Week 10 vs. Chicago
Jameis Winston has been delivering touchdowns lately with eight in his last three games. He's starting to find his groove in this offense after going through a rough stretch early in the season.
The Bucs will need to rely on Winston this week as their running back situation is dire. He gets a decent matchup against the Bears to try and lead his team down the field, and should be able to put up big numbers again. We like Winston as a low-end QB1 play this week.
Week 9 vs. Atlanta
Jameis Winston gets his second matchup against the Falcons this week after torching them for 281 yards and four touchdowns in Week 1. Winston struggled a bit last week against the Raiders, completing just 50 percent of his passes for less than 200 yards.
The Bucs QB has been hot-and-cold this season, but we expect him to perform well against Atlanta on Thursday. The Falcons have allowed the second-most fantasy points to opposing QBs, and Winston is able to take advantage.
With so many quarterbacks on bye in Week 9, Winston is an excellent replacement and is on the QB1 radar.
Week 8 vs. Oakland
Jameis Winston might be back. After a slump, Winston came out strong off of the team's bye week and threw for three touchdowns along with 269 yards last week. He has a strong matchup this week against the Raider, in what could end up being an offensive shootout.
For a while, it was tough to trust Winston, but as long as he has good matchups, we like his chances. He's back in the QB1 territory this week against the Raiders, who can easily be passed on.
Week 7 at San Francisco
Jameis Winston solved his turnover problem when the Bucs played the Panthers, but still didn't put up big numbers. Winston has had two good games this season, paired with two awful games and one alright game.
We expect the Tampa QB to bounce back this week following the team's bye. He'll be rested, refocused and playing a favorable 49ers defense. It might be hard to trust Winston given some of his play this season, but he's a low-end QB1 play this week.
Week 5 vs. Carolina
In addition to turning the ball over a bunch, Jameis Winston doubled-down on his bad season last week with low passing numbers. Through four games, Winston has 10 turnovers, which is just awful.
This week he faces a Panthers defense that was good in its first three weeks before allowing 500 yards to Matt Ryan. So does Carolina have a good defense, or was it exposed by a good quarterback?
While Winston has played poorly overall, he has had some strong fantasy performances this season. And with him facing a defense that's having questions in the secondary, we expect Winston to be a borderline QB1 play this week.
Week 4 vs. Denver
Jameis Winston is surprisingly the league's leader in passing attempts through the first three weeks. This is not the Bucs' intended game plan as the team definitely doesn't want him throwing 58 times in a game. Aside from Week 2, the high volume of passing has been beneficial for fantasy purposes, but we're not expecting that this week.
Winston will face the Broncos defense, which was stout all of last season, and is off to a strong start in 2016 as well. There's a chance the Bucs find themselves down again, which means another high pass-attempt game, but that doesn't always lead to success.
Winston will be one of the poorer quarterback plays this week.
Week 3 vs. Los Angeles
After a strong Week 1, Jameis Winston had a massive letdown against a tough Cardinals defense in Week 2. The Bucs quarterback had five turnovers and only 243 yards on 52 pass attempts. It was an ugly performance that only got uglier as the game went on.
We don't expect a performance like that for the rest of the season. We think Winston will bounce back in Week 3, but still not to the point where we like him as a strong QB1 play. He gets a difficult matchup against the Rams, which makes him a middle-of-the-road option for Week 3.
Week 1 at Arizona
Jameis Winston doesn't appear to be headed for a sophomore slump. The second-year quarterback exploded in Week 1 with four touchdowns on 281 yards passing. When the people around him are all healthy, there's no limit as to what Winston can do.
Winston's hot start will be put to the ultimate test this week against Arizona. The Cardinals have plenty of talent in the secondary, and will be one of the toughest defenses Winston will face this season.
We still think the Bucs QB to have a decent day, but we're not expecting a redo of Week 1. Winston is a middle-of-the-pack quarterback this week.
Week 1 at Atlanta
Jameis Winston had a great rookie season, surpassing 4,000 passing yards and finishing with 28 total touchdowns. Six of those touchdowns came on the ground, and two of those six came against the Falcons, Winston's Week 1 opponent in 2016.
Obviously there's no guarantee Winston will run in a score this week, but it is interesting that he had a ground TD in each of his games against Atlanta. His passing numbers against the Falcons weren't great, but he's had a year to develop and could improve on his stats. There's a lot to like about Winston, even though he doesn't have the best matchup. He'll be a low-end QB1 play this week.
Fantasy Upside
Jameis Winston played really well as a rookie last year, going for over 4,000 passing yards along with 22 passing touchdowns and six scores on the ground. Logic says as he develops another year, his play will improve, which bodes well for the quarterback who ranked 13th at his position last season.
He finished 2015 strong, averaging more yards per game in his final eight starts, scoring more touchdowns and throwing less interceptions. Helping him grow along the way is his receiving duo of Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson, one of the best 1-2 punches in the league.
Fantasy Downside
The Buccaneers offensive line was one of the worst units last season and they lost veteran Logan Mankins to retirement. His replacement -- J.R. Sweezy -- is a step down, and they didn’t do a whole lot to improve that area. Their hope is the two rookies they started last season will continue to progress, but we have to see it first.
The six rushing scores were a big factor in Winston’s final production, and it’s something that will be difficult to replicate in 2016. Winston is not a running quarterback, and it’s unlikely those numbers will stay that way.
Bottom Line
While he does have good starting talent around him, there isn’t a whole lot of depth for the Bucs. If Evans or Jackson suffers an injury, the receivers behind them don’t offer a whole lot. But as it stands, there’s a lot to like about Winston heading into his sophomore season. He has a shot to finish in the top-10 at his position, and you can get him later on in drafts.
