After months of intensive research, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers used the first overall draft pick on Jameis Winston, a quarterback with a checkered past.
The Bucs drafted Winston on Thursday night in an indication that they don’t believe a series of off-field incidents in college will be an indicator of future behavior.
“If he wasn’t a good guy, we wouldn’t have used the first pick on him,” Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht said.
Winston was accused of sexual assault during his freshman season at Florida State but never was charged. The Bucs investigated that and other off-field incidents, and apparently came away with the conclusion that Winston won’t have any more trouble.
Licht and coach Lovie Smith said repeatedly over the past two months that they were comfortable with the prospect of taking Winston, who also generated negative headlines when he was cited for shoplifting crab legs from a supermarket and later suspended for one game last season after climbing onto a table in the Florida State student union and shouting an obscenity.
“When we were doing the exhaustive process that we went through, not only were we comfortable with him and his character, we were confident with his character,” Licht said. “We think that his character that he brings to the locker room and the building is a strength. That’s one of the things that makes him a great player.”
The Glazer family, which owns the team, also was on record for weeks as being comfortable with the organization’s vetting process, which included Winston’s daylong visit to One Buccaneer Place in early March.
“I know a lot of things have been said about him,” Smith said. “He’s made some mistakes that young people make from time to time when they’re young. I definitely don’t think that I’ve seen a pattern.
“Once you get to know him, I just really believe in him. I trust my instincts on people to know who we’re getting.”
On the field, there are few questions about Winston, who led Florida State to the national championship during his Heisman Trophy-winning freshman season in 2013. The 6-foot-3, 231-pound Winston passed for 3,907 yards and 25 touchdowns with 18 interceptions last season, completing a collegiate career in which he went 26-1 as a starter for the Seminoles.
“He’s a champion. He’s a leader. He’s a winner,” Licht said. “He’s got tremendous football character and tremendous intelligence and work ethic. His work ethic was one thing that really put him over the top for us, combined with his leadership and his ‘it’ factor, as well as his ability on the field.”
Winston was not in Chicago for the draft; instead, he was in his hometown of Bessemer, Alabama with family and friends. Winston did tweet after the Bucs made the pick.