The Buccaneers have found their first issue with quarterback Jameis Winston, already running into something he struggles with.
“We have to kind of tell him when to leave,” Buccaneers coach Lovie Smith said, via Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com.
That’s not a bad problem to have for any rookie, much less the first overall pick in the draft. While he wasn’t at Thursday’s practice because of the NFLPA Rookie Premiere event in Los Angeles, getting in enough work hasn’t been an issue.
Smith said he took double reps Wednesday to make up for the absence, and it was his best day of work so far (or perhaps since his marathon pro day workout prior to the draft).
“For him, there’s been a lot of individual work, but having a chance this week to go against our best defense and things like that [has been good],” Smith said. “We have a long ways to go. But we like where he is right now.”
Likewise, teammates have praised Winston for his work, and for always having his playbook on him, and being ready for whatever they throw at him, which has been a lot.
“He didn’t have his training wheels on or anything like that,” Smith said. “We’re kind of throwing him out there and he’s handling just about everything we’ve asked him to do.”
That’s a good sign for the Bucs, but a better sign for Winston, whose maturity many (reasonably) wondered about based on some of his college actions.