Photo Credit: Kim Klement/ USA TODAY Sports
Originally when James Winston and Marcus Mariota were drafted, Mariota was supposed to be the one having a sloppy performance and Winston would be the one who would have a seamless transition into the NFL. Now, it looks like the narrative has changed. Mariota had a rough start, but overall looks like he is NFL ready while Winston is still struggling much like he did in college. The real loser in this situation though is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who used their number one overall pick of the draft to take the quarterback.
During his time at FSU, Winston didn’t have the best character which for now, he hasn’t brought over to the NFL which is one thing that he has to be praised for. Unfortunately, his stats from his NFL career are slowly starting to resemble his stats during college stats. In his college career, Winston completed 562 passes of an attempted 851 passes which is a 66.0 completion percent. He threw 65 touchdowns to 28 interceptions, was sacked 44 times and had 13 fumbles, four of which were lost. Winston could certainly improve his accuracy and decision-making.
Winston has appeared in four NFL games, completing 73 of 133 attempted passes with a 54.9 completion percent. He had thrown six touchdowns to seven interceptions and two fumbles which are already a little worrisome, but something that the Bucs should have been expecting. Winston’s poor decision-making and terrible ball security was something that the team should have worried on as much as possible with Winston and it’s not to say that they haven’t, but maybe Winston is just stuck in old habits.
If he’s not just stuck in old habits, the Bucs should most definitely be worried. It looks like it will be a rough year for the Bucs and for Winston. The one silver lining to the problem is that Winston is taking responsibility for his poor performance, “We’ve got some great players around me on this team that can make plays…I’ve just got to protect the football”, which is really mature for a guy who made some questionable choices in college. If Winston can take some of that attitude onto the field and at least make an effort to make some good decisions, improvement will come.
