A Scouts Eye View: Jameis Winston QB Florida State

Jameis Winston QB Florida State (3rd year Soph)

Measurables: 6'4 232.. 9 3/8" hands

Combine Results: 4.97 40 yard dash, 28.5" vertical jump, 103" broad jump, 4.36 20 yard shuttle

Size/Build/Pocket Presence: Prototype size and frame for the position...Imposing pocket presence, stands tall and can see the entire field over the line...Strong and sturdy, big and physical, difficult for one defender to bring down, consistently shakes off first pass rusher....Can hold himself up with defenders hanging all over him...Hands are 9 3/8" somewhat small for his size, but shouldn't be much of an issue.  Grade A

Arm Strength: Outstanding, elite arm strength, capable of making every NFL throw with ease and has the ability to take the top off the defense pushing the football vertically...Has great confidence in his ability to fit the ball into tight spaces, sometimes too much confidence...Has the ability to deliver the ball with ample zip even in a crowded pocket when he can't step into the throw....Unfortunately, this ability has led to some bad habits as he becomes too reliant on pure arm strength at times, doesn't always utilize his lower half relying solely on arm strength causing some throws to flutter more than they should due to poor mechanics leading to turnovers...When his mechanics are on point this is a major strength in his game, he has consistent zip on the deep out can push the ball down the field, can deliver the ball with pace 20-35 yards down the field and can throw the out route from the opposite hash on time and with velocity...He has the ability to make throws most quarterbacks can't when he pays attention to detail and doesn't rely purely on his lightning bolt of a right arm.  Grade A

Accuracy/Timing/Ball placement/Touch: Can be streaky just like any young quarterback...When he's on he can throw a receiver open as well as any quarterback in the class, he has highly advanced anticipatory skills,  he knows when to throw the football slightly behind his receiver to protect him over the middle and consistently throws the football where his receiver is going, not where he is...Unfortunately, when he's off and when he misses he too often misses high and behind, leading to a high number of interceptions, this is often due to poor mechanics, footwork in particular, he allows his body weight to drift backward, doesn't step into his throws, throwing off his heels when he doesn't have to which forces his release point to get too high and thus forces him to miss high over the middle...His ball placement seems better down the field than in the short passing game, he inexplicably seems to be more accurate the further down the field he's throwing the football...Misses high and over the middle way too often, putting both the receiver and possession of the football at risk...Has periods on film where he's terribly inaccurate from ten yards in...Has a good feel for knowing the right amount of pace to put on the football, throws a catchable ball, knows when to throw with more air under the ball and knows when to put more pace on his throws...Throwing to Kelvin Benjamin, a 6'5 240 pound WR in 2013 may have gotten him into some bad habits, particularly on sideline patterns, he got used to throwing to a receiver with a freakish catch radius and didn't seem to adjust to smaller receivers in 2014, leading him to throwing too many sideline patterns too high or out of bounds. Grade B

Release/Setup/Footwork/Mechanics: His release is a little longer than you'd prefer, but he has a quick enough arm to make it a non-issue for the most part...Footwork and mechanics are inconsistent at best, painfully sloppy at worst...Lets his body weight drift backward too often, even in a clean pocket forcing him to miss high...Worked under center more often than most college quarterbacks in today's spread offense era, knows how to take proper three, five and seven step drops better than most QB prospects.  Grade C+

Decision Making/Game Management/Field Vision/Football IQ: Without question, this is the weak point in his game...Said to have an incredible football IQ at the chalk board and in the film room, but it just inexplicably doesn't seem to translate to what he does on the field...Made multiple bad decisions with the football just about every game leading to an exorbinant amount of turnovers in 2014...Seems to be able to eat up simplistic coverages, but doesn't seem to know how to make adjustments after the snap when the defense effectively disguises their coverage...He predetermines what he thinks the defense will do and where he's throwing the football prior to the snap and seems oblivious to when the defense throws him a curveball...Falls in love with his primary pre-snap read and refuses to come off it or go to his hot read under pressure..Doesn't even seem to see the defenders at times, often times he operates like its 11 on zero instead of 11 on 11, against far more complicated coverages at the next level he's likely to be a turnover machine if he doesn't improve dramatically in this aspect of the game...Doesn't seem to change his approach no matter where he is on the field, just as apt to make a critical mistake in the red zone or near his own goal line as he is in the middle of the field...Throws the football up for grabs under pressure rather than throw it away and live to fight another down, even when hes in the red zone or near his own goal line, he doesn't change his approach no matter the situation or where he is on the field, this will drive NFL coaches insane, he needs to dramatically improve his situational awareness...Simply seems to either refuse to or not know how to adjust to what the defense gives him...Too often fails to see linebackers in underneath coverage, again, he seems to almost be focused exclusively on his target instead of reading the defense, At times it seems like it's not that he reads the defense poorly, its that he fails to even attempt to read it at all... The good news is that he has a short memory when it comes to turnovers but the bad news is that he has a short memory when it comes to turnovers.  In other words, it's great that he doesn't get down on himself for making mistakes, but he also needs to learn from his mistakes which is something he never seems to do, his decision making semmed to almost get progressively worse as the season wore on...He was a 4.0 student in high school and All Academic ACC two years in a row, and is said to be almost a savant in the film room, so he has the mental capacity to improve in this area, but the fact that he's so impressive in the mental part of the game during the week leading up to the game, and yet makes so many critical mistakes when the game begins makes you concerned about his football instincts. Grade D

