Report: Buccaneers leaning towards drafting Jameis Winston

By Evan Massey | Feb 11, 2015

Oct 30, 2014; Louisville, KY, USA; Florida State Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston (5) walks off the field after defeating the Louisville Cardinals 42-31 at Papa John /

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers appear to be leaning towards drafting Florida State Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.

Jameis Winston is one of the most talked about draft prospects in the 2015 NFL Draft class, and he has a very good chance to go to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the No. 1 overall pick. According to a report from Pat Yasinskas of ESPN, the Buccaneers are leaning towards drafting Winston with the first pick in the draft over Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota.

More from NFL

Most analysts and fans have been expecting Mariota to be the first quarterback drafted, and Winston appears to have won over the only people who matter.

During his two seasons at Florida State, Winston ended up throwing for 7,964 yards, 65 touchdowns, and 28 interceptions. He has plenty of talent, but there are quite a few concerns as well. His off-the-field decision-making has been disturbing, and the rape allegations are even more disturbing and serious.

While he wasn’t found guilty of rape, the concerns surrounding the accusation are still there. There are plenty of teams that have interest in Winston, but they all know what they could be getting into. Johnny Manziel was a great college quarterback too, but his off-the-field concerns came back to bite the Cleveland Browns this year and they are unsure of their future.

Tampa Bay cannot afford to miss with this chance at drafting a legitimate franchise quarterback. There is a chance that Winston can be that guy for them moving forward, but Mariota has all of the tools to be a star as well.

At 6’4″ and 230 pounds, Winston has all of the physical tools to be a star quarterback. He will have to pick up his work ethic to become the star that he has the potential of being, but that is something that will come as he matures. There are plenty of things that he needs to improve on, but his raw potential is enough to make the Buccaneers favor him over Mariota at this point in the draft process.

Don’t be surprised to see the Buccaneers change their minds, but Winston appears to be their man at this point in time. This is the type of move that will either become a bust or will be a major success. There won’t be much middle ground between those two with Winston, and he alone controls whether or not he will become the star quarterback that he has the talent to be.

H/T ESPN

More from FanSided