The battle of highly drafted rookies leaned heavily in Marcus Mariota’s favor, but Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Vincent Jackson is quick to support Jameis Winston.
According to ESPN’s Pat Yasinskas, Jackson said he’s confident the franchise made the right decision in selecting the Florida State product.
“We absolutely did. There’s no doubt in our mind. We’re 100 percent confident with the gentleman we have in this room. Our management works really hard on putting the right people in here that fit this organization and fit this scheme. We’re absolutely 100 percent behind Jameis and we’re excited for him to show everybody why he was the No. 1 overall pick.”
Jackson shouldn’t have been expected to respond in any different way, but his comments were undoubtedly better than a simple, “Yeah, we hope he’ll figure it out eventually.”
Winston struggled in his NFL debut, which started in the worst way possible for a quarterback. He threw a pick-six on his first career pass. Winston ultimately finished the 42-14 loss 16-of-33 for 210 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Mariota, on the other hand, shredded Tampa Bay and tossed four touchdowns in the first half alone. The No. 2 pick of the draft only had three incompletions.
However, it was just one game, and Winston didn’t have his top target available. Mike Evans sat due to a hamstring injury, and the star receiver hopes to return in Week 2.
Winston’s second chance to impress comes against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, Sep. 20, at 1 p.m. ET.