FAB 3. WINSTON NEEDS TO WORK ON THE DEEP BALL
One thing that should help Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston add some dollars on to a future contract extension is having more weapons at his disposal to pass to. With back-to-back 4,000-yard seasons, Winston has the third-most passing yards in NFL history for a quarterback’s first two seasons behind only Indianapolis’ Andrew Luck and Carolina’s Cam Newton.

If he stays healthy for all 16 games once again, there’s a chance Winston could reach 4,500 with the addition of speedy wide receiver DeSean Jackson, who has the ability to catch bombs downfield and turn short catches into big gains. Jackson led the league with a 17.9-yard average last year in Washington and is expected to bring that type of explosive playmaking ability to Tampa Bay.

Bucs QB Jameis Winston – Photo by: Getty Images

But in order to maximize Jackson’s speed, and to hit Pro Bowl wide receiver Mike Evans for longer gains downfield, Winston must become a better, more accurate downfield thrower, which is a point Bucs head coach Dirk Koetter drove home when asked about it.

“It’s something that we have to get better, but the thing that jumps out about DeSean is that he can get behind a defense,” Koetter said. “The guy has elite speed. Jameis will get better the more we do it like anything else. When you are only doing it once in a while it’s hard to get better at it. We need to take more shots down the field when you have a guy that you have confidence in that can get behind the defense. But as I said earlier, let’s not label DeSean as just that because DeSean can run every route on the route tree.”

For the only NFL team that didn’t have a pass play of 50 yards or more last year, the Buccaneers definitely need Winston to continue to develop into a downfield thrower this year from both the pocket and outside the pocket.

“Some guys just have a knack for being easier to throw to than others,” Koetter said. “I’m anxious. It will be the third week of the offseason program in early May. We start back April 17, so it will be May before we get to see those guys on the field together. It didn’t come fast for Mike and Jameis. I don’t think there’s a set timetable. A lot just depends on the guys. I’ll be anxious to see it. It can be fast, but it can also take a while. We’ll just have to see. We don’t have too long.”

Bucs WRs Mike Evans & DeSean Jackson, QB Jameis Winston, NBA star James Harden and trainer George Whitfield – Photo on George Whitfield’s Instagram

The good news for Bucs fans is that Winston, Evans and Jackson were seen together in Houston recently with athletic trainer George Whitfield. While Winston was photographed after a workout with former Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson, it wouldn’t be surprising if Winston, Jackson and Evans didn’t get together in Evans’ home state of Texas for a workout or multiple workouts.

Koetter said those workouts can’t take place at One Buccaneer Place, but wouldn’t be surprised to see Winston and his top receivers work out on their own.

“They way the [NFL] calendar is and the way the rules are, those guys would have to do something on their own until we get on the field in Phase 2 [of the offseason program],” Koetter said.

Winston is fully capable of being a great downfield passer with a touch more accuracy. According to SportingCharts.com, Winston was the third-ranked QB air yards leader in 2016 with 2,703 yards or his 4,090 yards coming down the field. Koetter’s offense calls for taking shots down the field, so that’s not surprising.

But where Winston’s passing yards can really be helped is from better yards after catch from his receivers. Winston’s yards after catch number was just 1,387 yards, which ranked in the bottom third of the league.

Redskins WR DeSean Jackson – Photo by: Getty Images

Winston’s accuracy rose from 58.3 percent of his passes as a rookie to 60.8 percent in his second NFL season. But Tampa Bay coaches believe he actually made more than a 2.5 percent increase in his accuracy because the team fell behind in more games during his 2015 rookie season in which the Bucs went 6-10. Winston faced more prevent defenses that year, which could have actually inflated his completion percentage in his first year.

If Winston can improve on his downfield throwing and increase his accuracy to 63 percent this season, which would put him on par with other deep passers like Oakland’s Derek Carr (63.8 percent) and New York Giants’ Eli Manning (63 percent), the Bucs offense can become more productive and explosive, and Winston could tack on several hundred more yards to his record-setting passing totals in Tampa Bay – especially with a proven deep threat like Jackson on board.