Buccaneers' Lovie Smith: We feel comfortable with who Jameis Winston is
Holding the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NFL draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the opportunity to select the kind of franchise-caliber quarterback the organization has been missing in years past.
While Florida State's Jameis Winston is the clear front runner for that top spot, some character concerns stemming from off-field incidents throughout his collegiate career will continue to raise some questions throughout the predraft process.
Speaking at the NFL owners meetings Wednesday, however, Buccaneers head coach Lovie Smith appeared confident in Winston's ability to make the transition to the next level and become the face of an NFL franchise.
Lovie: We feel comfortable with who Jameis Winston is, what he's done and what he'll do. He's definitely on our board. #Bucs
— Marc Sessler (@MarcSesslerNFL) March 25, 2015
Like the other teams at the top of this year's draft, the Buccaneers should already have conducted some extensive background work on Winston's past issues.
Given both his impressive on-field ability and an elite-level football intelligence, Tampa Bay truly being comfortable with the quarterback off the field could all but cement his status as the top pick in this year's class.
Of course, teams have been known to play their cards close to the vest when it comes to draft season, so we'll likely have to wait for the Buccaneers' pick to be announced before we can be completely sure.