Pat Yasinskas, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Bucs get early jump on Jameis Winston visit

TAMPA, Fla. – In the latest sign that drafting Jameis Winston with the No. 1 pick is the most likely course of action, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are hosting the Florida State quarterback on a pre-draft visit.

What’s unusual here is the timing. Potential top draft picks usually don’t make their visits to teams until just a few weeks before the draft. This year’s draft isn’t until the end of April. A team official said the visit was scheduled for now because the Bucs want to be able to devote their full attention to free agency when it begins March 10.

But the Bucs appear earger to get to know Winston. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that ownership (the Glazer family) will be heavily involved in the meetings with Winston. Take that as a sign that the visit could be a final hurdle in deciding whether to draft Winston.

The Glazers generally stay out of football matters, but they have final say over situations as big as this. That’s because they could be paying Winston millions of dollars and making him the face of the franchise.

Although Winston has had some off-field issues, including an allegation of a sexual assault, coach Lovie Smith said at the scouting combine that the club’s research into the quarterback’s background had not produced anything that would eliminate Winston from the team’s draft board.

Smith also has talked highly of Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, and the team is expected to have him in for a visit at some point before the draft. But the early visit by Winston makes it appear more than ever that he’s the leading candidate.

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