Scouting Report: Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State

Jameis Winston was the top dual-threat quarterback from the 2012 high school class from Hueytown, Alabama. He also earned Gatorade Player of the Year recognition for the state of Alabama while in high school. Winston committed to Florida State University after receiving offers from many major NCAA programs including Alabama, Louisiana State University, and Stanford. Winston is seen as the top quarterback prospect and a potential number one overall pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the upcoming 2015 NFL Draft.

College Career Overview

Winston started his career at Florida State University redshirting behind future first round quarterback EJ Manuel during the 2012 season. During the 2013 season Winston named the starter and led the Seminoles to an undefeated record winning the National Championship versus Auburn 34-31 while securing the Heisman Trophy. During Winston’s historic redshirt freshman season he set many records throwing for 4,057 passing yards and 40 passing touchdowns to just 10 interceptions. In his redshirt sophomore season, Winston played in all but one regular season game and won every game except for his final game versus the Oregon Ducks in the 2015 Rose Bowl losing 59-20. Winston finished the 2014 season with 3,907 passing yards and 25 touchdowns to 18 interceptions.

Measureables

DOB	January 6, 1994	Bench (225 lb)	N/A
Height	6’3-3/4″	Vertical Jump	28-1/2″
Weight	231 lbs	Broad Jump	8’7″
Arms	32″	20 Yard Shuttle	4.36 sec
Hands	9-3/8″	3 Cone Drill	7.16 sec
40 Yard Dash (10 yd split)	4.97 sec (1.74 sec)	60 Yard Shuttle	N/A

Stats and Awards

Florida State University (2012-2014)
2014 – 305/467 (65.3%), 3,907 yds, 8.4 y/a, 25 TDs, 18 INT, 57 rushes for 65 rushing yards and 3 rushing TDs	Heisman Trophy Finalist, Manning Award Finalist, Maxwell Award Finalist, Davey O’Brien Award Semifinalist, Walter Camp Award Semifinalist, First Team All-ACC, ACC Athlete of the Year (2014)
2013 – 257/384 (66.9%), 4,057 yds, 10.6 y/a, 40 TDs, 10 INT, 88 rushes for 219 rushing yards and 4 rushing TDs	Heisman Trophy Winner, Walter Camp Award, Manning Award, Archie Griffin Award, AP Player of the Year, Sports News Player of the Year, Consensus All-American, First-Team All-ACC, ACC Offensive Player of the Year, ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year (2013)

Scouting Report

Very quick decision maker
Throws with excellent anticipation
Shows the ability to go through progressions in a pro-style offense
Throws an accurate deep ball
When his throw is inaccurate it’s usually behind the receiver
Confident. Doesn’t let turnovers faze him.
Great pocket awareness and pocket mobility
Awkward thrower on the run
Mechanically long throw probably from baseball days that wastes time at the top of the throw. Looks to be seriously working on it as evidenced in DraftAcademy, Combine, and at his Pro Day
Perfect fit for a West Coast offense
Generally makes the correct read
Stares down his first read when it’s his “favorite” wide receiver. Typically either WR80 Rashad Greene or TE35 Nick O’Leary when he’s over the middle on a hitch route
Needs to improve on eye discipline by looking off defenders. Mainly safeties and underneath linebackers
Drop in production from RS Freshman year (40 TDs: 10 INTs) to RS Sophomore year (25 TDs: 18 INTs) can be partially attributed to poor WR play and relying on inexperienced offensive lineman (obviously not all)
Very underrated at scrambling on QB draws or designed runs, but still an awkward runner who looks like he is running off-balanced
Makes very risky decisions sometimes while under pressure where he tries to do too much with the ball instead of just making the smart play

Film Study

Seven games were analyzed to judge Winston’s ability as a quarterback in this scouting report all from DraftBreakdown.com. These games were:

@Oklahoma State – 8/30/14
@NC State – 9/27/14
#5 Notre Dame – 10/18/14
Boston College – 11/22/14
Florida – 11/29/14
#11 Georgia Tech – 12/6/14
#2 Oregon – 1/1/15

Accuracy

Accuracy is the most important trait in evaluating a quarterback. In the NFL, windows are much smaller as defenders are that much better at recognizing routes and have the athleticism to stay with their man.

Short Throw Accuracy in a spread/west coast offense is very important as a lot of your plays are based on the receiver getting the ball in his hands early to set up the yards-after-catch. Winston is mostly accurate on short and medium throw especially when he displays good footwork, fully stepping into the throw. Here are a couple examples of that:

Winston does have a tendency to sometimes use only his arm and not fully step through his throw which causes him to be behind his target as seen here on these slant routes (a fundamental route of the West Coast offense):

Winston’s deep ball accuracy is usually good, but too often I see him staring down his read waiting for a player to get open downfield, but the accuracy is certainly there for his receivers to take advantage of his passes.

This last play is one of my favorites on the back-shoulder pass to his wide receiver by the sideline. Beautiful.

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