Personally, I could care less what if any impact the latest brouhaha involving Jameis Winston will have on the Florida State quarterback’s future NFL draft stock. The only thing I care about are things like what effect it will have on FSU’s chances in the Clemson game... if will it further damage any shot at back-to-back Heismans... if it will have any bearing on the Seminoles repeating as champions... will it cause Winston to leave FSU early for the professional ranks. That’s it.
It’s the college football angle and the college football angle only that interests me -- unless it somehow becomes intertwined with the future of the Cleveland Browns either directly or indirectly.
The fine folks at PFT Live, however, are keenly interested in Winston’s draft stock and what impact it may or may not have in the eyes of NFL clubs and their scouting departments. Unofficial data suggests that’s already happening as Mel Kiper has dropped Winston from No. 3 to No. 25 on his Big Board for the 2015 NFL draft. An overreaction to the obscene and vulgar meme Winston publicly belted out? Possibly, but the reality of the new NFL suggests it’s not.
As the esteemed and deftly-coiffed Mike Florio explains in this PFT Live segment, teams will likely be on the lookout for character issues of potential draft picks in the wake of the controversies involving Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson. Taking that into account, and taking into account the myriad off-field hiccups Winston’s already stepped into during his two-plus years in Tallahassee, Florio opines that “for a guy that’s going to be the face of a franchise somewhere, there is enough evidence out there to have a concern that this guy isn’t ready and may never be ready to be the face of your franchise.”
“He’s running out of chances to convince the NFL he can come in and be that player who is the leader of your team both in the locker room and in the public eye,” Florio added.
For those who are interested in the NFL aspect of this situation, this two-minute clip is actually well worth your time.