When you’re the number one draft pick and your position is the quarterback, it will always be heavy for the head that wears the crown. Jamies Winston, first round, first overall draft pick in 2015 had a solid campaign in his first season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and he’s looking to further improve on that. But first, he has to take the reigns of the team and be the teams de facto leader.
Gerald McCoy, four time pro bowl defensive tackle for the Bucs, thinks Winston is ready. After being the face of the franchise for several years, McCoy thinks he’s seen enough from Winston that he’s ready to now fully have the Bucs. The question is, can the charismatic QB handle that pressure?
Via ESPN:
“Me and Jameis had a private conversation about what he feels this team needs me to be as a leader,” McCoy said Wednesday just after veterans reported.
“He’s an intelligent guy,” McCoy said of Winston. “Young or not, [he’s] very mature … very intelligent. He sits back, he watches and analyzes and he [saw] something that I could do to help this team be better. It’s not hard to do. It’s just a matter of me doing it.”
Although McCoy’s role within the team is changing, the 28-year-old said he’s ready to embrace it.
“You guys are used to seeing me do things a certain way,” McCoy said. “That’s going to change because the face of the franchise came to me and said, ‘Hey, listen. If we’re going to win, we need you to do this, OK?’ Our quarterback said this is what he needs, so this is what I’m going to do.”
