A little more than three years ago, the NFL community spent the offseason debating two highly hyped quarterback prospects that had the potential to turn around franchises in need of saving. Even today, more than three years after the chose with the first-overall pick and the took with the second-overall pick, the debate continues: Winston or Mariota?On Monday, claimed that for the Jimmy Butler Jersey Titans it never was much of a debate. During an interview with Paul Kuharsky on The Midday 180, Beddingfield said that Mariota was "an easy choice" over Winston at the time. Former director of scouting Blake Beddingfield says team was all in on Mariota, but if it went the other way that Jameis Winston could have wound up in TN. Preference was Mariota, "an easy choice at that time." Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) Nece sary disclaimer: Paul Eboua Jersey Whenever a quote comes out about evaluations from a prior draft, it's best to season the quote with a dose of skepticism. Case in point, the time. It's too easy for former scouts and executives to say a few years after the fact that they knew all along that a certain player was going to be good.Now that we've thrown some skepticism on that quote, we can agree with Beddingfield that it's clear that the Titans have always thought highly of Mariota. More on the NFL Back in 2015, Chip Kelly, who coached Mariota at Oregon, was still the coach of the . According to Peter Schrager, the Eagles offered the Titans A year ago, Kelly set the record straight about the trade offer, claiming that an offer like that never materialized Other teams, Miami Heat T-Shirts , were reportedly interested in moving up for Mariota as well, but the Titans declined to move back for a boatload of picks.The point being, if the Titans weren't sold on Mariota, they very easily could've traded down. But they didn't. He speaks the truth. The wanted very badly for Mariota to fall to them back then. Its why they e sentially refused to trade Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) Still, the debate hasn't been settled quite yet. In terms of strictly football, both Mariota and Winston have exhibited clear signs of promise and disappointment. Mariota got the Titans into the playoffs in 2017 (), but he did so while throwing more interceptions (15) than touchdowns (13). Winston's already thrown for 11,636 yards in his three-year career, but he's also thrown 44 interceptions There's just not a substantial enough Shaquille O'Neal Jersey difference in their stat lines to say one quarterback will be better than the other.Comp. %YPATD%INT%RatingWinston60.87.54.52.887.2Mariota61.87.44.62.788.6But Winston's i sues away from the field matter too.At Florida State, -- an accusation that was known before the 2015 . Just last week, The league said in its findings that Winston touched "the driver in an inappropriate and sexual manner without her consent." In February 2017, Winston was forced to backtrack after heAnd during this past season, he faced criticism after Clearly, Winston's i sues at Florida State have followed him to the . Meanwhile, here's a reminder that Mariota "not having any red flags was a red flag" for at least one before the draft. Mark Helfrich was told by a head coach GM before NFL Draft that Marcus Mariota not having any red flags was a red flag Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) Both quarterbacks are entering pivotal seasons, but given his suspension and history of i sues away from the field. When Winston returns to the field, it's very likely the Buccaneers will be off to an 0-3 start and it's worth noting that As for Mariota, he's facing more normal problems. Recently, as Bam Adebayo Jersey he tries to master a new offense under.