Team news: Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Page 79

Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston has exceeded everyone's expectations. The first-overall pick arrived in Tampa Bay with plenty of questions, most of them off-field-related. But he's shined through minicamp and OTAs, and even if coach Lovie Smith won't anoint Winston the starter, there's no denying the quarterback's work ethic.

“I thought he would be a certain way, and that's what he's been," Smith said, via the team's website. "All of the positive things you've heard about Jameis is what we've been able to see. He is very smart. He is a gym rat -- football junkie. He does have personality. His glass is half full every day."

By all accounts, Winston has had a great offseason and is fitting in well with the Buccaneers. He is a shoo-in to start immediately, so opportunity is plentiful. He has two established weapons to throw to in receivers Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson, and TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins is expected to make strides in his second season. The situation from a skill position standpoint is very good, though the offensive line isn't. The Bucs did add two offensive linemen in the 2nd round, so there should be improvement up front. Rookie QBs are generally poor fantasy bets, but Winston should be a committee/streaming option in 12-team leagues.

Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston has made huge strides since he was drafted. He has picked up the playbook well and is comfortable making calls at the line of scrimmage. He has started to build chemistry with wide receivers Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans. Winston still needs to working on not forcing throws into heavy coverage, but the Bucs are very happy with how he has progressed so far.

Winston is a shoo-in to start immediately, so opportunity is plentiful. He has two established weapons to throw to in receivers Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson, and TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins is expected to make strides in his second season. The situation from a skill position standpoint is very good, though the offensive line isn't. The Bucs did add two offensive linemen in the 2nd round, so there should be improvement up front. Rookie QBs are generally poor fantasy bets, but Winston should be a committee/streaming option in 12-team leagues.

Dirk Koetter was signed as the Bucs’ OC in the offseason after serving the same role in Atlanta a year ago.

“He’s a smooth guy,” Mike Evans said after Thursday’s OTA practice. “He knows what he is doing. If you look at the Falcons’ receivers last year they had some of the best stats. He gets his receivers the ball and on this team we have some really good playmakers at the receiver position. I like the way he gets the receivers the ball, so hopefully we’ll have a great year.”

Vincent Jackson feels similarly. He’s been in a few different systems since entering the league in 2005. But this system will spread the ball all around the field and utilize Jackson in several different ways, something he’s excited about.

“Obviously the way I’ve worked in the past was being very dynamic where they can play me in multiple places and Dirk (Koetter) is having fun with that and he’s putting me in a lot of different areas. It’s fun to play inside, outside, stretch the field, cross the field, and that’s what’s good about this offensive system is that we’re going to put the ball all over the place.”

Evans finished as the #11 receiver in standard formats and #13 in PPR. He should enjoy a quarterback upgrade this year and should continue to develop as a receiver. Expect more of the same. After finishing as a low-end WR3, Jackson is a bounce back candidate given the upgrades the team made at quarterback and offensive coordinator.

Buccaneers WR Mike Evans, who left last Thursday's practice with a "tweak" of his right hamstring, was back in action in today's OTA practice.

It's nice to hear that the hamstring tweak wasn't serious. Evans finished as the #11 receiver in standard formats and #13 in PPR. He should enjoy a quarterback upgrade this year and should continue to develop as a receiver. Expect more of the same.

Buccaneers WR Mike Evans exited in the waning stages of practice with an apparent right hamstring injury, but coach Lovie Smith didn't seem fazed. The second-year player injured his left hamstring during the first offseason practice last year and missed an extended period of summer work.

"He tweaked it a little bit; he'll be fine," Smith said.

Evans finished as the #11 receiver in standard formats and #13 in PPR. He should enjoy a quarterback upgrade this year and should continue to develop as a receiver. Expect more of the same from Evans, though we'd like him to be able to practice to develop a strong rapport with new QB Jameis Winston.

Jameis Winston has only been on the field for two days of Organized Team Activities, or OTAs, but Head Coach Lovie Smith already sees progress in his rookie quarterback.

“We are seeing marked improvement, like it should be,” Smith told the media on Thursday following the Bucs' OTA practice. “Going from the minicamp to now, he is feeling more and more comfort in the pocket. There is a lot you ask a rookie to do, but Jameis is picking it all up just like we thought he would right on schedule.”

Winston is a shoo-in to start immediately, so opportunity is plentiful. He has two established weapons to throw to in receivers Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson, and TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins is expected to make strides in his second season. The situation from a skill position standpoint is very good, though the offensive line isn't. The Bucs did add two offensive linemen in the 2nd round, so there should be improvement up front. Rookie QBs are generally poor fantasy bets, but Winston should be a committee/streaming option in 12-team leagues.

Offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter praised the rookie quarterback, citing Jameis Winston's recall and football intelligence during the draft process as reasons he impressed the organization.

Koetter added that coming from a pro-style system at Florida State has prepared Winston to play right away.

"Florida State was probably installing more stuff per day than we do," Koetter said, via ESPN.com. "I've known about (FSU coach) Jimbo Fisher and his style of offense for a long time. They truly do run an NFL-style system. They ask a lot of their guys mentally. Jameis is as well-prepared as most any guy could be right now."

Winston is a shoo-in to start immediately, so opportunity is plentiful. He has two established weapons to throw to in receivers Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson, and TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins is expected to make strides in his second season. The situation from a skill position standpoint is very good, though the offensive line isn't. The Bucs did add two offensive linemen in the 2nd round, so there should be improvement up front. Rookie QBs are generally poor fantasy bets, but Winston should be a committee/streaming option in 12-team leagues.