NFL Draft Profile: FSU QB Jameis Winston

If you ask any anyone who the two top Quarterbacks in this draft class are, the clear consensus is Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston. After that, there is a drop off to Brett Hundley and then a gigantic drop off to everyone else, at least in my opinion. So far, the running narrative between Winston and Mariota is that Winston will go higher because he played in a pro-style offense while Mariota played in the spread. I don’t necessarily agree with this because I still think Mariota could perform well in a pro-style offense, but was asked to do different things in Oregon’s system. Regardless, I’ve done some studying on Mariota’s game, let’s see how Jameis stacks up.

Jameis Winston has had arguably the most storied college career of all time. It was just under a year and a half ago when Winston had his coming out party on a Monday night in Pittsburgh. The redshirt freshman threw for 356, 4 TD’s, and most remarkbly went 25/27. The legend of Famous Jameis was born. Winston went on to lead the Noles to a National Championship while capturing the Heisman trophy along the way. He also was the centerpiece of a nationwide sexual assault scandal. A roller coaster year to say the least. How will each of these things affect his draft stock?

Live Feed

With the First Pick

Jameis’ ability to win a championship game shows he’s battle tested and can be clutch in high pressure situations. This won’t play a big role in his draft stock, but it certainly is a plus. As for his off the field issues, that’s a major negative. Issues off the field have been more prevalent this season than any other year with the domestic violence cases of Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, Greg Hardy, etc. and the substance abuse case of Josh Gordon. Teams will commit a lot of time investigating and interviewing Jameis and Florida State’s coaching staff this offseason. You need to get all the information available and then some when you’re going to be making an investment of this degree.

In any situation, talent is king in the NFL, and Jameis has plenty of that.

Jameis Winston/QB/Florida State/6’4 230 lbs.

The first thing I noticed when watching Jameis is his natural pocket presence. Although this may seem like a simple quality, it is rare to find QB’s at the college level show Winston’s level of confidence in the pocket. When he’s making his typical three step drop, not being pressured, and stepping up in the pocket, Winston is arguably the best passer in America. When being pressured, he has a tendency to make questionable decisions and throw off his back foot.

In this play, the pocket collapses and Winston is getting ambushed by three Notre Dame D-Lineman. He has four options, take the sack, throw into coverage, scramble and throw the ball away, or tuck it and run. Winston chooses to throw off his back foot into coverage which is probably the worst option as it is very likely to be intercepted. The silver lining in this broken play is that Winston shows outstanding eye level. Keeping your eyes downfield when being pressured is another rare quality to see in a QB in the college landscape.

The pocket collapses once again in this play against the Gators. While seeing an opportunity to evade pressure, Winston steps up in the pocket and most importantly keeps his eyes downfield. While making his throw, his body is contorted but he still maintains a fluid throwing motion allowing him to make the unlikely completion. While this may seem like a subtle first down throw, it’s a veteran throw from the 21 year old.

One aspect of Jameis’ game that may pose as a red flag to some are his increase in interceptions. Winston nearly doubled his number of interceptions from last year. Here are a couple from the Louisville game.

Jameis has a pretty clean pocket on this play. He decides to throw to his first read, but this wasn’t the smartest decision. The Cardinals anticipated the play well, and despite throwing a beautiful pass, Louisville’s coverage was perfect. This is by no means a bad interception though, Winston had a lot of these where the throw was just a bit off or the defender made a great play on the ball.

He shows strong mechanics in this play. His presence, footwork, and throwing motion are all how you want them to be, but the defender makes a great play on the ball.

Although Jameis does have some flaws on the field, he’s still one of the best QB prospects in years. He hasn’t been asked to throw the deep ball much this year and his short/intermediate passing game is as polished than anyone in the country. Winston puts a good combination of touch and zip on all of his passes and has impeccable ball placement. He’s also Mr. Clutch when it comes to making big time passes late in games.

Here, Jameis goes through his progressions in a timely manner and spots his second read with a tight window of opportunity. He steps up, fires, and puts enough zip to complete the pass. This was the nail in the coffin for Oklahoma State.

On a huge 3rd and short at the end of the Notre Dame game, Jameis rolls left and make a beautiful pass where only Rashad Greene can make the catch. Although he is falling as he’s making the pass, he still maintains that fluid throwing motion that allows him to hit his receiver so accurately.

Where Does Jameis Stand?

Winston is a rare talent at the most important position in football. He’s only played two years in college, but he’s the most polished QB in this year’s draft. For as much as he does on the field, whether he gets taken within the top two depends on his interviews. If Jameis checks out off the field, he is a lock to go to either Tampa Bay or Tennesee.

A starting QB of his caliber would instantly make either team significantly better. I’m a big fan of Jameis after watching these cut ups, but checking out off the field is what will make him money come draft day.

Where He Gets Picked

Right now I have Jameis slotted to Tennessee as the 2nd overall pick. In a lot of mocks I see Leonard Williams going here which is completely reasonable as he may be the best overall player,  safest pick,  and many people think Zach Mettenberger is the guy in Tennessee. I just don’t see how you could pass on a premier passer like Winston and put the franchise in the hands of a 6th round pick who’s super injury prone.

More from Saturday Blitz

• Michigan State vs. Maryland: Location, time, prediction, and more
• ACC Power Rankings: Can #4 FSU overthrow Clemson at Death Valley East?
• Most heartwarming social media reactions to Nick Chubb’s injury
• Ranking college football’s top 10 quarterbacks after Week 3
• Things are going to get much darker for the Houston Cougars