Bucs select Winston with top pick in draft

The struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers are counting on Jameis Winston to help them become relevant again.

The Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback was selected with the first overall pick in the NFL draft on Thursday night, instantly becoming the face of a franchise that missed the playoffs the past seven seasons and has not won a postseason game since the club's Super Bowl run in 2002.

Coach Lovie Smith and Jason Licht made the call, concluding after months of interviews and exhaustive research that Winston not only can be the answer to the team's offensive woes but that the 21-year-old has learned from off-the-field mistakes that threatened to undermine his stock in the draft.