TAMPA — Expectations for the first overall pick in the NFL draft are usually so high, it’s hard to imagine anyone, especially a quarterback, exceeding them in his first season.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston might have done just that.
Winston posted the second-best passer rating for a rookie quarterback selected first overall. Of the 21 quarterbacks drafted at No. 1 since the NFL merged with the AFL in 1970, only Cam Newton of the Panthers posted a better rookie rating than Winston.
Newton’s mark wasn’t better by much, though — 84.5 to 84.2.
As the Bucs cleaned out their lockers on Monday, Winston wasn’t much interested in statistics.