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Why isn’t Jameis Winston at NFL Draft?

By Patrick Schmidt

Feb 21, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Florida State Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston throws a pass during the 2015 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 21, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Florida State Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston throws a pass during the 2015 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jameis Winston is going to be the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft so why isn’t the former Florida State quarterback in Chicago for the draft?

The likely top pick in the 2015 NFL Draft won’t be in Chicago to hear his name called by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as Jameis Winston is not attending the draft.

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Winston decided against traveling to the Windy City in their first year hosting the draft and according to According to Sports Illustrated‘s Peter King, will watch the draft from the comfort from his home and pass up the opportunity to have a bro hug with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

The former Heisman Trophy winner and national champion from Florida State cited his grandmother’s type 2 diabetes and her inability to travel as his reason for staying home.

Wanting to spend time with your family for such a joyous occasion shouldn’t be a reason to criticize the player who has been so easy to criticize the last two years and he’s far from the first top draft prospect to stay away from the spotlight on draft day.

It isn’t the norm but it isn’t unorthodox either as Joe Thomas, the No. 3 pick in the 2007 draft decided to spend the day fishing with his father than in a suit in New York City.

Winston will, however, be the first No. 1 overall pick not at the draft since the Cincinnati Bengals made Ohio State defensive tackle Dan “Big Daddy” Wilkinson the No. 1 pick in the 1994 draft.

From an outside perspective it may appear that Winston is ducking the crowd in Chicago who could give him a rude welcome and shower him with a chorus of boos when he crosses the stage at the Auditorium Theatre and that would be a very unwelcome sound for the NFL and commissioner Goodell in what is supposed to be a celebration.

Goodell and Winston met shortly before Winston made public his intentions to spend the draft with his family so if you’re a conspiracy theorist you’re thinking Goodell must have told Winston not to show up to avoid an ugly scene and have his excuse be family related, because you can’t criticize a guy for wanting to be with his family, right?

I don’t buy the conspiracy theory and have no problem with Winston not in Chicago for the draft and you shouldn’t either. It’s his decision to make. It’s his career. It’s his future. He doesn’t owe anything to the people watching on TV, but I know whatever he decided, there will be a lot of people unhappy with it.

If you are critical of Winston for not appearing at the draft, you have to be critical of Marcus Mariota for not attending too. You have to be consistent otherwise you’re a hypocrite.

But don’t worry there are 27 other players in attendance for the draft.

Next: Every NFL Team's Best Draft Pick of All-Time

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