Experts see Jameis Winston as future NFL No. 1 draft choice Tom Pelissero, USA TODAY Sports December 23, 2013
Florida State's Jameis Winston (5) has impressed scouts with his arm.(Photo: AP)Jerry Angelo says he would be the No. 1 pick this yearScout says he's "pretty damn close" to Peyton ManningStill needs to hone skills and learn defensesFormer NFL general manager Jerry Angelo thinks highly of Jameis Winston's pro prospects.That doesn't mean Angelo would advise the youngest Heisman Trophy winner ever to enter the draft after two years at Florida State and one as the starter if Winston were eligible."He'd be the first pick in the draft. I can say that unequivocally, because he does have the traits," Angelo, a 31-year scouting veteran who was the Chicago Bears GM from the 2001 to '11 seasons, told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday. "But it's the one position that (is different)."If kids ask me should they come out early, if they have the tape and they're going to have the measurables, I say yes. But I would say no to the quarterback. That's the one position where he needs to play."Winston doesn't have the choice. No player can apply for special eligibility to the draft until three NFL seasons have begun and ended after his high school graduation or the graduation of the class with which he entered high school, whichever is sooner.But there were signs in Winston's remarkable redshirt freshman season — in which he has accounted for over 4,000 yards and 42 touchdowns and led the Seminoles to the national title game against Auburn on Jan. 6, his 20th birthday — he might be worth an exception to the rule."He is the most NFL-ready quarterback that I've had the privilege of preparing for," a defensive coach for a team that faced Winston told USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity for competitive reasons. "I'm not saying he's Peyton Manning, but he's pretty darn close, man."Several NFL scouts and executives who have been in draft meetings the last few weeks told USA TODAY Sports that Winston would be in the conversation among the top players in the class of 2014, though it's tough to say where he'd be selected without doing complete film breakdowns and researching his background as teams do with eligible prospects. The scouts and executives spoke on the condition of anonymity because of competitive reasons.An investigation into a sexual assault allegation against Winston yielded no charges but is the sort of issue about which every NFL team would want to gather information, particularly for a quarterback who's immediately going to be installed as the face of a franchise."He ain't making it out of the top 10 (if he were in the 2014 draft), that's for damn sure," said John Middlekauff, a former pro and area scout for the Philadelphia Eagles."You'd have to do a lot of research on what happened off the field with that incident, which I'm sure teams have been doing this year, sniffing around. But if that checked out, I think he'd have a very good chance to be the top quarterback picked, which is usually the top player picked."So why couldn't Winston step in and succeed immediately at the NFL level, no matter his age or relative inexperience?Former teammates describe him as a team-oriented leader who was like the little brother of EJ Manuel, the 16th overall pick by the Buffalo Bills in this year's draft, during his redshirt year, observing practice from the starters side of the field when he wasn't running the scout team."He'd always try to scramble around, and he would think he was the fastest person on the field," said Minnesota Vikings rookie cornerback Xavier Rhodes, a teammate of Winston in 2012. "He was faster than EJ. That man was confident. He knew he was going to be good."Winston's smooth public persona matches what teammates see privately, too. He has an ideal frame at 6-4 and about 228 pounds and creates more highlights with his arm than with his legs, unlike so many young quarterbacks with comparable athletic traits."Some of those young guys, you throw pressure at them, and they start to concentrate on the pressure — like, 'Where is it coming from?'" said the defensive coach, who has nearly two decades of experience at the college and NFL levels."It never rattled him at all. He kept his focus on the downfield receivers, and he did a great job of sitting in the pocket. He's a big-time player. He has a strong arm. He's accurate. He can make all the throws — the long throws downfield; the short, precision-type throws. He's the total package."But the NFL scouts, who spoke on condition of anonymity for competitive reasons, stressed Winston needed to continue honing his fundamentals and knowledge of defensive schemes like any other young quarterback.There's also the matter of maturity, which is a concern with almost any young player once he's exposed to money and free time.Most of the top quarterbacks today — Manning, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger, Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson — were on campus at least four years. Aaron Rodgers spent two years at California but also played a year in junior college and then was a backup to Brett Favre for three years with the Green Bay Packers, a luxury afforded few first-round quarterbacks these days."Regardless of his body of work, the three-year rule makes a ton of sense to me," Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave said. "The more time on task you can get, the more experience you can collect both on and off the field (can help) to handle the rigors of adult life."
Jameis Winsto captured the Heisman in a landslide.(Photo: Adam Hunger, USA TODAY Sports)Among the quarterbacks to come out in three years are Alex Smith, Matthew Stafford and Blaine Gabbert, who all played as rookies and struggled to varying degrees early on. That could be part of the reason Oregon redshirt sophomore Marcus Mariota says he's staying in.The rules of the 2011 collective bargaining agreement restricted offseason classroom work and practices, challenging the amount of development that can take place once a player arrives in the NFL — particularly at the hardest and most important position.Angelo points to the recent play of Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, who started for one year in the Football Bowl Subdivision as an aberration in a league that can swallow quarterbacks whole if they're not physically, mentally and emotionally prepared.It's not that Winston can't do it. It's that his chances of succeeding might be that much better with another year — or even two — to cement who he is as a player and person first."That's the one position I would say you need to get as many snaps, get as much experience as you can, because when you get to the NFL, it's no longer about training you," Angelo said. "You're going to be thrown into the fire — in most cases, way before you're ready, and in most cases, with a poor supporting cast, not a great one, because the teams that draft you aren't very good."For a kid to come into that dynamic, he's got to be ready."
