Tampa Bay Buccaneers Take Jameis Winston With First Pick In NFL Draft

(Reuters) - Quarterback Jameis Winston was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the first pick in the 2015 National Football League Draft on Thursday.

The 21-year-old quarterback, who won the Heisman Trophy as the best collegiate football player in 2013 before leading Florida State to a national championship the next month, was the consensus top choice.

He joins a Buccaneers team that selected first in the draft by dint of a league-worst 2-14 record and was widely seen as the most pro-ready quarterback available after thriving in a pro-style offense at Florida State.

The 6-foot-4, 230-pound strong-armed Winston has all the tools for NFL success and the Bucs showed their confidence in him by overlooking a list of troubling off-field incidents.

Winston skipped the draft proceedings in Chicago to watch on television back home in Bessemer, Alabama, with his family where he donned a red Tampa Bay cap in honor of his new team.

Strikes against Winston included a sexual assault allegation against him, a shoplifting citation, and a game suspension for getting up on a table on campus and screaming a sexually charged phrase made popular on the Internet but Tampa Bay checks convinced them he could be counted on.

Picking second, the Tennessee Titans selected this past season's Heisman Trophy winner quarterback Marcus Mariota from the University of Oregon.

Mariota, a mobile quarterback who ran a college-style spread offense in Oregon, led them to 36 wins in three seasons and steered the team to the national championship game.

With the third pick, the Jacksonville Jaguars selected defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. of the Florida Gators.