If the spotlight is on Marcus Mariota when the three-day NFL Draft opens Thursday, then the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who hold the No. 1 pick, know where the pressure resides.

"Personally, I think it’s probably the biggest draft in the history of the organization," Bucs’ general manager Jason Licht said Monday.

His team went 2-14 in 2014 to earn the first selection and with it, "We’ve got a real chance to really put us over the top and get us to the level that we think we’re going to be at this year, which we think is competing for a championship," Licht said. "It’s a great draft, and it’s a great draft to have the No. 1 pick."

After jettisoning quarterback Josh McCown, there is little doubt what position the Bucs intend to invest their pick in, the only question being: Who do they select?

The consensus of analysts and mock drafts is Jameis Winston, the talented but troubled 2013 Heisman Trophy winner, from up the road at Florida State.

But ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr., appearing in his 25th draft for the network, said it might not be that cut-and-dried.

"You have a lot of teams looking to, maybe, acquire Mariota," Kiper said, "and you think about it: If everybody wants Mariota, why wouldn’t Tampa Bay consider him?"

Kiper said, "Tampa Bay is obviously going to consider him. So, Tampa Bay, I don’t think is etched in stone where they’re going."

Tampa Bay, Tennessee, which picks second, as well as the New York Jets (sixth pick), Chicago Bears (seventh), St. Louis Rams (10th) and Cleveland Browns (12th and 19th) are among the teams looking for help at quarterback.

If Winston and Mariota go one-two they would be the sixth such pairing of quarterbacks in the modern era. The last pair were Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III in 2012.

The NFL Draft leaves New York, its home for the past half-century, for Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University.

The last time the draft was held in Chicago was 51 years ago and a lot has changed. For one, there were 14 teams. For another, there were 20 rounds requiring 21 hours and 43 minutes, making it the longest continuous draft in league history.

This draft will have 32 teams spreading 256 picks over three days, all of them televised on ESPN and the NFL Network.

The 1964 draft was actually held Dec. 2, 1963 during the season. San Francisco took Dave Parks, a wide receiver from Texas Tech, with the first pick but the Dallas Cowboys were the big winner that year, getting Roger Staubach with the 129th pick, Bob Hayes with the 88th and Mel Renfro with the 17th, all of whom became pillars of a dynasty.