Getty ImagesAfter a report leaked that Jameis Winston would skip his final two seasons at Florida State and enter the NFL Draft, the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner released a statement making the news official.
The big winner with this news is the Tennessee Titans, who have the second pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, no matter what they actually intend to do with the pick.
There was no guarantee that Winston was going to enter the draft despite having already won a national title, a Heisman Trophy, and being projected as the one of the top two quarterbacks in the draft. There were reasons to believe another year at Florida State would have been good for Winston and as recently as Monday, he was leaning towards staying in school at least one more year.
Now, with Winston going pro there will most likely be two top quarterbacks available in the draft, along with Marcus Mariota of Oregon, and no shortage of teams desperate to add a franchise QB.
If the Titans want to draft a quarterback, and many believe they will, they are now guaranteed a shot at drafting one of the two franchise quarterbacks.
More importantly, the Winston decision gives the Titans draft insurance. If the Titans don't like the quarterback still available at no. 2, whether that is Winston or Mariota, their pick just became extremely valuable in the trade market for teams looking to move into one of the top two spots.
If they choose, the Titans can now trade out of their spots and potentially take in a haul similar to what the St. Louis Rams got from the Washington Redskins for the second pick of the 2012 draft when there was a similar scenario of two top quarterbacks available, Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III.
Of course, that trade turned into a disaster for the Redskins. But it only takes one desperate team that believes in one of the quarterbacks and is willing to take the chance.