2015 NFL Draft Rookie Spotlight: Jameis Winston
One of the college football’s most polarizing players, Jameis Winston is now the man in charge in Tampa Bay. Winston starts off with a clean slate in the NFL, his college awards and issues are now behind him. He has to prove that he can be this franchise’s future and hopefully one day lead them back to a Lombardi trophy. Winston is going to start from day one in Tampa and with an already established group of player there, he has a chance to win early on for this franchise.
The NFC South was the worst division in football last season which allows Tampa Bay to compete for a division title this season. The Buccaneers 2-14 record is not something you would expect with this roster, last season they were missing a functional quarterback to lead them to victories. With Jameis Winston at the helm, the bucs should see a drastic improvement on offense from last season.
Let’s take a look at what The Buccaneers can expect from their first overall draft pick.
Expectations
If I am a Tampa Bay fan I should expect a much better season then last year. This team holds the fourth easiest strength of schedule for this upcoming season and with a quarterback who is expected to be leaps and bounds better then what they had last year Buccaneer fans would not be wrong to expect to at least contend for the division. Like Andrew Luck for Indianapolis, Winston is coming in to an established offense with much better weapons then most rookie quarterbacks usually receive. Winston already is up to speed with the offense according to GM Jason Licht and that is exactly what you want to see from your franchise quarterback.
With Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson on the outside, expect Winston not to be shy throwing the ball deep. Evans and Jackson can out match most corner backs in the NFL and Winston will use that to his advantage. The offense as a whole should see a dramatic improvement this season.
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Predictions
Winston should be able to put up numbers like Andrew Luck did during his rookie year. Lovie Smith has never had a quarterback like Jameis Winston before, he is going to take full advantage of his rookie QB and throw at will if he has to. Doug Martin has fallen off ever since his rookie year and Charles Sims has not gotten much playing time but we are hearing nothing but positive things about him. With a running game in question Winston is going to be slinging the ball all around the field.
He should be in the rookie of the year conversation for the whole season with the likes of Amari Cooper, Kevin White and Melvin Gordon. Winston has the ability to bring Tampa Bay to the playoffs this year, with his leadership and determination on the field I’m sure he will give everything he has to accomplish that.
Stat Line:
3800 yards passing, 27 touchdowns, 17 interceptions and 8 wins.