In the 2015 NFL Draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Tennessee Titans owned the top two picks. The teams selected Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, making them just the sixth pair of quarterbacks to be selected one-two since 1970. Each player is having an excellent season by rookie quarterback standards, and both showed their long-term potential in exciting wins on Sunday.
Mariota has thrown for 19 touchdowns in 10 games and has a 95.1 passer rating this year; both marks are among the best in NFL history for a rookie.
Against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he threw for 268 yards and three touchdowns on just 29 passes, his fourth game with at least three touchdown passes. He also ran for an 81-yard touchdown, the third longest touchdown run by any quarterback in NFL history.
In addition, Mariota joined Randall Cunningham and Michael Vick as the only players since 1960 with three passing touchdowns and 100 rushing yards in the same game.
Winston has not been Mariota’s statistical equal (17 TDs, 11 interceptions, 85.6 rating), but he has also had a magnificent rookie year. Most No. 1 draft picks wind up on terrible teams, and Winston is no exception.
Only one quarterback drafted first overall, the Indianapolis Colts’ Andrew Luck, managed to win more than seven games as a rookie. But with the win on Sunday, the Buccaneers are 6-6, and Winston has been a big part of that.
Against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, he ran for a first down on a key third-and-19 play late in the game; later in the drive, he threw the game-winning touchdown pass to seal the comeback victory.
On the season, Winston has thrown for 17 touchdowns and rushed for five more; that puts him within striking distance of Russell Wilson’s rookie record of 30 combined touchdowns.
Winston has also been one of the most aggressive downfield throwers in the NFL, and ranks in the top five in both yards per completion and yards gained through the air per completed pass.
The only other time rookie quarterbacks went 1-2 in the draft and both had strong rookie seasons was in 2012, with Luck and Robert Griffin III.
Winston and Mariota have matched some of the numbers produced by that pair. Through 12 games in 2012, Luck and Griffin had combined for 34 passing touchdowns and 20 interceptions, and were averaging 7.6 yards per pass attempt. This year, despite Mariota missing two games, he and Winston have combined for 36 passing touchdowns and 20 interceptions, and have averaged 7.7 yards per pass attempt.
So far, Winston and Mariota are justifying their high draft positions.
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