Jameis Winston is one of the biggest winners this offseason.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers added DeSean Jackson in free agency along with O.J. Howard in the draft, constructing an arsenal of aerial talent that is one of the most fearsome position groups in the league.
The duo will help stretch the field immensely for a passing attack that completed only four passes of 40 yards or more last season, which was tied for the worst mark in the league. Winston has been pleased with the early promise his new weapons have displayed.
"They're dynamic," Winston told NFL Network's Tiffany Blackmon at his 2nd Annual Dream Forever Football Camp on Saturday. "We haven't had a true deep threat guy in Tampa Bay and now we have DeSean. So we're excited to throw him a couple bombs. O.J., man, he's just a specimen. We're privileged to have O.J. Howard."
The Bucs already have a very capable tight end in Cameron Brate, but Howard could be the piece that puts the unit over the top. He was a matchup nightmare when Alabama let him loose downfield and was a top-notch blocker to boot. The first-round pick has generated a similar level of excitement already in Tampa.
"We're happy to have O.J. What he's going to do to that team is going to be amazing," Winston told reporters Saturday. "This is the fastest, most athletic 6-6, 255 guy I've ever seen in my life. It's unreal."
Despite playing in a division where every other starting quarterback has appeared in a Super Bowl and has been named NFL Offensive Player of the Year, the offseason hype train is plugging the Buccaneers as a contender in the NFC South. Tampa Bay has not made the playoffs since the 2007 season, but has improved by four and three wins, respectively, in Winston's first two campaigns at the helm.
In order to make that next step forward, the third-year gunslinger believes that the team needs to develop the right attitude to match its rising success.
"It's a different mindset because we're trying to change the culture into a winning culture," Winston said. "The expectations, we're going to have those, and we're going to have our doubts. But as a team, we have to come together and help change that culture."
