National Football League

Jameis Winston/Jamarcus Russell comparison is absurd

Published Apr. 29, 2015 11:14 a.m. ET

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By Mike Ferguson

The NFL Draft is now a day away and the consensus seems to be that Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston will go first overall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. There has been plenty of debate as to whether or not Winston will succeed on the next level and last week, an unnamed NFL executive was reportedly “floored” by the comparison of Winston to a former first overall pick, Jamarcus Russell.

While the report captured a lot of headlines, it’s not a notion at all new. Casual NFL fans, mostly ones who aren’t fans of Winston, have been trying to make the comparison for months. Though it’s a comparison that an NFL executive recently made, that doesn’t mean it’s a good one.

There are some similarities between Winston and Russell. Both played for Jimbo Fisher collegiately in one fashion or another, both are from Alabama and both have faced issues off the field. On the field however, there are far fewer similarities.

When Russell was taken first overall by the Oakland Raiders in 2007, the selection was based entirely on size, arm strength and potential. Word was Russell could take a knee at midfield and throw the football through the goalposts.

Like Russell, Winston has the arm strength to make every throw and is more accurate. The former FSU signal caller however, has almost all of the qualities a coach would want in a quarterback.

That doesn’t mean Winston is without flaws. Though he’s never been arrested, Winston has a number of off-the-field issues that could be cause for concern including being accused of sexual assault in December of 2012. On the field, his 18 interceptions last season have drawn plenty of criticism.

It’s not a surprise that some fans aren’t particularly in love with Winston, but as a player, there are a number of intangibles that separate him from so many others who have lined up under center.

Though he has his detractors, Jameis Winston is a born leader. While at Florida State, Winston spent the majority of his career including his entire sophomore as the center of media scrutiny. Despite that, he was a player his FSU teammates consistently rallied around. Leadership was never listed as one of Russell’s major strengths after leaving LSU.

An unnamed executive may have spelled trouble for the team that drafts Winston, but others have had high praise for the former Seminole. Former head coach Steve Mariucci compared Winston to Peyton Manning in terms of football IQ and ESPN’s Todd McShay called Winston the second best quarterback draft prospect since Manning behind only Andrew Luck.

Winston has football smarts that someone like Russell never did. In middle school, Winston was diagramming plays and he reads defenses very well. While Mariucci had an up-and-down career as a head coach in the NFL, keep in mind that during his career, he spent time coaching Hall of Famers like Brett Favre and Steve Young.

Winston is also a proven winner. During his two years at Florida State, he was defeated just once. Though his career ended with a 59-20 trouncing at the hands of Oregon in the Rose Bowl, Winston led FSU to a perfect 14-0 record as a freshman and 13-0 start as a sophomore despite losing two of his top three receivers from the previous year and having a ground game that didn’t rank in the top 100 nationally until the final parts of the season.

In 2014, Florida State was infamous for its slow starts and some of the blame fell on Winston. While he did have his struggles early in contests, he always managed to put his mistakes behind him and finish strong. In two years at Florida State, Winston led game-winning drives in the fourth quarter five times. Last season in the NFL, 42 percent of contests were decided by one score or less.

Not only do Russell and Winston have far different tendencies and intangibles, they’re not very similar in style either. The most glaring NFL comparison to Winston is probably Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Like Winston, Roethlisberger isn’t overly athletic, but uses his strength to allude the rush and is always looking to extend the play. They’re similar in size and guys teammates rally around. Roethlisberger is often overlooked when the discussion of elite quarterbacks arises, but in 11 years in Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger has delivered the Steelers two Super Bowl victories in three appearances.

Only time will tell how successful Winston will be as a quarterback in the National Football League, but a number of former coaches and draft experts have had high praise for the 21-year-old. The notion that Winston is somehow the second coming of Jamarcus Russell isn’t one rooted in fact or expertise at all. It’s simply an absurd comparison made by people who would like to see Winston have similar fate at the next level and by one executive, who didn’t want his name attached to the opinion.

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