Mobility/Athleticism/Scrambling and Improvisational skills: A much better athlete than he's given credit for and much better than his combine numbers would lead you to believe...Has better functional football athleticism than track and testing athleticism...Has nimble, quick, clever feet to buy time within the pocket and always keeps his eyes down the field...His size and strength allow him to consistently shake off the first man...He's capable of pulling it down and running for yardage but he's very much a passer first and foremost, only pulls it down and runs as a last resort, but might be better served to do so more often instead of forcing too many bad passes leading to turnovers, especially in the red zone...Makes way too many bad decisions under pressure and on the run, throws the football up for grabs trying to make things happen rather than throwing it away when he's outside the pocket or just taking the sack and living to fight another day when he's unable to get outside the tackle box...Makes too many "Brett Favre decisions" on the run, throwing into double and triple coverage, or just inexplicably throwing it right to the defense rather than taking the sack...Needs to learn to live to fight another down...Much better runner than he's given credit for, has good acceleration and with his long legs covers a lot of ground in a hurry when he has open space in front of him...Flashed impressive instincts and agility as a ball carrier in the open field and has the size and strength to lower his shoulder and finish his runs with authority near the goal line, he doesn't shy away from contact and isn't afraid to utilize his size and strength to run through tackles and pick up yardage after contact, even near the sideline...Will likely be asked to slide or get out of bounds at the next level to preserve his health once he becomes and multi million dollar investment, something he'll have to begin getting in the habit of doing.  Grade B-

Play Action and Ball Handling: Wasn't asked to utilize play fakes often at Florida State, but when he did, he did a nice job of executing fakes with deception and proper footwork and ball handling, this could be a strength of his game once he's asked to do it more often at the professional level.  Generally did a nice job of protecting the football from within the pocket.  Grade B

Poise/Leadership/Intangibles: A strong intelligent and mature leader on game day, especially in pressure packed situations, but yet made stupid immature decisions off the field leading to police investigations and suspensions....His game seems to almost be a microcosim of who he is as a person, he seems to be a heady smart player with a high football IQ when you talk to him, yet he makes foolish decisions that are difficult to explain on game day, yet seems to get it together when it matters most...As a person, when you talk to him he seems to be a highly intelligent, bright and engaging young man with a good head on his shoulders, yet he makes foolish decisions when the cameras are off him leading to the troubles he's had off the football field....He's very much of an enigma, a walking talking contradiction...Which one is the real Jameis Winston the person, the one who's been so impressive in interviews leading up to the draft, or the one who ran into so much trouble off the field during his Florida State career...Which one is the real Jameis Winston the football player...the one who seemed to always get it done and come away with the victory in close football games, or the one who was consistently making poor decisons and turning the football over, which was a main reason why many of those close wins he pulled out were close games in the first place.... He seems to be a natural leader and fierce competitor on the field, ultimately as he matures as a man, you would hope those traits begin to translate more and more to his every day life off the field.  Grade B

Summary: You need a full bottle of aspirin to try to figure out this former Heisman Trophy winner, both as a player and a human being who may be asked to be the face of a franchise.  Accuracy and he ability to read a defense are critical qualities in an NFL quarterback, more critical in my opinion than size, pure arm strength and athleticism.  Winston certainly has all the arm he will ever need, but his consistently poor decision making is very troublesome.  One reason for optimism may be the fact that once he's drafted, Winston will be concentrating solely on football twelve months out of the years for the first time in his life.  Winston spent his offseason's at Florida State as the closer for the Seminoles baseball team.  Perhaps with football now being his job, and all of his attention focused on being the best quarterback he can be, some of the glaring warts in the mental apsect of his game will begin to improve.  In Jameis Winston, I do not see a quarterback I would feel comfortable drafting near the top of the first round, his decsion making, both on the field and off is awful.  Now those who argue in his favor point to his winning percentage and talk about how he played his best football when it mattered most, but in the NFL, with parity of talent as it is, every snap is critical.  You can't expect to turn the football over two or three times in the first three quarters and still be in a position to win the game in the fourth.  Yes, Jameis Winston led his team to some impressive wins in close football games, but the argument can be made that those games were only close in the first place because the terrible mistakes Winston made during the course of those first three quarters kept teams with inferior talent in the game, and the only reason Florida State stayed close in those games was because of the superb talent Winston had around him, especially on defense.  It's not as if Jameis Winston was carrying a lackluster football team on his back the past two years, seven players from Florida State were drafted into the NFL in 2014 and at least another 10 not including Winston are expected to be drafted and playing in the league in 2015.  Whereever Winston lands on draft day, that team will not be able to overcome multiple interceptions on a week to week basis and the coverages the ex Seminole will face in the NFL will only get more complex and the pass rush, more fierce.  Jameis Winston has all the physical tools he needs to be an elite NFL quarterback, he has the "it" factor you look for in a leader and the face of an NFL franchise, and he has the mental toughness to rise to, and thrive in the big moment.   He also possesses the mental capacity to overcome the current weaknesses in his game with time, so his ceiling is extremely high, but he's also far from a sure thing at the next level, and will require patience from coaches and fans alike as well as coachability on his behalf.  If he comes into his first NFL camp humble and ready to learn, he could develop into something special in time.  He's shown the ability to shake off mistakes in the past without losing confidence, this is a trait which he'll need in abundence as a rookie, but he'll finally need to also start learning from those mistakes instead of repeating them week after week like he did in college.

Draft Grade: Mid First Round