INDIANAPOLIS -- By nearly every account, Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston left the NFL Scouting Combine after handling questions about off-the-field concerns with relative ease. It appears he did nothing to hamper his already sky-high draft stock.
The polished performance in front of teams and the cameras in Indianapolis, however, wasn't enough to convince everybody, as at least one scout wasn't swayed by the performance.
"Someone will take him in the first round, but how could you even let that guy in the building?" a scout told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "The second law of thermodynamics basically is the more ways something can happen, the more likely it is to happen. That's true of players. The more ways they can (expletive) up, the more chances they (expletive) up. This guy's got a lot of stuff that would lean him more likely to be a bust than a good player."
The Heisman Trophy winner is widely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft and a quality outing during passing drills on Saturday only enhanced that opinion around the league. The primary concerns about Winston are related to off-the-field issues after he was involved in a series of incidents during his time in college, including a sexual assault investigation in which he was not charged.
Such issues were among the things he addressed when he was able to meet with the media in an extended session for the first time since the Rose Bowl.
"I know I have to gain a lot of people's trust. But whatever happens, this is just my opportunity and I'm going to take advantage of this opportunity because this is what I dream of," Winston said on Friday. "I dream of being a Hall of Famer one day and I dream of being the face of someone's franchise."
That's just what coach Lovie Smith and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' front office -- holders of the draft's top pick -- want to hear, but they certainly will be doubling-down on studying the prolific quarterback off the field before turning in the card with Winston's name on it when the draft opens on April 30.
You can follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.
