Jameis Winston: Five reasons he is the next great QB in the NFL by John Buhler 2h ago 
Jameis Winston is starting to turn heads with his play as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ franchise quarterback.Jameis Winston was the No. 1 overall draft pick in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, taking him out of Florida State as a redshirt sophomore. Winston was a high-profile passer in college for the Seminoles, winning the 2013 BCS National Championship and the Heisman Trophy in his first season as the starting quarterback.He led the Seminoles to another undefeated season in the ACC and helped get Florida State the No. 3 seed in the first ever College Football Playoff. After losing his only game as a collegiate player in the Rose Bowl against Marcus Mariota and the Oregon Ducks, Winston declared for the 2015 NFL Draft with two years of eligibility remaining.Normally it isn’t wise for a quarterback to exhaust any extra years of eligibility, but Winston had almost nothing left to prove at the college level at Florida State. His off-the field-antics were seen as a bit of a distraction, but the Buccaneers nevertheless took him with the first overall selection in the NFL Draft.In his rookie season, Winston has already given the Bucs more life than they have had this late in the season in some time. Tampa Bay is at .500 with a 6-6 record and alive in the NFC Wild Card race. The Buccaneers are doing many things well in 2015, but the vastly improved quarterback play thanks to the addition of Winston has played a major part in the franchise’s rapid turnaround.Here are five reasons why Winston could actually be the next great starting quarterback in the National Football League.
Aug 24, 2015; Tampa, FLTampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston (3) warms up on the field before the start of an NFL preseason football game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Raymond James Stadium. Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports5. The Big Ben ComparisonsSometimes a highly-touted quarterback draws unfair comparisons to one of the best to ever play the game. When Jameis Winston declared for the 2015 NFL Draft, scouts believed that his stature and arm talent were very reminiscent to Pittsburgh Steelers starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.Big Ben had made a living as one of the toughest quarterbacks to ever play the game. He takes a beating playing for the Steelers, but nearly always has his club in contention for an AFC North Division title. Winston too is big-bodied like Roethlisberger. At 6’4?, 232 pounds, Winston has the ideal build of what it takes to play quarterback at the NFL level.He can take the punishment of a collapsing pocket and still deliver a strong aerial strike to one of his many talented receiving targets. It is important to play both a loose and a fearless brand of football at quarterback in the NFL. Like Roethlisberger, Winston seems to have the ability to play that way already as a rookie.Roethlisberger came on strong as a rookie in the great quarterback draft class of 2004 (Eli Manning, Philip Rivers, Roethlisberger). Winston is beginning to emerge as a lead candidate for the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award.Visually, Winston naturally plays in a similar style of Roethlisberger, a two-time Super Bowl Champion for the winningest franchise in NFL history. The comparisons to Roethlisberger are both uncanny and justifiable. This bodes well for Winston’s future development as an NFL passer.
Oct 4, 2015; Tampa, FLTampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston (3) talks to Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) after their game at Raymond James Stadium. The Carolina Panthers defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 37-23. Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports4. Strong NFC South QuarterbacksFrom top to bottom, the NFC South is arguably the best division in football when it comes to strong quarterback play. The Buccaneers lagged behind a bit with Josh Freeman under center, but now with Jameis Winston as their quarterback, Tampa Bay has someone who can match up well with Drew Brees, Cam Newton, and Matt Ryan in divisional play.Tampa Bay, when they’ve been successful, have been a defense-first team. Really the only offensive player held in high regard in the franchise’s 40 years of existence is fullback Mike Alstott, who played during the peak days of the Tampa 2 Defense.Having strong role models at quarterback in the division will allow Winston to pick up on good habits of all three perennial Pro Bowl passers. Brees, Newton, and Ryan are all probably the best quarterbacks to have ever played for their respective franchises and Winston has the opportunity to see what makes each great six times a year.Players get better when the competition intensifies. Winston has already beaten Brees and Ryan this season, though Newton’s Carolina Panthers remain undefeated. For a quarterback that already has a strong student mentality like Winston, it certainly is a real treat to learn from watching and competing against his NFC South peers.Picking up on the good habits of Brees, Newton, and Ryan will only