The offseason is when football fans get a lot of those players rankings and preseason predictions for the upcoming season. There are a few outlets that are known for them: ESPN, Pro Football Focus, etc.. The NFL Network is another, since, by the nature of their name, they have to – or get to – talk about football 24/7.

The network has been hot and cold with love for the Buccaneers this offseason. On one hand, they had players like Mike Evans and Gerald McCoy on their NFL Top 100, and then players like Jameis Winston star in the All-Under 25 team (as well as being a Top 100 player). But then, on the other hand, you have players like Kwon Alexander, Lavonte David and Brent Grimes who were left off, which doesn’t seem right at all.

In one of the latest articles from the network, football analyst, Bucky Brook, let his own voice be heard, not the voice of a national poll, and announced that he believes Winston is a transcendent star in the making, and that’s just from watching the film, not even with who Winston is beyond his performance.

Having studied the All-22 Coaches Film on Winston myself, I can tell you that it’s pretty obvious he is a transcendent talent with a set of skills that will make him one of the top passers in the game for the next decade… While he still throws too many picks (33 through his first two seasons), Winston has shown that he is a fearless anticipatory thrower capable of delivering darts into tight windows. He routinely connected with Mike Evans, Adam Humphries and Cameron Brate on hotly contested throws tossed at intermediate range. Without a deep threat to stretch the coverage last season or a legitimate running game to create one-on-one chances in the passing game, Winston was rarely able to string together completions on a handful of “gimme” throws outside of the numbers. Thus, he should earn a gold star for racking up spectacular production on challenging throws.

Brooks highlights that Winston does have areas of his game that he can improve on (we discussed part one of that in our Cover 3 last week on Winston’s decision making), but reiterates that these should be just be early learning curves in what is shaping up to be a long and successful career. Brooks goes on to say that “successful” part could come in the form of top-tier production in 2017.

In 2017, that gold star could turn into another Pro Bowl honor, with DeSean Jackson and O.J. Howard coming on board to create more big-play opportunities. Winston will have a legitimate home run threat outside the numbers to target on go and post routes, as well as a dynamic “MOF” (middle of the field) threat to attack the voids between the hashes. With Evans, Humphries and Brate poised to shine in their assigned roles, Winston has a supporting cast in place that should allow him to reach his potential as an elite passer in this league.