high school: "I stopped growing."
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