Week 9 at Seattle Seahawks
Jameis Winston had a very Jameis Winston-like game last week. There was the good: 301 passing yards, two touchdowns, 53 rushing yards. And the bad: 2 interceptions, 2 fumbles. The 53 rushing yards were a luxury as Winston typically doesn't run for so much. But the rest is expected as Winston can produce some big numbers on offense, but usually, it's because of his turnovers and Tampa Bay needs to throw to get back in. Expect a similar performance from him this week in a decent matchup against the Seahawks. He can be a solid bye-week filler as a low-end QB1 this week.
Week 8 at Tennessee Titans
The mystery of Jameis Winston continues as he had a confusing outing the last time Tampa played. He had a nice 400-yard game, but it was filled with bad decisions as he finished with six turnovers (five interceptions, one fumble). He only scored once as well. He now has 14 turnovers through just six games. He's also only thrown more than one touchdown in a game in three of his six starts. He could struggle again this week as he faces a Titans defense giving up the 10th-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks. He's a slightly above-average starter this week vs. Tennessee.
Week 6 vs. Carolina Panthers
Jameis Winston had a bad real day and a decent fantasy day in Week 5 against the Saints. He finished with 204 yards and two touchdowns. He's found a favorite target in Chris Godwin as both of his touchdown passes and 61% of his passing yards went to him. This was a similar story in Week 2 when the Bucs played the Panthers, the same opponent they just so happen to playing this week. In that game, Winston finished with 208 yards and one score. Considering it's the same opponent, just a few weeks later, you can likely expect similar numbers. We have Winston as a low-end QB1 in Week 6.
Week 5 at New Orleans Saints
After a rough start to the season, Jameis Winston has put together two good games in a row. He blew up in Week 4, throwing for 385 yards and four touchdowns. This is now the second straight game with 380+ passing yards and 3+ touchdowns. And you can likely expect another big week from Winston as he gets a favorable matchup against the Saints. New Orleans has allowed the second-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season. Jameis is in low-end QB1 territory for Week 5.
Week 4 at Los Angeles Rams
As expected, Jameis Winston was productive last week, finishing with 380 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. This was easily his best game of 2019 as it's the only game where he's both thrown over 300 yards and scored more than one touchdown. Winston is capable of games like these, but he's a very matchup-based quarterback. And this week he gets a bad matchup against the Rams, who have allowed the second-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks. Quarterbacks have only thrown one touchdown against L.A. all season. There should be better options available at QB in Week 4 than Winston.
Week 3 vs. New York Giants
Jameis Winston struggled mightily in Week 1 with three interceptions, but somewhat bounced back in Week 2 with a respectable 208 yards, one touchdown and no turnovers. It seems like Winston has enough talent around him to put up bigger numbers than this, and maybe he will this week against the Giants. New York has allowed the third-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season, including the third-most passing yards (658). This game will say a lot about Winston moving forward and whether he can take advantage of these positive matchups. We like him as a QB1 option against New York in Week 3.
Week 2 at Carolina Panthers
New year, same Jameis Winston. The problems that have plagued the Bucs' quarterback didn't go away in Week 1 despite an offseason of hope. Winston was his typical self, making bad decisions, resulting in three interceptions (he also fumbled twice, but didn't lose them). He scored just once, although he did have two touchdowns get called back due to penalties. He finished with 194 passing yards.
He faces a Panthers defense this week which shut down Jared Goff and the Rams' passing attack in Week 1, holding him to just 186 yards, one score and one interception. But with a short week, it's hard to know whether Carolina's D is up to the same lockdown defense again. Either way, Jameis is outside of QB1 range this week as he struggled last week, and draws a bad matchup.
Week 1 vs. San Francisco 49ers
Jameis Winston struggled last season as he found himself being benched in the middle of games after returning from his league suspension. There's hope he can turn things around in 2019 with the arrival of Bruce Arians. There's also promise in his receiving corps which features Pro Bowl wideout Mike Evans, upcoming star Chris Godwin and productive tight end O.J. Howard.
He opens the season against the 49ers, who allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks a year ago. San Francisco did add some key pieces in the offseason, though, so it may not be a cakewalk like it was a year ago. Still, Winston offers a high ceiling and can be viewed as a QB1 this week.
Fantasy Upside
Jameis Winston hasn’t been a great IRL quarterback, but he provided fantasy users with some big games last season. His production is difficult to gauge since he’s been benched or replaced someone so many times, but in the 20 games over the past two seasons with 25+ passes he has averaged 19.4 PPG. He threw for 300+ games in five of his nine starts in 2018, proving he can take advantage of the weapons surrounding him.
Fantasy Downside
Per usual, Winston struggled again with turnovers last season. He had 17 turnovers in 11 games played, tying for the third-most interceptions in the league (14). Since joining the league in 2015, Winston has thrown for the second-most interceptions (58) despite missing time due to injuries/benchings.
2019 Bottom Line
Winston has a very high ceiling for 2019 with the arrival of Bruce Arians. The Bucs’ new coach seems committed to having Winston at QB, and has brought out a lot of good fantasy seasons in other quarterbacks. Winston has plenty of talent around him in Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, OJ Howard and Cameron Brate. We’ve seen plenty of talent from Winston since joining the league, but he’s never seemed to fully put it together. Maybe the arrival of Arians can lead to some great things. Winston can be viewed as a lower-end QB1 option, and since he’s going in the double-digit rounds it makes him somewhat of a value selection.
Week 17 vs. Atlanta Falcons
Jameis Winston snapped out of his slump ... kind of. He finished with 336 yards which was good, but finished with just one score and two turnovers last week. Turnovers have always haunted Winston who has 16 of them in 10 appearances this season (and most of those games he didn't even play all the way through).
He'll face the Falcons this week, a team he threw for 395 yards and four touchdowns against earlier in the season. We like him at the low-end of QB1 territory in Week 17.
