Worst To First? Tampa Bay Bucs Close To Clinching No. 1 Pick, But Will It Be Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are close to — temporarily, of course — fixing their quarterback issues. All they need to do is lose another game. What's one more loss? The Bucs already have the worst record in the league at 2-13 and play in the worst division, the NFC South. One more loss could clinch the No. 1 pick in next year's NFL Draft, according to CBS Sports. But who will the Bucs choose?

The consensus seems to be Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota, who will lead Oregon against last year's Heisman winner Jameis Winston in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. Mariota had a historic junior season on his way to becoming the first Oregon Duck to win the Heisman, awarded to the nation's top player. Mariota won in a landslide after tossing 38 touchdowns against two interceptions and leading the Ducks to the No. 2 overall seed.

But could Winston be an option also? The in-state product led Florida State to an undefeated run to the National Title last season, and the Seminoles are 13-0 again this year.

The Bucs need to lose next week to the New Orleans Saints to ensure they can draft whoever they want. As it stands now, the Tennesee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets and Oakland Raiders would follow on the draft board, according to CBS. One of those teams is sure to draft whichever quarterback doesn't go No. 1 overall. ESPN reported the Bucs might not consider Mariota the slam-dunk selection everyone else seems to.

Winston is 10 pounds heavier than Mariota and considered to have the stronger arm, according to nfl.com. Both are excellent runners, but Winston's decision-making has been questioned after his interception total ballooned from a year ago. He has also experienced various off-the-field issues.

Yet while Oregon rolled to most of its wins, Winston and the Seminoles faced plenty of adversity. The big knock on them is that they played a lot of close games.