What About Jameis?: Eagles Should Not Shut Out Jameis Winston if They Are Serious About Pursuing a QB

January 1, 2015; Pasadena, CA, USA; Florida State Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston (5) runs the ball against the Oregon Ducks in the 2015 Rose Bowl college football game at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Much like Johnny Manziel before him, Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston is entering the draft after two of the most mercurial college seasons one can remember for an individual. Unlike ‘Johnny Football’, ‘Famous Jameis’ is actually a legitimate NFL quarterback prospect who will probably make whichever team drafts him look very smart or very foolish. The Browns already look like they’ll regret selecting Manziel with one of two first round picks. The difference between these situations is the fact that Manziel does not appear to have the necessary physical traits to succeed at the NFL level. Anyone who has watched Winston over the past two seasons know that he possesses every capability a team would want in a quarterback. What will ultimately make the difference in what sort of narrative we’re discussing with Winston 20 years from now is whether or not he can keep his head on straight and eliminate the sort of off-the-field issues that plagued him in two seasons at Florida State.

An argument that has already been made and will most likely be repeated ad nauseam right up until April 30th (aka: Draft Day) is that, were it not for everything that occurred non-football related during Winston’s career, the Florida State quarterback would be the clear-cut number one overall pick. Given the importance of the position and the investment made by any team drafting a quarterback towards the top of the first round, off-the-field issues must be taken into account nearly as much as on-the-field talent. Even if Winston does not have a ‘slip up’ over the next few months, his laundry list of capers during his time in Tallahassee will most likely accompany every analysis made of him up until a team eventually takes the plunge.

This offseason figures to circulate a great deal on the Philadelphia Eagles and how they plan on approaching the quarterback position. There is enough skepticism, both from an ability and injury concern standpoint, surrounding Nick Foles to where his future at the position is cloudy at best. Pairing that with the fact that Chip Kelly now has a level of power in terms of personnel control that would allow him to aggressively pursue a quarterback of his choice, and the assumption that the Eagles will be selecting a signal-caller at some point during the 2015 draft has become perhaps the most heavily-discussed topic of the young offseason.

Most likely, as has been the case for the last weeks/months, the conversation regarding the Eagles’ pursuit of a young franchise quarterback will trend towards Oregon’s Marcus Mariota. Having recently declared for the NFL Draft after a Heisman trophy winning season, the link between Mariota and his former head coach Chip Kelly has created an unfathomable amount of chatter about the two possibly reuniting. Though recent developments and exposure of Mariota’s skillset on the biggest stage may have exposed him to critics who may suggest he could fall down draft boards, conventional wisdom would figure the 21-year-old to remain one of the most coveted prospects in this year’s class.

Were the Eagles to covet Mariota enough to identify him as their unquestioned quarterback of the future, it would most likely take a bounty of picks and players to get him. It would be a franchise-altering move to make such a jump from 20th overall to the top-end of the draft order. Because of the importance the selection would have on the franchise, the Eagles would be best to make sure they researched any and all angles of such an expensive transaction. Though one might not necessarily agree with the course of action, failing to responsibly have an open-mind about another prospect potentially worthy of such a price would only add-on to the risk of the move. Jameis Winston is such a player and, should the Eagles decide they want to pursue one of the top prospects at the position, they need to scout him just as much as they do Mariota.

The difference between Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston is such that for whichever team ends up deciding between the two, they will be making a hard stance on how they plan to model their offense going forward with whomever they select. Though both players possess high-end athleticism, physicality, and arm talent; the two at their most effective in different ways. Unlike Mariota, who uses his running ability and knowledge of the read-option based Oregon attack to attack opposing defenses, Jameis Winston is more in the mold of what seems to be the new ‘model quarterback’ in most NFL schemes. Similar to players like Ben Roethlisberger, Andrew Luck, and even Tony Romo to an extent; Winston’s combination of escapability, functional athleticism, and elite arm strength make him a nightmare to defend. At 6’4″, 230 lbs he is a handful to bring down and can pick up chunk yardage if he has to improvise. Winston will probably never be the type of explosive running threat that Mariota is, but he remains a top prospect because he is still more athletic than probably 90% of NFL quarterbacks.

What has so many placing Winston ahead of Mariota in initial draft boards is his ability in the passing game. Having orchestrated a pro-sytle offense at Florida State over the last two seasons, Winston has demonstrated the skills to make every necessary throw at the NFL level and do so with the stakes at their highest. Far more often than Mariota, Winston had to fit balls in tightly covered windows and make use of anticipatory throws. Though this did lead to increased turnover numbers (28 interceptions over two seasons), the 2013 Heisman winner never shied away from having to make such plays and was more than capable of doing so. Here is Winston’s game tape from last season’s National Championship game against Auburn. On countless instances, Winston delivers one of his best balls of the game when it was needed the most.

There also has to be something said for the intangibles of what Winston did in two years at Florida State. Even with all of the turmoil and potential distractions, he led the Seminoles to a pair of undefeated regular seasons and a National Championship. He will enter the draft having lost one game in college and did so while everyone seemingly wanted him to fail. Especially when considering what it means to play in Philadelphia, having the ability to ‘shut out the noise’ and deliver in high pressure situations has to be considered when evaluating a prospect. Though he occasionally showed frustration in himself or possibly a teammate, Winston never seemed rattled on the field and is a particularly cool customer in the pocket. As a redshirt freshman, Winston had to lead his team on a game-winning drive in the National Championship game. With 1:19 on the clock, he went 6-7 for 77 yards and a title-clinching touchdown pass to Kelvin Benjamin. Few draft prospects even get the chance to show what they can do in such a situation. Winston was just short of perfect when given the opportunity.

