CBS Sports via Bleacher Report: Winston to Declare for 2015 Draft

Donate To GopherHole

He'll likely be near the top of the first round and could be the first pick overall, but this guy makes Johnny Manziel look like a choir boy.
 

I get a hoot out of some of the talking heads saying Winston's character issues will scare off some NFL teams. That's funny! Anything short of being a murderer (Aaron Hernandez), since when has (a lack of) character ever been a reason not to draft an obviously talented difference-maker, especially a QB?

On draft day everyone will say the right things. "He's changed," "I've changed," yadda, yadda, yadda, then the low-character guys will continue being low-character guys. Winston will be no different. There are some exceptions in life, yes, but for the most part leopards don't change their spots.
 

SelectionSunday said:
I get a hoot out of some of the talking heads saying Winston's character issues will scare off some NFL teams. That's funny! Anything short of being a murderer (Aaron Hernandez), since when has (a lack of) character ever been a reason not to draft an obviously talented difference-maker? Everyone says the right thing on draft day, yadaa, yadda, yadda, then the low-character guys will continue to be low-character guys. Winston will be no different. There are some exceptions in life, yes, but for the most part a leopard can't change its spots.
Click to expand...

Randy Moss is the prime example, he probably should've been a top 10 (or even top 5) pick in 1998 based on talent alone (he had an absolutely incredible pro day), but instead fell to #21 because he was such a headcase (skipped the combine, had a ton of well-known legal issues).

Winston isn't at those levels, however, and he's a high-upside QB which in today's NFL is required to compete at a high level. His draft stock won't take much of a hit, if any, because of character concerns, as long as he performs well in the tests leading up to the draft.
 

He will get endorsement deals with Publix and Joe's Crab Shack.
 



Contrary to what some of you think - I believe that his off-the-field stuff will have an affect on where his is drafted. Character still does matter to an extent as NFL still worries a great deal about its perception. Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson are just two examples of backlash that teams have experienced, even though the "jury is still out" in Adrian's case. Someone will still draft Jameis in the first round of course, but I bet it will be later in the round when someone trades up to take him (similar to Manzell).

Remember that Winston off-the-field stuff is not limited to one episode. In less than two years he has been accused of sexual assault, allegedly been involved in one of those BB gun escapades, has signed over 2000 pieces of memorabilia (but claimed to have received no benefit - I have swampland for sale if you believe that) and been suspended for shouting something very vile while standing on a table in a school lunchroom. NFL also knows that the FSU community will look the other way in many instances when their football players are at risk, he will not have that luxury in most NFL cities.

And in a different way of sorts, look at Percy Harvin - he has some non-trivial character issues that have caused two teams to be happy to get what they could for him, even though he was one of the top players on the team. (although this may not be an issue with Winston, have not heard about any issues with teammates)
 


cemba99 said:
Contrary to what some of you think - I believe that his off-the-field stuff will have an affect on where his is drafted. Character still does matter to an extent as NFL still worries a great deal about its perception. Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson are just two examples of backlash that teams have experienced, even though the "jury is still out" in Adrian's case. Someone will still draft Jameis in the first round of course, but I bet it will be later in the round when someone trades up to take him (similar to Manzell).

Remember that Winston off-the-field stuff is not limited to one episode. In less than two years he has been accused of sexual assault, allegedly been involved in one of those BB gun escapades, has signed over 2000 pieces of memorabilia (but claimed to have received no benefit - I have swampland for sale if you believe that) and been suspended for shouting something very vile while standing on a table in a school lunchroom. NFL also knows that the FSU community will look the other way in many instances when their football players are at risk, he will not have that luxury in most NFL cities.

And in a different way of sorts, look at Percy Harvin - he has some non-trivial character issues that have caused two teams to be happy to get what they could for him, even though he was one of the top players on the team. (although this may not be an issue with Winston, have not heard about any issues with teammates)
Click to expand...

I don't necessarily disagree. The NFL is going to be super image-conscious in the wake of the Ebola-like spread of domestic abuse and other misbehavior over the past few seasons that have culminated in this year's crackdown. But coaches and GMs always think they can "fix" a guy and I see no reason why this mindset would be abandoned when looking at a guy like Winston. I think the Manziel is a bit of a different case because he was hanging around Vegas and the pro sports leagues always seem to be more concerned with the integrity of the game writ large than with the integrity of individual players (which, as I wrote earlier, is changing somewhat). I think Winston is also a much better prospect that Manziel in that he's bigger, stronger, and faster. Scouts were very mixed on Manziel's on-the-field game much more than I think they will be on Winston's.
 



Not sure who all will be in the QB class for this year but the only thing that may really hurt Winston is if a team is trying to decide between him and a different QB they might go with the other guy because they don't want to deal with the potential circus around Winston.

He will be a very high risk, high reward draft choice for someone.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Not sure who all will be in the QB class for this year but the only thing that may really hurt Winston is if a team is trying to decide between him and a different QB they might go with the other guy because they don't want to deal with the potential circus around Winston.

He will be a very high risk, high reward draft choice for someone.
Click to expand...

Mariota is currently the most highly-ranked QB. Mariota has similar physical skills to Winston, but he plays in one of those touch-football offenses, which could deduct a few points in the eyes of scouts. UCLA's Hundley and MSU's Cook are also highly-ranked, but would have to declare their draft-eligibility, as would Mariota.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom