The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made the decision to take former Florida State Seminoles star quarterback Jameis Winston with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. It was a selection that was wrestled with for months prior to the actual draft.
Winston came with quite a few question marks and character concerns, but Tampa Bay chose to take him over Oregon Ducks star and Heisman Trophy award winner Marcus Mariota.
According to a report from Jeff Darlington of NFL.com, Winston has been looking very “underwhelming” during the early stages of Buccaneers’ training camp.
“I have a confession to make: While watching Jameis Winston’s first several NFL practices (from rookie minicamp until now), I was extremely underwhelmed. Admittedly, I’m not a football scout — but Winston seemingly did nothing special. Nothing that popped. Nothing that made you say, ‘That’s why he went No. 1 overall.'”
Darlington did admit that he has looked better over the past couple practices, but his raises quite a bit of concern. He is already viewed as Tampa Bay’s franchise player, and the guy that everyone is looking at to take them back towards playoff contention.
There were quite a few issues with his game that many thought would be an issue at the NFL level, and hopefully those critics are not going to end up being right.
One of the big issues that many saw in Winston was his turnover problem. He did seem to turn the football over too much at Florida State, although he also only lost one game throughout his entire collegiate career.
At 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, there is no question that he was the better physical option than Mariota. He is the perfect size for a potential star, and he is very athletic and can extend plays for his team. While he has that going for him, he doesn’t have the ability to make plays with his legs like Mariota does, which is something that quite a few of the best quarterbacks in the NFL have nowadays.
That being said, it is still only a report on training camp and there is plenty of time before the regular season rolls around.
It is something to keep an eye on moving forward, however, and especially during preseason games against other teams. Tampa Bay will open up their preseason tonight against the Minnesota Vikings, and Winston will have all eyes on him with high expectations from the fans.
Pressure is something that he has fed off of his whole career, and reports like these are bringing more pressure on him than he would like.
Can’t get enough of Campus Sports? Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to stay updated with the latest news and exclusive giveaways!
*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
