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Mel Kiper Jr.Jon Gruden 9y

Winston vs. Mariota, plus more draft debates

NFL, NFL Draft

ESPN NFL Insider Mike Sando recently traveled to Jon Gruden's office in Tampa, Florida., to watch a seven-hour pre-draft film session with Mel Kiper Jr. He pulled highlights from compelling debates over Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, the top running backs and more.

You can see the two in action during the SportsCenter Special: Gruden & Kiper's Draft Preview on Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN. 

Winston vs. Mariota as the top QB

Gruden: Who is Tampa going to take? Who should they take?

Kiper: Winston. That redshirt freshman season, what he did leading that team to a national title, never losing in his career until the Oregon game in the Rose Bowl last season, where it wasn't his fault. The refuse-to-lose mentality that he had even without two of his top three receivers and his running back, he still went out this year and led them to an undefeated season.

What about those interceptions? Well, how about the second halves of those games when he had to be flawless, and he was? All that stacks up to a quarterback who should be the No. 1 pick by a wide margin. The reason he is not is because of the off-field issues. Mariota has questions going from Oregon to the NFL. I will lean toward Winston as the No. 1 quarterback but in no way, shape or form am I convinced he can be an effective CEO of a football team.

Gruden: As much as I like Winston, I am taking Mariota. Athletically, he is incredible. The guy needs an S on his chest. Kryptonite can't slow down Mariota. You ever see Superman? Mariota allows you to call any play. You want to run a zone-read, you want to run quarterback-driven runs, you want to run a West Coast offense, you want to run anything, he can run it. He doesn't need great support around him at all these offensive line positions. Winston is a helluva quarterback. But you'd better get some protection for him. You'd better have a system in place with some audibles ready, because he is going to need them.

Kiper: Can Mariota be a great player in the league?

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