Week 3 at Minnesota Vikings
Jameis Winston had a poor fantasy outing last week in his first game of the season, although it wasn't really his fault. Tampa's defense forced four turnovers, including a score, which meant Winston didn't really need to do a whole lot. That's why he finished with only 204 passing yards and 1 touchdown. He didn't even finish the game as he was pulled in the fourth quarter as a precautionary measure.
Winston remains a strong fantasy option moving forward, although he draws a difficult matchup this week against Minnesota. The Vikings have a tough defense, and it pushes Winston back to the QB2-range instead of being considered a QB1 option. He's not a bad option if you have no one better, but just know going in that he could struggle.
Week 2 vs. Chicago Bears
Jameis Winston was off last week, but he looked great in the preseason. He made a few mistakes, but most of the drives he led ended up with a scoring opportunity. Expect that a lot from the Bucs in 2017, as they added a few more offensive weapons to surround their young quarterback with.
This week, Winston gets a favorable matchup against the Bears—a defense that allowed over 321 yards through the air last week to Matt Ryan. We like Winston this season, so when he gets a favorable matchup like this, he's an easy QB1 play.
Player Upside
Jameis Winston improved in nearly every passing category in his second season. He had a higher completion percentage (60.8 to 58.3), more yards (4,090 to 4,042), more touchdowns (28 to 22), a higher QB rating (86.1 to 84.2) and looked like a more polished passer.
The hype continues to grow for the Tampa Bay QB heading into 2017 as he has more talent around him. The Bucs brought in deep threat DeSean Jackson and drafted tight end O.J. Howard in the first round. Not to mention Mike Evans didn’t go anywhere this offseason. Winston should continue to pass for over 4,000 yards, and 30+ touchdowns this season should be a strong possibility as well. Those stats alone make him a borderline-QB1 option.
Player Downside
While Winston does a good job of gaining yards and throwing for scores, he also has a knack of turning the ball over. Unfortunately for him, his interceptions also increased in his second year, as he finished with 18 picks (15 in 2015). He also fumbled 10 times, losing six for a total of 24 turnovers (he had 18 as a rookie). While Jackson and Howard sound good on paper, we have yet to see them on the field together. We don’t know for sure if this receiving corps will work well as a unit.
2017 Bottom Line
There’s a lot to like about Winston in 2017. We don’t expect him to be an elite option, but he could certainly be drafted with the intent of using him as your every-week starter. He’s a quarterback you can pick up a bit later in drafts, but you might want to select someone else as insurance in case he doesn’t pan out or to play during bad matchups.
Week 17 vs. Carolina
Jameis Winston has been inconsistent this season, looking like an elite quarterback option one week and then looking like a Browns starter the next. He'll be giving it his all in Week 17 though as Tampa Bay still has an outside shot of making the playoffs.
He'll be without a few weapons as Charles Sims and Cameron Brate were both placed on injured reserve this week. But he still has Mike Evans, who is pretty much the only person he throws to anyways.
Winston should be viewed as a low-end QB1 this week.
Week 16 vs. New Orleans
Jameis WInston had a decent fantasy performance last week, or a bad one depending on your league settings. He threw for two touchdowns, but he also had four turnovers and was sacked four times.
This week he gets a favorable matchup on paper against the Saints, but when he played them just a few weeks ago he finished the game with no touchdowns. The lack of scores came from his season-low 26 pass attempts, so it's unlikely he has a bad game like that again.
While he won't be an elite option in Week 16, Winston should be a good play. If the Saints and Bucs end up in a shootout, the QB could put up big numbers. He should be viewed as a low-end QB1 play.
Week 15 vs. Dallas
Jameis Winston had a career first last week. It was the only time as a professional or college quarterback he finished a game without a touchdown. It looked like a promising matchup against the Saints, but the game flow just didn't call for a Winston score.
He may continue to struggle this week against the Cowboys, as they've only allowed two multi-touchdown performances to quarterbacks over the last eight games. Winston is talented enough to overcome that, but he should be viewed as a QB2 this week.
Week 14. vs. New Orleans
Jameis Winston has been a solid quarterback this season, and should be a great option this week against the Saints. New Orleans often finds itself in shootouts, which leads to high fantasy productions for opponents.
Considering Winston has had multiple multi-touchdown and 300+ yard games, it can be assumed that he'll have big production against New Orleans in Week 14. He should be viewed as a QB1.
Week 13 vs. San Diego
Jameis Winston stared the tough Seahawks' secondary in the face and delivered a strong 220-yard, two-touchdown performance. It wasn't his best game of the season, but those are good numbers against a good secondary.
He gets another test this week against the Chargers, who lead the league in forced interceptions. But this defense isn't completely on lockdown, as they've allowed five 300+ yard passing games.
If you absolutely need Winston this week, he's not the worst option, but it might be worth looking at waivers to see if you can find a replacement.
Week 12 vs. Seattle
Jameis Winston has back-to-back 300-yard games as he continues to play well. However, things should look different this week as he gets a tough matchup against the Seahawks.
Seattle has only allowed two multi-touchdown games to quarterbacks this season, and have held them scoreless five times. There's a chance you've been able to start Winston nearly every week on your roster, but it'd be in your best interest to bench him in Week 12.
Week 11 at Kansas City
Jameis Winston had another solid outing last week, throwing for over 300 yards and finishing with two touchdowns. He's now had multi-touchdown games in four straight weeks.
He'll try to find similar success in a decent matchup against the Chiefs in Week 11. Kansas City hasn't been stingy against QBs, but they also haven't allowed too many huge performances.
Winston is a decent option, but not much more than a QB2 play.
