With the No. 2 pick in the 2015 NFL draft, the Titans welcomed the reigning Heisman winner Marcus Mariota. With the No. 2 pick in the highly anticipated NBA draft, the struggling Lakers took a calculated gamble on Louisville, Kentucky native and Ohio State prodigy D’Angelo Russell.

This year, both No. 2 picks will be aiming to revive their currently irrelevant franchises: one in the comfort of the south, the other under the vibrant SoCal sun and flashing lights of Hollywood.

For perspective, the Titans finished with the second worst record at 2-14, while the Lakers put up a historically bad 21-61 season that led to their highest draft pick in 33 years.

For Mariota, these past few months have been nothing short of a whirlwind. In addition to becoming a cover boy for multiple Beats by Dre endorsements, Mariota has also swirled around in the media complex for all the wrong reasons. More specifically, for trying to configure offset languages.

Up until yesterday, Mariota was one of the few remaining high profile rookies yet to have reached an agreement with his team. But now that the tension has been resolved -- Mariota signed a four-year $23.5 million deal with a $15.3 million signing bonus -- Mariota will finally be able to get his hands dirty with his new teammates, something everyone has been itching, waiting to see.

On the flip side of the country, Russell has already been hard at work. Introduced to the NBA the hard way via the Las Vegas Summer League – Russell showed flashes of brilliance with his vision/passing ability, but struggled with turnovers – the baby faced lefty, who boasted a modest stat line of 11.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists in five games, quickly saw the long road that lies ahead. His hope is to become a sponge around aging veteran Kobe Bryant once training camp unfolds in the ensuing month.

In regards to blending into the Los Angeles lifestyle, Russell seems to be doing just fine. Here's a video he did with B/R's Lance Fresh.

Mariota and Russell will share a similar blueprint to success, one that will require time and patience. While Mariota will be directly competing with FSU’s Jameis Winston for title of top rookie quarterback, Russell will be looking to justify the Lakers’ decision to pass on Duke big man Jahlil OKafor, who was an offensive force for the 76ers in summer league. Okafor averaged 15.8 points and 8.4 rebounds in his five games.

Both Mariota and Russell contain the talent and potential to mold into future stars in their respective leagues. There’s no doubt about that. Forget that Mariota is soft spoken and Russell is fiery, flashy. Just keep in mind that the two rookies will share the commonality of having the rare opportunity of starting a new era in two sports loving cities.

I’m a Eugene, Oregon native that was raised a Lakers fan. I’ve seen first hand what Mariota is capable of, both as a fan and as a journalist working for the University of Oregon student newspaper. And while I hadn’t seen much of Russell prior to the draft, I have done enough digging around to see the star quality in Russell.

I’ll be keeping a close eye on both prospects this coming year.

Mariota will be wearing his iconic No. 8 jersey in Titans blue. Russell will be rebranding himself in a No. 1 Lakers purple and gold jersey.

The year will be 2015, but the number to remember will be No. 2.