ESPN NFL draft expert Todd McShay has a history of interesting takes and analysis. But his most recent view is rather eye-opening.
The veteran media scout indicated recently on ESPN that Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston is the second-best quarterback prospect of the past 10 years from an on-field perspective (h/t Business Insider).
From purely on the field, the grade for Jameis Winston is just behind Andrew Luck’s in the last ten years and there is nobody else in between.
It’s good that McShay utilized the term “on the field,” otherwise that statement would have drawn even more criticism.
As it is, the consensus seems to be that reigning Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota is the top quarterback prospect in the draft. And while most experts do have Winston as a first-round pick, he’s viewed as being on a tier below Mariota.
Even if an argument could be made that Winston is a better pro prospect than Mariota, the idea that he’s the second-best of the past decade behind only Andrew Luck is ridiculous. The likes of Cam Newton, Matthew Stafford and Matt Ryan have entered the NFL as top-round picks during that span.
McShay’s opinion on Winston stems from what he perceives the quarterback can do from inside the pocket.
Winston does things from inside the pocket, where you have to win in the NFL, that very few others you rarely see coming out of the college level do.
This might very well be true, but Winston’s on-field performance this past season regressed from a Heisman-winning 2013 campaign.
At the end of the day, McShay may be proven right on the field. However, this take is questionable at best right now.
Photo: Huffington Post