No one in this NFL draft class can spin a room quite like Jameis Winston

INDIANAPOLIS – Only in Jameis Winston's world can you go into a pivotal interview session at the NFL scouting combine with concerns about a fat belly, a wonky shoulder, small hands and large off-field concerns and end up stating your intentions to be in the Super Bowl next year.

But this is Winston. Aside from his pro-ready skills, the Florida State star doesn't have a single attribute that approaches his confidence in winning a room. And amazingly, that's how he squeaked out his first victory in the NFL debate with Oregon's Marcus Mariota – with effervescence that charms supporters and maddens haters. He went into Friday's media session under conditions that could have yielded nothing less than a probing collection of media bayonets. And by the end of it, the room was mostly entranced, even laughing at Winston's jokes.

This weekend's throw-off with Mariota will rightfully matter more to NFL teams. But Round 1? The public relations battle? Winston is going to exit with positive headlines. And that's at least a mild stunner.

Granted, even the toughest combine news conferences have rarely conjured images of a presidential presser. But let's face facts: Winston entered Friday with a laundry list of pressure points, most notably a pending civil case stemming from allegations of sexual assault at Florida State. Yet all of that largely evaporated when, almost miraculously, a serendipitously timed ESPN report leaked that teams had given Winston's throwing shoulder extra medical scrutiny.

For the Winston haters, that's a conspiratorial gold mine, that a little over an hour before he faced a media interrogation, a news nugget resets the entire conversation. With one television stroke and some Twitter buzz, the off-field concerns dropped down on the marquee, and the vague question of shoulder strength became the attraction.

Not that Winston didn't play a part in winning the day. The truth is that his personality plays far better than Mariota. One day ago, the Oregon star said all the right things but only in the way that a robot on an assembly line does its job. There wasn't a great deal of free-wheeling or panache.

Those who have spoken to both Winston and Mariota before already knew that the entertainment advantage was going to slide heavily into Winston's favor. In truth, he has always handled the media spotlight well, even in the face of his off-field undoings. Confidence? It's almost smothering. Charisma? He flaunts it without trying.

“I’ve got so many people to inspire and I’ve got so many little kids looking up to me, not only as a quarterback but as a person,” Winston said. “I want to be that role model for them.”

Case in point, look at the question of Winston vs. Mariota, and who is the No. 1 quarterback in this draft. It was posed to both, and each answered the right way. But one answer felt like it was coming out of an automotive manual. The other felt like it was delivered poolside, channeling Joe Namath:

Mariota: "As a competitor, any person would tell you that they're the best. I truly believe that in myself. We'll see whatever decision is made. I've got to go in with that mentality."

Winston: "I'm not into no competition type of thing. I'm in it to win games and be the face of someone's franchise. This is no competition between just me and Mariota, because one thing about me, I plan on winning the Super Bowl next year. So it's going to be me versus Peyton Manning and Jameis versus Tom Brady. I want to be viewed like that. After all this combine stuff, you're not going to hear no more about Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota. I want my name to stay relevant for the next 15 or 20 years of my career."

Winston's reply is the kind of answer that cows the media. Don't put me in a draft box with Marcus Mariota. I plan on being in the Super Bowl with Manning or Brady.

This is why we shouldn't have been surprised that once Mariota said he planned on running and throwing at the combine, that Winston would, too. The gauntlet was thrown down, and Winston stepped right up.

So now we wait for Round 2 – the physical portion that will be the significant divider between these players. All the questions about who can play in what scheme or who can make all the NFL throws gets answered next, between the lines of Lucas Oil Stadium.

Luckily for Mariota, the ability to win that room will hinge less on spinning charm and more on spinning a football.