Jameis Winston ranked at the bottom of No. 1 pick rankings

A recent ranking from Bleacher Report took a look at the last 25 No. 1 overall picks, and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston landed near the bottom at No. 21.

At first glance, that might feel harsh, but when Tampa Bay selected Winston in 2015, they made the right call. That quarterback class didn’t offer many long-term answers, and Winston was clearly the most talented option at the position. This wasn’t a process miss; it just didn’t turn into the long-term solution the franchise needed.

That’s where Winston’s career becomes complicated. The production was amazing, but so were the turnovers. He threw for over 5,100 yards in 2019 and showed the ability to carry an offense. With that said, turnovers consistently overshadowed the positives, making it difficult for the Buccaneers to fully commit to him as their franchise quarterback.

That reality ultimately led Tampa Bay to move in a different direction, bringing in Tom Brady and resetting the organization's trajectory. From there, Winston transitioned into a journeyman role, still capable of putting up numbers in short stretches but never fully shedding the inconsistency that defined his early years.

Winston wasn’t a mistake; he was a gamble that never cashed out. The talent was always there, and the flashes backed it up, but the lack of stability kept him from becoming the long-term answer the Buccaneers hoped they had found.

This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: NFL Draft: Jameis Winston considered one of the worst top picks