The Numbers Don't Seem to Like Jameis Winston

Published on 23-Mar-2020 by Biff BoJock

Football - NFL    NFL Daily Update

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The Numbers Don't Seem to Like Jameis Winston

Think of him as just another poster boy for the fact that college football and the pros are two different games.

Jameis Winston led the Florida State Seminoles to the BCS title in 2014 after winning the Heisman Trophy -- sports' most overhyped award -- in 2013, dude's freshman season.

It was all enough to cause wonder as to just how much big brand subjectivity goes into NFL scouting assessments.

 

 

Take the allegedly star-studded 2015 NFL Draft, featuring what most considered to be the new breed of QBs:

  • Winston going first overall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, directly followed by
  • Marcus Mariota being selected by the Tennessee Titans.

For different reasons, neither has justified the top billing, but at least now, Mariota has landed a job for the 2020 season, assuming there is a 2020 season.

 

Covid-19 or no, Winston's prospects of even having a 2020 NFL season are not optimum right now.

Dude's stats have been perplexing ever since he entered the league. Take the 2019 campaign, for instance:

 

It coulda been worse:

 

That's more than a hint that dude's issue isn't his talent, work ethic, or knowledge. His decision-making development is stalled in neutral.

NFL teams aren't interested in hot-or-not slingers serving as backups. That job description usually calls for someone who can -- at a minimum -- simply maintain instead of potentially digging a deeper hole when he enters the game.

 

So Winston's gotta shoot the moon and seek a starting position from the outset.

Currently, the numbers don't look good:

  • 17 teams have budgetary constraints, having QBs on the books earning at least $20million,
  • 10 more have solid commitments to their slingers, and
  • 3 more -- Bengals, Chargers, and Dolphins -- are well-set to get what they want in the upcoming draft.

That leaves two: New England and Jacksonville.

 

Upon further review, it's the Jags or bust for Winston.

The question there -- one among many -- is whether dude's potential can overcome Gardner Minshew's charisma. Especially since the former Wazzu Cougar can break even stat-wise for a hella lotta less money than him.

Unless Winston's prepared to take a deep breath and step back financially, then, he might find himself doing something rad like spending a season in the CFL and follow it up by doing a PJ Walker in the XFL.

 

OK, that's too rad, but it the XFL actually does make a go of it, this could be a viable option for players who don't have many in the NFL.

Unless the morbid thing pops up and some team's slinger gets really hurt -- tip: track Nick Foles -- last season's top passer has got some serious soul-searching to do against the face of an uncomfortable reality.