CHICAGO — All eyes in Thursday night’s opening of the NFL draft are on the two first-round quarterbacks.
Neither Jameis Winston nor Marcus Mariota will be in town, opting to watch the festivities from home instead. But that hasn’t lessened the overwhelming interest in them — especially Mariota — as the draft moves to the Windy City for the first time since 1963.
After weeks of feverish speculation that Chip Kelly and the Eagles will move up to take Mariota, the Browns suddenly supplied the buzz about the Heisman Trophy winner from Oregon on the eve of the draft.
ESPN reported Cleveland had offered the Titans its two first-round picks (Nos. 12 and 19) for the right to move up to No. 2 overall and take Mariota, assuming — as pretty much the entire NFL world does — that the Buccaneers will take Winston with the first pick.
Both Tennessee general manager Ruston Webster and Browns counterpart Ray Farmer publicly denied the report, though Farmer didn’t run from it entirely.
“Yes, of course, things remain fluid and you always have to listen,” Farmer told the NFL Network Wednesday afternoon. “When you get needy, you get desperate. We aren’t either.”
A bevy of talented wide receivers and cornerbacks as well as the prospect of a running back going in the first round for the first time since 2012 will also be prominent story lines Thursday night as the draft moves to The Auditorium Theatre from its longtime home at Radio City Music Hall.
Because this isn’t a particularly deep draft (the Titans reportedly gave first-round grades to just 16 prospects) and is filled with character questions, scouts and executives also wouldn’t be surprised if the first round is dragged down by a blizzard of trades.
Indeed, last year’s figure of six draft-day trades in the first round could be eclipsed early.
But all of that seems to pale in comparison to the focus on Mariota, which might not lift even if the Titans pass on trading the pick and take him.
That’s because the Browns, Eagles, Chargers and Jets — the four teams most linked to the Ducks star — still could execute trades for Mariota after Tennessee selects him.
Webster told reporters this week the league’s rookie salary pool would complicate drafting Mariota and then trading him to the point of almost making it unworkable, but the Tennessee boss didn’t rule it out, either.
Webster may have been wise to do so, as reports of Cleveland’s offer show how desperate some teams appear to be to land Mariota.
While reports continue to circulate the Chargers could offer Pro Bowl quarterback Philip Rivers to Tennessee, a league source said Wednesday that Kelly’s desire to reunite with Mariota is as strong as ever.
How strong? The source said Kelly would consider offering newly acquired quarterback Sam Bradford, the Eagles’ first-round pick (No. 20 overall), cornerback Brandon Boykin, linebacker Mychal Kendricks and a second-rounder next year just for the chance to move up 18 spots for Mariota.
At least one draft observer went on the record Wednesday as being a bit perplexed by the reports of such intense interest in Mariota.
Former Super Bowl MVP Kurt Warner, now an NFL Network analyst, told reporters at a pre-draft news conference he considers Mariota a project at the pro level.
The biggest reason for that, according to Warner, is Mariota’s near-total lack of experience under center in Oregon’s hurry-up spread offense.
“I can’t fathom the first thing having to learn when I got to an NFL training camp being how to take a snap from under center,” Warner said. “The guy [Mariota] is talented, and this has obviously become a passing league, but he’s still going to have a really steep learning curve.”
Of course, the Buccaneers truly could throw the draft into a tizzy right off the bat by taking Mariota instead of Winston or trading the pick. But everything Tampa Bay has said and done this offseason indicates the controversial Florida State star will be the first player taken.
If that happens, then it promises to get really interesting.