aid in Winston eventually becoming the best quarterback in the 40-year history of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Aug 29, 2015; Tampa, FLTampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter talks with Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston (3) against the Cleveland Browns during the second quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports3. The Dirk Koetter Air Coryell OffensePairing Jameis Winston with the Dirk Koetter Air Coryell Offense in 2015 was a brilliant idea made by head coach Lovie Smith and general manager Jason Licht. Koetter’s aerial attack is often one of the NFL’s most potent. He last brought the best of out Matt Ryan in Atlanta for the Falcons the last three seasons.Winston displayed a comfortable tendency to air it out while playing for Jimbo Fisher in Tallahassee at Florida State. Rather than putting Winston in a conservative, West Coast-type of passing attack, it makes more sense for him to play in a system that accentuates his obvious talents as a pocket passer.He has the arm strength and the solid receivers in Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans to complete the necessary medium-to-long passes of the Koetter Air Coryell offensive attack. Even better, Winston has a solid third-year running back in Doug Martin to hand the ball off to, thus making the offense more balanced that Koetter had to work with in Atlanta.The offense is both powerful and efficient, catering to strengths of Winston. As a 22-year-old, Winston seems to already have a strong grasp of the complicated passing game plan of Koetter’s system and will only thrive in it with more repetitions.The only thing that could hold Winston back in this offense is if a search firm believes that Koetter can become an NFL head coach. He never has, but did lead the Arizona State Sun Devils for a few years before becoming an offensive coordinator in the NFL. The sky is the limit for Winston in this offensive system.
Dec 6, 2015; Tampa, FLTampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston (3) throws the ball against the Atlanta Falcons during the second quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports2. An Already Strong Understanding of Pocket PresenceThis trait perhaps is Jameis Winston’s greatest strength as a young passer. While it may come across as more exciting to scramble outside of the pocket to make throws, Winston has a strong pocket presence that some young passers never seem to fully grasp.Though he has the body of a defensive end, venturing of the pocket can prove costly to a quarterback’s overall health. While Winston does at times display dual-threat ability, he’d probably say that he’s a pocket passer that makes plays with his feet when he absolutely has to.This understanding gives Winston a better feel for the game by letting plays develop rather than searching for an answer when plays break down via scrambling. At the end of the day, a quarterback solidifies his reputation from strong pocket presence. Winston has plenty of role models to pattern his game after that follow these guidelines as an NFL passer.When watching him play, Winston is always looking to make the throw, even after the pocket collapses. Great players like Cam Newton, Ben Roethlisberger, Aaron Rodgers, and Russell Wilson keep their eyes down the field looking to complete a pass before scrambling as a last resort. Winston plays the same way and that helps him in his development and his longevity as an NFL starting quarterback.
Dec 6, 2015; Tampa, FLTampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston (3) calls a play against the Atlanta Falcons during the first quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports1. The Intrinsic Qualities of a ChampionThis is something that is not learned. It is part of a player’s DNA, to understand the magnitude of the biggest moments in a game and delivering. This is sometimes referred to as the clutch gene and Jameis Winston absolutely has it.As a redshirt freshman at Florida State, Winston emerged as the undisputed leader of the football team with a fiery pre-game speech before playing division rival Clemson in Death Valley. From that point on, it was obvious that Winston had the intrinsic qualities of a champion that few possess.When the game is on the line, Winston isn’t afraid to fail and that is why he succeeds more often than most. It’s a level of focus and a high level of self-confidence to rally his teammates to perform at their highest level when the game needs them to.It’s almost a charismatic leadership style, but it proves itself out on the gridiron more than just the intrinsic quality itself. Many great players never understand where a game can be won and lost. In football it is more obvious than in other sports, but even then some players cannot grasp the concept of performing in big moments.Winston showcased this intellectual skill both in Hueytown, Alabama and in Tallahassee, Florida. Though the Buccaneers may end up falling short of making the 2015 NFC Playoffs, what they have in Winston under center is something special nearly all franchises would covet to have in their starting quarterback. Winston continues to deliver in big moments of games.link
