Clyde Christensen’s view on where Jameis Winston is, as a pro, is in part colored by some research he did before getting his hands on his new quarterback in April.
Knowing he had to instill confidence in the 25-year-old former first-rounder, and develop a partnership with him, the Buccaneers’ new quarterbacks coach dived into the numbers on comparable players at the position—highly drafted and thrust into a starting job right away. Christensen found that, while acknowledging Winston had work to do, his issues were hardly outliers among his peers.
One example came with the perceived (and probably real) primary problem in Winston’s game: He threw 58 interceptions over his first four years.