25 most sought after NFL quarterback draft prospects of all time
By Zach Bigalke
The 2015 NFL Draft came down to a question of which Heisman-winning quarterback would be selected No. 1 overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and which would fall to the Tennessee Titans at No. 2 overall. Neither team had any intention of trading down, though plenty of franchises would have loved to land either passer.
As a redshirt freshman, Winston won the Heisman Trophy, as he led Florida State to the final BCS National Championship over Auburn. The following year, he guided FSU to another ACC Championship and a perfect regular season, matching up against Marcus Mariota and the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl in the semifinal of the inaugural College Football Playoff.
Along the way, he threw for nearly 8,000 yards on 66 percent passing. Winston threw for 65 touchdowns and added seven more on the ground in 27 games, accounting by himself for 16 points per game.
Mariota’s Oregon Ducks got the better of Florida State and Winston in Pasadena, but Winston got the last laugh at draft time. Character issues, from a sexual assault case while a student to public displays of misogyny, threatened to derail his draft stock. But the promise of prototypical NFL talent was too much to dissuade the Buccaneers from the risks inherent in selecting Winston.
Over his career, the former Florida State star has been a mixed bag for Tampa Bay. In his first two seasons, Winston threw for more than 4,000 yards per season. As a rookie he added 213 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the ground.
With more than 14,000 passing yards and 97 total touchdowns to his name through his first four seasons, it is hard to blame Tampa Bay’s 21-33 record over his 55 starts entirely to Winston’s performance.
But his behavior off the field has factored into the equation. Winston only started nine games in 2018, in part due to a three-game suspension for violation the NFL’s personal conduct policy after an alleged sexual assault of an Uber driver that was eventually settled without charges.
While returning to a promising professional trajectory will require keeping himself out of further trouble, Winston showed too much talent to be denied the No. 1 overall pick in 2015.