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Marcus Mariota reportedly is not planning to attend NFL draft in Chicago

Eric Edholm

The NFL is taking its big draft show on the road for the first time in 50 years, and the two biggest names to enter the league might not be in attendance.

Florida State QB Jameis Winston has said he might not go to the draft in Chicago — moved from New York City for the first time in half a century — and now Oregon QB Marcus Mariota appears to be skipping, too, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The "cultural" part suggests that Mariota would have stayed home had the draft been held in Bismark, but the league can't be too thrilled that its two marquee figures might not be on hand. The league is planning a big event in Chicago, with the draft occuring at the Auditorium Theatre indoors and several activities happening outside — across Michigan Avenue in Grant Park, with fan events planned all weekend.

Winston hinted that the NFL has been leaning on him to make the trip to Chicago and make whatever conce$$ions are needed to make it happen.

id="yui_3_16_0_1_1427849982576_2128">"We really haven’t made that decision yet, because there’s been a lot of pressure for people trying to get me to come to the draft," Winston said with a smile. 

But he also cited that his sick grandmother, stricken with type-2 diabetes, is the reason he's wanting to stay home. So you have a sick grandma and a player citing cultural reasons for wanting to be home in Hawaii, and what is Roger Goodell to do?

Certainly the league will continue to monitor the situation, and it has the next four weeks to convince the players to make the trip. This feels bigger than Joe Thomas wanting to go fishing or Philip Rivers or Dan Wilkinson not attending the draft, even though three players all were top-five picks. Heck Mariota is no guarantee to be a top-five selection.

But the theme of this draft is Winston and Mariota, and the league loves storylines and quarterbacks and red carpets and camera flashes. They want these guys there, no doubt about it. We'll see if either or both end up changing their minds.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!