The hottest player in all of sports right now is Jameis Winston. The Florida State quarterback is coming off a breakout freshman season that saw him winning the Heisman. Now he will prepared to win a national championship before returning for what is expected to be a highly anticipated sophomore season. The redshirt freshman still has to play at least one more season before he can consider entering the NFL, but that is not stopping people from predicting his draft stock now.
Former NFL general manager Jerry Angelo knows what it takes to be a quality player in the professional ranks and he remains confident that Winston is a No. 1 franchise pick now and will likely remain the same when he finally does enter the draft. Angelo believes if there is any player Winston could be compared to, it is Peyton Manning.
"He'd be the first pick in the draft. I can say that unequivocally, because he does have the traits," Angelo said via USA TODAY Sports. "But it's the one position that (is different). If kids ask me should they come out early, if they have the tape and they're going to have the measurables, I say yes. But I would say no to the quarterback. That's the one position where he needs to play."
Much like Peyton Manning, Winston is considered to be NFL-ready now. In his freshman season, Winston has accounted for over 4,000 yards of offense and 42 touchdowns. The Seminoles will face off against the Auburn Tigers for the BCS national championship. Angelo believes if there was ever going to be an exception to the draft rule of not being able to enter until three years have been played, Winston would be that exception.
Many NFL scouts believe Winston to be the top draft pick if he were eligible to enter this season. Despite the off-the-field drama surrounding the quarterback, many scouts predict every team would want him.
"He ain't making it out of the top 10 (if he were in the 2014 draft), that's for damn sure," said John Middlekauff, a former pro and area scout for the Philadelphia Eagles. "You'd have to do a lot of research on what happened off the field with that incident, which I'm sure teams have been doing this year, sniffing around. But if that checked out, I think he'd have a very good chance to be the top quarterback picked, which is usually the top player picked."
Teams will certainly be excited for the 2015 draft when Winston is expected to make his debut. Until then, teams will have to make do with the likes of Johnny Manziel and Teddy Bridgewater.
