Winston threw for 495 yards during the preseason, the fifth-most of any quarterback in the league. Furthermore, none of the four players who finished ahead of him expect to start when the regular season opens up. Winston completed 68.1 percent of his passes, connecting on 47 of 69 throws. Head Coach Dirk Koetter estimated that Winston’s completion percentage was up about 10 percent year-over-year.
2. DB Ryan Smith
Smith had his ups and downs during the preseason, but his growth was apparent. Smith worked with both the starters and reserves during the preseason and showed improvement during each and every game.