As late as November 26th - here was Mel Kiper's Top 10 draft board:Kiper's Top Ten Mel Kiper's Top 10 NFL Draft Prospects 1. Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon 2. Leonard Williams, DL, USC 3. Randy Gregory, DE, Nebraska 4. Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama 5. Shane Ray, DE, Missouri 6. Brandon Scherff, OT, Iowa 7. Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State 8. Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin 9. Cedric Ogbuehi, OT, Texas A&M 10. DeVante Parker, WR, LouisvilleHere is what has transpired, on the field, since that date:November 29th:Winston went 12/24 for 125 yards and 4 interceptions versus FloridaMariota went 19/25 for 367 yards and 4 TOUCHDOWNS, 0 interceptions versus Oregon StateThen they both put up very good games in their Conference ChampionshipsAnd then Mariota's Ducks kicked Winston's Seminoles' arse in the Rose Bowl, took his team to the National Championship, ran into a red hot Buckeye team, and still managed a 155 QB Rating in that game, while Winston sat on his ass and watched from home.Suddenly Winston is Number One on his board?? The guy has more flip flops than Jimmy Buffett.Or how about Todd McShay - who had Marcus Mariota as his #1 rated QB going into the 2014 draft: http://nflspinzone.com/2013/11/21/todd-mcshay-still-believes-marcus-mariota-top-quarterback-prospect/ What did Marcus do:He returned to school, put up an even more impressive season in 2014, won the Heisman Trophy and took his team to the National Championship Game.And now McShay is not sure if Mariota is NFL ready: http://www.nj.com/eagles/index.ssf/2015/01/todd_mcshay_questions_if_marcus_mariota_is_nfl_ready_is_eagles_reunion_with_chip_kelly_becoming_more.html Let's see what Bucky Brooks had to say deep into Jameis Winston's Heisman Trophy Season in 2013 - oh wait, he had Mariota ranked as his Number One College QB. And this was when Winston was lighting it up http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000268457/article/qb-tracker-marcus-mariota-up-to-no-1-keep-tabs-on-derek-carr Since that time, Mariota had one of the most incredible seasons in college football history, and Jameis Winston regressed in his 2nd season and was second in the nation in interceptions. His Seminoles got thumped by Mariota's Ducks.And now Bucky has Mariota falling to #18: http://slumz.boxden.com/f16/nfl-coms-bucky-brooks-latest-mock-has-marcus-mariota-falling-to-the-chiefs-at-18-a-2167972/ I could go on and on..All of these guys are completely worthless idiots. And every single draft proves how little they know, and how wildly inaccurate they are in their predictions.The ONLY people who truly know what the Bucs are thinking, or how much they value or rate a player, are Lovie Smith and Jason Licht. Even their closest scouts will simply present their findings, and perhaps make recommendations, but at the end of the day Lovie, Jason, and the Glazers are going to make this pick.And it will not matter a hill of beans what Kiper, McShay, Brooks or any other talking head thought back in 2014, today, or the next few months.
