Winning the Heisman Trophy is the biggest personal achievement a collegiate athlete can receive. It is a lifetime honor and invitation to an exclusive fraternity that reigns supreme in college football.

Since 1990 there have been 24 Heisman winners (excluding Reggie Bush) and 17 of those winners have hailed from the quarterback position. Florida State’s Jameis Winston and Oregon’s Marcus Mariota both enter the 2015 NFL Draft with Heisman credentials on their impressive resumes. The two star quarterbacks are locks to be selected in the first round and it’s basically a forgone conclusion Winston will be selected No. 1 overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He also ranks No. 1 on our NFL Mock Draft.

The Heisman Trophy is presented to the best college athlete, not necessarily the best NFL Draft prospect.

A quick look over the last 25 years shows that the Heisman Trophy has not been kind to quarterbacks with NFL aspirations. Quarterbacks winning the Heisman since 1990 include Ty Detmer (1990), Gino Torretta (1992), Charlie Ward (1993), Danny Wuerffel (1997), Chris Weinke (2000), Eric Crouch (2001, Carson Palmer (2002), Jason White (2003), Matt Leinart (2004), Troy Smith (2006), Tim Tebow (2007), Sam Bradford (2008), Cam Newton (2010), Robert Griffin III (2011), Johnny Manziel (2012), Jameis Winston (2014) and Marcus Mariota (2015).

Assuming both Winston and Mariota hear their names called in the first round (almost a guarantee), nine of the quarterbacks listed in this article have gone or will be drafted in the first round.

This consensus of Heisman winners named above have failed to live up to the expectations of an NFL starting quarterback. Carson Palmer and Cam Newton are the only two that have shown any resemblance of being worthy of their number one draft status. The rest of the Heisman quarterbacks drafted in the first round leave plenty to be desired. Matt Leinart flamed out quickly in Arizona; Tim Tebow is out of the league; Sam Bradford has battle severe injuries with mediocre play in the field; RG3 is living off his amazing rookie season that happened nearly three years ago and has done nothing since then; Johnny Manziel may not be on Cleveland’s roster if the team didn’t invest a No. 1 pick on him due his lack of maturity and more importantly dedication to his craft. 

Each one of those previous Heisman winners was viewed just like Winston and Mariota are being viewed now… As potential franchise quarterbacks and punching their tickets to the first round of the NFL Draft.

NFL teams need to ask themselves – Is it a blessing or a curse to have a Heisman Trophy winning quarterback on the roster?

Disregarding the group of Heisman quarterbacks that were selected in the first round and the results are even scarier. Eric Crouch and Jason White never took a snap in an NFL game; Charlie Ward went undrafted and played 12 seasons in the NBA; The compiled effort of the other Heisman quarterbacks that actually played quarterback in the NFL is horrific. Gino Torretta never started an NFL game but did manage one touchdown pass and interception before exiting the league after two seasons; Chris Weinke, Ty Detmer and Danny Wuerffel went 17-38 as starters, throwing 61 combined touchdowns passes and 73 interceptions. The trio combined to play for 11 different NFL teams.

Winston has solidified himself as the top pick in the NFL Draft and seems to have convinced the top brass of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that the off the field issues that followed him in college will disappear after he signs his first NFL contract. Playing in a pro-style offense and under the tutelage of Jimbo Fisher, who has been a quarterback coach or offensive coordinator since 1988 (five different schools) has help develop Winston into the prospect we see today. A two-sport athlete, Winston passes the eyeball test and throws a terrific deep ball. His pocket presence and ability to improvise stand out as a prospect. Besides all his other accolades he is a winner and excels under pressure. His record speaks for itself going 26-1 in his collegiate career that includes a National Championship.

Contrasting styles exist between Mariota and Winston. Winston ran a 4.97 at the NFL Scouting Combine, while Mariota blazed an impressive 4.52 40-yard dash. Although nobody remembers four-time Super Bowl winning quarterbacks Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana or Tom Brady ever showing off their track speed (or lack of), Mariota is an athletic dual-type threat. He posted outrageously impressive numbers at Oregon and during his senior season Mariota passed for 4,454 yards and 42 touchdowns with just four interceptions. However, three of his four interceptions came against higher caliber defenses in Stanford, Florida State, and Ohio State. With the NFL’s desire to advance more mobile quarterbacks into the starting line-ups a player like Mariota is perceived to be the perfect prospect to develop.

For all the charisma Winston carries, the exact opposite can be said about Mariota. Winston has won over NFL scouts regarding his ability on the field. It is his decision making off the field that creates concerns about his future in the NFL and being able to lead a franchise.

The opposite is true with Mariota, who is quiet and does not have a single blemish off the football field. Teams are still undecided if he can learn to adjust to the pro game and manage all the intricate aspects of the quarterback position at the next level. The possibilities are endless for the amount of success both Winston and Mariota can achieve.

Although, we will not know if they have beaten the Heisman jinx until a few years from now, if we look at history it’s very likely that at least one of the two, if not both will ultimately fail at the next level.