Jameis Winston Not Yet an NFL Quarterback
Jameis Winston is not ready for the NFL. Not yet.
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Yes, he threw for 40 touchdowns in 2013 as a freshman. Yes, his Heisman trophy was well-deserved. Yes, he engineered a game winning drive to win the national championship against the Auburn Tigers and end the SEC’s reign.
No, he’s not yet ready to be an NFL quarterback.
Winston has all the tools to be an NFL star. His zip, arm strength, mobility, and beautiful deep ball are all things coaches love. Former Seminoles coach Bobby Bowden has already come out and said Winston could become the greatest ever. But let’s pump our brakes.
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His accuracy still comes and goes, as he showed in the Seminoles’ 37-31 win against Oklahoma State Saturday night. The stat line will show that Winston threw for 400 yards. The eye test will show those numbers are overrated.
Take the 50 yard touchdown pass to Rashad Greene. Jameis made a very easy pass, and Greene did all the work after that. His accomplishments Saturday are not unlike the national championship game from last year.
We were all quick to give Winston credit for taking the national championship away from Auburn last year. But until that final drive, Nick Marshall, who has been considered a runner at quarterback, had outplayed Winston.
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Then, on the final drive, Winston had a 49-yard pass to Greene who was 90 percent of the reason for that play. Many of Winston’s passes are easy passes like that that turn into big plays, but his overall accuracy is still inconsistent.
That’s the biggest reason he’s not yet ready for the NFL. Don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t mean he can’t improve. Winston has a long season to be able to work on things, and if he’s telling the truth, he’ll stick around next year to improve even more.
So there’s a lot of time to get better, but if he went in the draft tomorrow, I wouldn’t take him with the first pick yet.
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Despite winning the game Saturday, Winston also kept the Oklahoma State Cowboys in it for far too long with 2 interceptions. That is going to have to be improved, especially against a program that hasn’t cared much for playing defense in recent years.
Jameis Winston’s college football legacy is already pretty much solidified. Barring any unforeseen circumstances (crab legs anyone?), he’ll build on what he did last year, and he could win another national championship. But he still has a lot to work on to get to the next level.
Adding to this chaos, Winston is very hard to get a good read on. Let’s be honest, he’s also playing with loaded talent around him. Can he do what he does without great protection or receivers getting wide open and turning short catches into huge gains? That’s something we won’t be able to see at all until he reaches the NFL.