Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota want no part of a debate over which of the Heisman Trophy winners is destined to have the best pro career, a discussion that’s sure to continue long after their first NFL meeting.
The top two overall picks in this year’s draft understand the intense interest in their highly anticipated debut against each other, but stress Sunday’s season opener is about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans — not which rookie quarterback has progressed the most since joining the teams that went 2-14 a year ago.
“It’s not about us. It’s about our teams. It’s the Bucs versus the Titans,” said Winston, selected first by the Bucs and coming off their worst finish in nearly three decades. “I’d rather the headline be the score than something about individual players.”
Mariota, taken second by Tennessee after winning the only head-to-head meeting between the young passers in college last January, also plays down the personal rivalry angle.
The past two Heisman winners worked out together in San Diego in preparation for the NFL scouting combine, respect each other’s abilities and expect one another to be successful pros.
Mariota rejects the nation, though, that their careers figure to always be subject to comparison because of where they were picked in the draft.
“That’s for you guys, that’s your opinion,” the Titans quarterback told reporters this week.
“I learned a long time ago not to compare myself to anyone else, and my dad always said just to focus on what you’re doing, find ways that you can get better and the rest will take care of itself,” the 2014 Heisman winner from Oregon added. “I think Jameis is a great player, I think he’ll have a great career. But for us, I think we’re just going to focus on what we’ve got to do within our teams and do our best to be the best players that we can be.”
Winston, who won the 2013 Heisman while leading Florida State to a national championship, and Mariota are the sixth pair of quarterbacks selected one-two in same draft, joining Jim Plunkett and Archie Manning (1971), Drew Bledsoe and Rick Mirer (1993), Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf (1998), Tim Couch and Donovan McNabb (1999), and Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III (2012).
Bledsoe and Mirer, as well as Manning and Leaf, faced each other as rookies. This is the first time, though, that No. 1 has gone against No. 2 in a season opener.
Bucs coach Lovie Smith has watched Winston’s progression through OTAs, training camp and preseason and thinks his young quarterback is ready for the challenge.
Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt is equally impressed with Mariota’s development.
“I think Lovie had a great point the other day. There’s nothing to say both these guys can’t be good,” Bucs offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter said. “They got their quarterback. We got our quarterback. All that stuff is water under the bridge. How it all shook out really doesn’t matter at this point.”
