Fantasy Football: Are Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota Ready to Produce?

On Thursday night, Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota‘s futures became permanently entwined as they went first and second in the NFL Draft to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans. Historically, this is only the sixth time that two quarterbacks have gone as the first two picks in the draft. And most times, one of the two became successful, while the other failed. Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning, and Donovan McNabb all have/had been fantasy studs. Their counterparts Robert Griffin III, Ryan Leaf, and Tim Couch, haven’t been on the same level. Will this trend continue with Winston and Mariota? And more importantly for the 2015 fantasy season, which player is more worth taking a risk on?

College Career

If you ever hear pundits discussing Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, you’ll incessantly hear claims that Winston is more “pro-ready.” There’s good reason for this distinction. Winston’s football intelligence is off the charts, and he is a winner. In two years with the Florida State Seminoles, he threw for 7,964 yards and 65 touchdowns with a 66% completion percentage. The biggest mark against Winston is his habit for throwing interceptions, including 18 in 2014. A high interception rate can lead to lost points for fantasy teams, hurting his draft stock. Some experts argue that he was lucky the number of interceptions he threw was so low, while others blame the receivers. Either way, that’s a lot of interceptions. The good thing is that even in games where he would have a terrible first half with interceptions, he’d come back in the next with an incredible performance and get the win. He only lost one game in his career. While these comebacks aren’t going to come as easily in the pros, he clearly has incredible on-field composure.

May 1, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston (3), the number one overall draft pick, poses with general manager Jason Licht and head coach Lovie Smith for a photo during a press conference at One Buc Place. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Marcus Mariota, the 2014 Heisman Winner, definitely has shown potential in college that makes him worthy of such a high draft pick. While Mariota doesn’t have experience in a pro-system, he has something that Winston doesn’t: elite running ability. In the two seasons they both played, Mariota rushed for 1,485 yards and 24 touchdowns while Winston only rushed for 284 and 7 touchdowns. While it’s clear that running quarterbacks don’t always succeed in the league, rushing points gives quarterbacks in fantasy an incredible value. As I’ve mentioned before, even Tim Tebow is made relevant in fantasy because of his legs.

Current Team Situation

Although both the Bucs and Titans ended the season a terrible 2-14, Winston is joining a team with so much more potential it’s not even close. The Tampa Bay Bucacneers have two above-average receivers, Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson, and a budding tight end who could get to top-5 in the league, Austin Sefarian-Jenkins. These three receivers are big and tall, making them perfect targets for Winston; he can throw it up with less chance for interceptions. The biggest downside is that the offensive line and running back are question marks which could lead to extra pressure on Winston under center.

Marcus Mariota, on the other hand, is joining a team with nothing positive on offense. At the moment, the Tennessee Titans‘ top wide receiver options are Nate Washington and Kendall Wright, who both haven’t shown any star ability. At running back, Bishop Sankey was a terrible disappointment. Mariota could have a rough introduction into the NFL if the Titans don’t make any more moves this offseason to get more offensive weapons

May 1, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans first round draft pick Marcus Mariota (C) stands with executive vice president and general manager Ruston Webster (L) and head coach

(R) during the press conference at Saint Thomas Sports Park. Mandatory Credit:

-USA TODAY Sports

around him.

Personal Issues

The biggest potential risk for Jameis Winston, outside of interceptions, is the chance that he ends up wasting his opportunity or doing something stupid that gets him suspended. He has exhibited poor decision-making that range from silly (taking crab legs and yelling inappropriate things in a lunchroom) to terrible (accused of sexual assault). To make matters worse, the first thing Winston does after getting drafted is post a picture on Instagram of him with crab legs referencing that controversy. While clearly not the worst offense in the world, it suggests that he might not have matured enough yet. A fantasy player who isn’t on the field won’t get you any points. Winston could be one poor decision away from getting a suspension.

With Marcus Mariota, you can at least be sure that he will give everything he can to being successful. Mariota is very mature for his age, and doesn’t have any social media presence at all, which is where young players seem to be constantly getting in trouble. His low-key nature suggests that he won’t be the kind of guy you hear about in the news for bad purposes.

While Mariota has scoreboard over Winston in terms of maturity, you don’t get any fantasy points for making curfew. His running ability gives him an advantage over Winston for scoring fantasy points, but if he struggles to play under center, he might not be able to move the ball downfield and utilize his legs. Winston, on the other hand, . I’d be willing to wager that both Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota will be on fantasy teams at some point during the 2015 fantasy season, but Winston is the one who I would draft in the late rounds. Mariota needs to prove his worth before getting on your fantasy roster.