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Mark Dominik is no longer the general manager for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he still has opinions about what they should do with the first overall pick: take Marcus Mariota over Jameis Winston.
"I think you take Mariota. That's who I would take right now,'' the Tampa Bay Times quotes Mark Dominik as saying. "To me, the talent level is not that different. Mariota has got a quick release, they're both very smart, they both understand offenses, they both get the ball out, there's a lot things that are very similar. But the thing that's different is the fact that there's an X factor in Winston right now. If you don't feel comfortable saying he's the face of the franchise, I don't think the difference is enough to sit there and say you don't take Mariota.''
I don't quite agree with that. While Mariota and Winston both have plenty of positive on-field traits and a few questions, the nature of those questions is very different. Winston has a better arm and has displayed more of an ability to make tight-window NFL-level throws, and his experience from under center should make his transition a little easier than Mariota's. Winston's aggressiveness and at times questionable decision-making could turn into issues at the NFL level, while Mariota has to try to show that he can be more aggressive and make more tight-window throws. On some levels, this is question of which style of quarterback a team prefers.
But Dominik is correct in noting that the biggest problem for Winston are the off-field question marks. Winston will have to answer those questions in the pre-draft process, especially in interview.
"The first thing I would ask him is give me a reason why I can trust you," Mark Dominik said, via the Tampa Bay Times. "Show me something you've done in the last three months why I can trust you. Then I would follow it up with, "Okay, now give me another one.' Because I want to see if he's really working at it because that's the most important thing about Jameis Winston, is whether or not you can trust him to run your organization.''