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Greg Cosell's NFL analysis: Jameis Winston landed with a good coordinator

You can make an argument that Jameis Winston is a similar player to Matt Ryan.

That's theoretical, of course, because Winston hasn't played in the NFL yet. But physically and stylistically there are similarities, especially to Ryan when he was coming out of Boston College.

And that's good, because we can get a better idea how Winston will transition to the pros seeing as how he'll be with the same offensive coordinator Ryan had the past three years.

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This offseason the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hired Dirk Koetter to be their offensive coordinator. I like that fit between him and Winston, because I think Koetter is a very good offensive coach.

When Koetter coached in college he ran the spread offense, and those offenses put up huge numbers. Then he came to the NFL and adapted. He'll spread you out on occasion, but he had Ryan under center with two backs a lot of times. Koetter is not like a Chip Kelly, where he'll coach a guy to put him in the shotgun. Koetter has run multiple offenses and been successful running all of them. I think he'll do whatever his personnel, including Winston, is best at. One thing about Atlanta is they did a lot of max protection with deeper routes, and I think Winston could do that as a rookie.

Ryan was successful with Koetter. He had the classic NFL quarterback development and got better every year (his numbers may have fluctuated a bit as his supporting cast got better or worse, but as a quarterback he has steadily improved). Coming out of college Ryan was a bit of a strider as he threw, not a great quick-twitch athlete, but a natural thrower who can also make firm touch throws that are required in the NFL. You can say these same things about Winston. Ryan had good years with Mike Mularkey as his offensive coordinator early on, and then fit Koetter's system well. I think Winston will fit Koetter's offense well too.

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I also really like the marriage of Winston and the receivers he'll have, particularly because of Winston's aggressive style. 

You could argue that Roddy White-Julio Jones and Mike Evans-Vincent Jackson are similar receivers. Jones is the most explosive of the four (a healthy Jones is a top three or four receiver in the NFL because he's very explosive for a man that big), but Evans is a similar style receiver. And they're all big receivers who can make tough catches and run every route. They can run vertical routes because of their size. They don't have T.Y. Hilton speed, but they're vertical threats because of their long strides.

And the one thing about Winston is he's willing to pull the trigger on throws. That's a positive. And that makes it important that Winston has big targets to throw to. When you have size out there, those receivers can theoretically be open even when it looks like they're covered. Winston will throw a pick every once in a while because he's a rookie, but you don't want to pull back on his conviction to pull the trigger. That's who he is and that's what his game is. Having Jackson and Evans will help. 

One thing Koetter will have to determine is how good the offensive line is, because that will dictate how many deep drops he can call for Winston. You can argue the Buccaneers had one of the worst lines in the NFL last season, and they addressed that a bit in the offseason. But the one thing you don't want to do with Winston, particularly because he's not a naturally quick-twitch athlete, is get him in a situation where he gets hit a lot. If you get hit a lot early in your career you might start to see ghosts. The last thing you want a quarterback to do is anticipate and perceive pressure that isn't there, so Koetter will have to keep that in mind with Winston.

Another thing the Buccaneers need is a running game. Going back to the Ryan example, he had Michael Turner piling up a lot of carries early in his career. Winston will need similar help from the running game. The Buccaneers don't have an obvious lead back, but that's a question they can answer in training camp. One way or another though, it's critical the Buccaneers have a running game to help Winston.

But right now, everything seems to be on the table for Koetter as he figures out what Winston does best. It seems like a good fit for both of them.

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NFL analyst and NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell watches as much NFL game film as anyone. Throughout the season, Cosell will join Shutdown Corner to share his observations on the teams, schemes and personnel from around the league.