Top pick Jameis Winston is still expected to be the savior for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but it’s rather discouraging that in an age in which blue-chip quarterbacks are supposed to be capable of making an impact from the get-go, the “NFL-ready” Florida State product has struggled immensely during the first four games of his career.
Winston’s Bucs are 1-3 and he has completed just 54.9 percent of his passes while registering a passer rating of just 71.2. Both of those numbers rank 31st among 34 qualified passers, which is a little surprising considering that he’s fortunate enough to be throwing to stud receivers Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans.
I know, that offense still shouldn’t be considered great, or even good, and Winston is only 21 years old. That’s why we’re not about to start crying bust. But the fact he’s already thrown seven interceptions and two pick-sixes is concerning. Four of those picks came Sunday in a five-turnover performance at home against a Carolina Panthers team that was shorthanded on defense, which indicates his rookie-year trajectory might be pointed in the wrong direction.
Winston has become the 11th quarterback in NFL history to throw seven or more interceptions in his first four games, joining eventual busts like Ryan Leaf, Geno Smith and Brandon Weeden but also eventual stars like Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer. The point being, the jury is still out. But the only other quarterbacks to start that way this century are Weeden, Smith and Palmer, which isn’t exactly encouraging.
Still, the key thing to consider here is that even in this generation we’ve had plenty of slow-starting signal-callers, including Andrew Luck, Cam Newton, Andy Dalton and even Russell Wilson.
- Luck completed only 54.2 percent of his passes and had five picks in his first four games.
- Newton also had five interceptions while losing three of his first four.
- Dalton tossed four picks and had a passer rating of just 76.9 four weeks into his career.
- Wilson threw four picks and had a rating of just 73.5 while averaging just 5.9 yards per attempt in his first four starts, but he’d throw just four interceptions over the final 12 games of his rookie year.
So it’s simply to early to cast major judgment.
