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2021 NFL MOCK DRAFT - WALT'S | CHARLIE'S ROUND: 1

Glazers Comfortable with Winston; Have Him Rated Highly

Updated Feb. 16, 2015
By Charlie Campbell. Follow Charlie on Twitter @draftcampbell.

I slotted Jadeveon Clowney to the No. 1 pick to the Texans in early December 2013 and didn't change it once. While many thought the team would move away from Clowney, I knew that Houston wanted Clowney.

This year, there is a similar situation with Tampa Bay and Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston. In mid-January, we wrote that the Buccaneers' initial preference was for Winston. Others, like ESPN's Pat Yasinskas and PewterReport.com have also had reports that Tampa Bay favored Winston over Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. After speaking with sources in Tampa Bay and around the league, we've learned that the Buccaneers' owners, the Glazers, are comfortable with Winston, and they are on board with the Buccaneers drafting him with the first-overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.

Sources say that entering the interview process, the Glazers want Winston. If he doesn't do poorly in the interviews and stays out of trouble leading up to the draft, Winston will be the first pick. The Glazers have a huge desire for a franchise quarterback, and have wanted that asset for years. Some sources say that the Glazers believe that Winston is that caliber of quarterback, and they want him to lead a resurgence in Tampa Bay like he did at Florida State.

Throughout their tenure in owning the team, the Glazers have allowed the football staff to make the moves they felt would improve the team. They haven't been meddlesome owners who have dictated which players to draft or sign to contract extensions. Thus, they will back general manager Jason Licht and head coach Lovie Smith.

We heard in January that the front office preferred Winston, and the Buccaneers have graded him ahead of other quarterbacks like Cam Newton and Matthew Stafford when they came out of Auburn and Georgia respectively. Yasinskas reported that Smith and the coaching staff with new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter also favor Winston.

Judging by the comments of sources in Tampa Bay, at other teams, and in the local media, the organization is coalescing around Winston. Sources say that Winston has an impressive football I.Q., so that part of the interviews should go well for him. If Winston handles himself well and avoids trouble before the draft, he looks bound for Tampa Bay. Ownership is on board with Winston being the leader of the Bucs' ship.

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