Working in Winston’s favor leading into the draft process is the fact that he is NOT just a physical specimen. Though he is an extremely impressive specimen, Winston has checked off several boxes when it comes to being analyzed as a quarterback instead of an athlete playing the position. Here are snippets from three separate scouting reports highlighting Winston’s exploits in terms of next-level QB analysis.

"On the field, Winston is a natural. He has the requisite physical skills with his size, arm strength and athleticism along with the mental process as a passer to pick apart defenses. His anticipation, instincts and chemistry with his targets come easy to him and it’s something that scouts search for within quarterback prospects. –CBSSports.comI try to never be reactionary (see: Bridgewater, Teddy) and rely on patience and study before moving a player up or down on my board. But Winston’s readiness, vision, arm strength, mobility and pocket presence make him the better pro prospect. That doesn’t mean I don’t like Mariota—he’s No. 2 overall right now—only that Winston is a better prospect right now.-Matt Miller; Bleacherreport.com As a pocket passer, Winston is extraordinary. He is phenomenal in the pocket and can carve up a defense. Winston has very good field vision and does a superb job of scanning the field while working through his progressions. It is an innate ability that Winston has displayed from the very beginning of his tenure as a starter, and it is extremely rare to see in a college quarterback. He hangs tough in the face of the pass rush, steps into throws when he’s going to get hit, and moves well in the pocket while keeping his eyes downfield. Sources say that Winston has a good football I.Q. and will impress teams in pre-draft meetings. –Walterfootball.com"

Undoubtedly, all of the demons that followed Winston throughout his college career are what seemingly make him an impossible prospect for Chip Kelly. Given his emphasis on ‘culture’ and ‘buying in’, one might find it hard to imagine Kelly giving up nominal resources for a player whose career could be derailed without even playing the game. It is a valid concern that the potential, if not probable number one overall pick in the 2015 draft makes Johnny Manziel’s tabloid collegiate career look like that of a choir boy. Should Winston tumble through the draft, he will have no one to blame but himself. An incident in the 3+ months before the event could even see him fall into the second round, a relative unthinkable after his freshman season. With all of the money that goes into trying to groom a franchise quarterback, organizations have the right to take into account every detail of a prospects make-up before deciding to take on the burden.

There’s nothing to say that Chip Kelly will change or soften his stance on players who pose the threat of damaging the team with off-the-field matters. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know he muscled out DeSean Jackson for this very reason and, until the team acquires someone with such ‘red flags’, it’s safe to assume that the coach has remained steadfast in his beliefs. After two seasons at the NFL level, there are some (myself included) who feel Kelly’s advancement will be stifled by an inability to find a way to work with such individuals. There is a fine line to be drawn between avoiding problematic people and avoiding talent to prevent oneself from having to deal with smoothing out the edges of a player’s personality. The teams that compete for Super Bowls are the ones who have struck the perfect balance when it comes to these types of players and tapped into their talent all while fostering an environment where the off-the-field matters seem to be less prominent. If the entire NFL has in fact ‘figured out’ Chip Kelly’s schemes, he better start improving the talent level on his team by whatever means necessary. Though handing the reigns of the team over to someone who hasn’t undergone the necessary evaluation in that respect, Kelly has to show an ability to work with different types of personalities sooner or later.

A big part of how Winston will transition to the NFL will depend on where he ultimately lands. Despite his tantalizing talent, Winston will require considerable attention and a strong support group to guide him through the youth of his professional career. He is about to fall into an amount of money he probably never could have fathomed. NFL rookies only have one opportunity to properly acclimate themselves to the professional environment. From what we’ve seen with Manziel in Cleveland, it’s conceivable that the damage he’s done to his NFL career is already beyond repair. Though often times the opportunity to draft a potential franchise quarterback is too rare to pass up, only so many teams can offer the sort of environment that might be most conducive to a prospect like Winston. Andrew Luck could have gone to any team in the NFL after leaving Stanford and shifted the culture from his first step in the facility. From everything we saw at Florida State, Winston is a gravitating presence who earned the trust of his teammates very quickly. Even taking that into consideration, it will be important for whoever does select him to keep close watch to how he assimilates himself into the framework of the organization.

I’ve probably enjoyed watching Jameis Winston more than any other player over the last two seasons. As a lifelong Miami Hurricanes football fan, this is an abnormal feeling to say the least. Allegiances aside, there are few things in sports more entertaining than watching a quarterback who has the ability to dictate the outcome of every game he is involved in. It was almost surreal watching Florida State fall to Oregon in the semi-finals for the National Title game. After having seen Winston bring the Seminoles back time after time all season, to see him unable to conjure up the magic for one more epic comeback was almost bittersweet. Unlike 2013, when Florida State simply manhandled their opponents from the opening kick, the 2014 Seminoles had to scratch and claw for victories on more instances than not. Even in the games where he did not jump off the box scores, there’s no question Winston has a calming effect on his team that allowed them to come back from double-digit deficits on various occasions in 2014. Whether it ends up being a cautionary tale or a Hall of Fame career, Winston’s time in the NFL will be fascinating to watch. Whether or not the Eagles even have their sights set on making a move that could even position themselves to land Winston remains to be seen. Should they decide to do so, I would very much hope they allocate as much attention on him as they would Marcus Mariota. I know I’m not alone in thinking, if he can keep his head on straight, Winston will be the better pro of the two.