Quote:Winston>>>>>>> BORTLES as nfl players... you will see soon enough

Um, they're actually pretty similar players. Can Winston anticipate throwing receivers open better? Yes. But that's not the only thing that goes into being an NFL QB. For one thing winston has a really elongated release which is going to hurt him at the next level and cause picks because he's not getting the ball out of his hands quick enough when he makes a decision with where to go to the ball. Bortles footwork issues are correctable at least and he has no real throwing motion problem. Fixing throwing motions is considerably harder than fixing footwork. Winston is not as good a runner as Bortles. Winston has a Jamarcus Russell type body where if he does not watch himself he can easily get fat in the offseason. Bortles has a more naturally built big body, whereas Jameis is naturally skinny and put on fat to achieve his 230 weight in the past 2 years. And of course Bortles is far ahead of Winston mentally when it comes to maturity and intangibles as a leader. I don't think whatever team takes Winston will have to worry about some of the dumb stuff he did at FSU and unlike Manziel he does take the job serious already and isn't addicted to partying to my knowledge. But Bortles is still far more mature than Winston and already has the right mindset naturally. Winston will have to learn that and mature. We KNOW we will never have to worry about off field distractions with Bortles and he is 100% about football, that is not as clear with Winston. And that kind of thing matters when it comes to the QB position. Otherwise they have similar arm strength, athleticism as big mobile men, and instincts in the pocket as far as moving around, avoiding pressure, and standing in a taking a hit while delivering a throw downfield. Winston will probably be better at dissecting defenses than Bortles out of the gate, but he has his own set of problems that he will have to get through to be truly franchise QB status, just like Bortles. Ultimately their ceiling is about the same given equal talent around them.

 

So no, Winston is not that far ahead of Bortles as a prospect especially when taking into account the character concerns with Winston. As a pure talent I'd only rate him slightly ahead of Bortles coming out last year, and honestly I think had Bortles stayed in school and come out this year he'd have been picked ahead of both Mariota and Winston.

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