In the history of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, three of their quarterbacks have a combined three Pro Bowl appearances: one each for Brad Johnson, Jeff Garcia and Trent Dilfer. Exciting list.
That’s 39 seasons of mostly below average to flat-out terrible quarterback play. How bad is it? Josh Freeman is third all-time in passing yardage in team history. Johnson, by most statistical measures and for being the starting quarterback on a Super Bowl champion, probably has to be considered the greatest Buccaneers quarterback. (The best quarterback to ever play for Tampa Bay was Steve Young, but Young was never good for the Buccaneers in large part because of a terrible supporting cast.)
The Buccaneers hope their quarterback history started to change on Thursday night, when they made Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston the top pick of the 2015 NFL draft.
A lot more has been said about Winston the person rather than Winston the player, and there will be plenty of eyes on Winston to see if any of his off-field red flags hinder his NFL career. But there’s a reason the Buccaneers selected Winston, and that’s to become the greatest quarterback in franchise history, no matter how low that bar has been set over nearly four decades of Bucs football.
Winston gives the Buccaneers hope for the future, and a good reason to be optimistic about the present as well. Tampa Bay had plenty of problems last season despite a talented roster, and not the least of their problems was a really bad season by journeyman quarterback Josh McCown. Winston comes ready to start right out of the box, as a Heisman Trophy winner and national champion who showed plenty of pocket skills. Winston was a big reason the Seminoles were 27-0 with him as a starter before they lost Winston’s final game.
On the flip side, Winston is also seen by some as a possible Jay Cutler-esque player, too prone to mistakes and turnovers to truly unlock his physical potential. He’s not a sure thing like Andrew Luck a few years ago, though in fairness, few prospects are. He’ll be playing behind a bad offensive line. But there was never much doubt Winston would be Tampa Bay’s pick, and for good reason.
Tampa Bay could move up the NFC South in a hurry, considering last year the South was the second division ever to have a champion with a losing record. Tampa Bay has some very good players, especially at wideout, where Winston can throw to giants Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans. There’s a chance Tampa Bay could get much better right away. A lot of that will depend on how well Winston plays as a rookie. He’s one of two freshmen in history to win the Heisman, so there’s a track record of instant success.
There was no other real option with the first pick for Tampa Bay, especially once the Bucs said they were comfortable with him off the field. Winston has a tremendous ceiling and he’s less of a project than Oregon’s Marcus Mariota. The Buccaneers, who have never had a quarterback make multiple Pro Bowls for them and have had one Pro Bowl appearance from a quarterback they drafted (Dilfer), are hoping that Winston was a historic pick. With even a little luck, he’ll be the greatest quarterback the franchise has ever had, for what it’s worth.
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