The Bucs released quarterback Josh McCown this week, a tacit admission that it was a lousy free agent signing. The move is also viewed by many as an indication the Bucs will draft a quarterback with the draft's top pick. There wasn't much doubt about that anyway, but you can pretty much cast it in stone right now.
There are two quarterbacks considered viable at the top of the draft, Florida State's Jameis Winston and Oregon's Marcus Mariota. This story suggests that Lovie Smith prefers Winston, and that factored into the team's decision to hire Dirk Koetter as offensive coordinator over Marc Trestman. Trestman, according to the article, prefers Mariota.
Winston ran a pro-style offense at Florida State, while Mariota ran a spread offense. We already know Smith isn't particularly interested in a lengthy learning curve for his quarterback; the Bucs signed McCown rather than try and develop Mike Glennon.
And if you need more reason to think the Bucs have their eye on Winston, today comes a story that NFL Network's Mike Mayock thinks Winston is similar to a quarterback Lovie Smith is quite familiar with: Jay Cutler. Or wait, maybe that's a reason the Bucs won't draft Winston.
In any case, most early mocks will likely have Winston as the top pick.
--Andy Richardson