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Winston’s solid pro day enough to lock up No. 1 pick

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In front of a packed house that included representatives from all 32 NFL teams and television crews from two different networks, Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston all but sealed up his position as the No. 1 overall pick of the 2015 draft with a solid pro pay workout.

After participating in all of the timed drills at the Scouting Combine in February, Winston elected only to throw Tuesday. While Winston’s workout was focused, it certainly didn’t lack for rigor as the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner attempted 102 passes, significantly more than normal. He showed good (but not great) accuracy while eluding personal quarterback coach George Whitfield, who frequently chased him with a broom to simulate pass rushers.

When able to set his feet, Winston consistently delivered accurate passes to all levels, showing the savvy to take something off short passes and exhibiting great touch on deep balls down the seam and sidelines. The velocity on deep out-breaking outs stood out in comparison to Oregon’s Marcus Mariota, who worked out in Eugene a few weeks ago. Winston’s ball placement was off a bit when he threw on the move, though final completion tally looks worse than it was as several of his incompletions were simply drops by his receivers.

Because Winston’s success came in a pro-style offense at Florida State, his workout wasn’t considered as important as some of his primary competitors in the 2015 NFL Draft, including Mariota, UCLA’s Brett Hundley and Baylor’s Bryce Petty, who played in spread attacks.

In fact, some scouts viewed Winston’s workout as more of a formality than a true test as the quarterback projected by virtually everyone to go No. 1 overall had more to lose than to gain. As such, scouts were just as interested in how Winston handled himself while not competing.

Before his workout, Winston was seen supporting his former teammates in their auditions for scouts. Other memorable moments caught by the ESPN and NFL Network cameras included Winston laughing with Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Lovie Smith and Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher and playing with Fisher’s young son. He also took the unusual step of addressing the NFL personnel before starting the throwing session and introducing the receivers he would be throwing to. In short, if the pressure of the moment was wearing on Winston, he certainly didn’t show it.

Winston was the obvious headliner but with a nation-high 11 prospects currently graded as draftworthy by NFLDraftScout.com, it isn’t surprising that some “other” Seminoles turned in noteworthy performances Tuesday.

After not taking part in drills at the combine due to a lingering ankle injury, the former Seminole with the most on the line might have been Eddie Goldman, who currently checks in as NFLDraftScout.com’s No. 5 defensive tackle.

Goldman, who measured in at 6-feet-3 (3/4″), 335 pounds certainly timed like the massive run-stuffer he is. According to a high-ranking scout on the scene, Goldman was clocked at 5.30 in the 40-yard dash and 4.87 seconds in the short shuttle – times that would have ranked among the slowest for defensive tackles measured in Indianapolis. Goldman also showed less than ideal explosiveness in the vertical jump (24.5″) and bench press (19 repetitions).

While Goldman’s measureables weren’t ideal, he showed impressive agility during positional drills, proving much lighter on his feet than his broad, thick frame would suggest. The Detroit Lions put Goldman, Mario Edwards, Jr. and other FSU hopefuls through defensive line drills. Edwards looked athletic throughout many of the drills but struggled with his footing in the three-cone. The New Orleans Saints and San Diego Chargers seemed particularly interested in Florida State’s defensive linemen.

Cornerback P.J. Williams shaved nearly a full tenth off of his disappointing 4.57-second 40-yard dash time from the combine, coming in at 4.49, according to the scout. Williams (6-feet, 194 pounds) currently ranks as NFLDraftScout.com’s No. 4 cornerback, a few spots ahead of former teammate Ronald Darby, a more explosive athlete but less sound football player who wowed at the combine by running a 4.38-second 40-yard dash at 5-11, 193 pounds.

Other than competing in the vertical jump (36″), projected second round pick Rashad Greene elected to stand on his performance at the combine, where the 5-11 (3/8), 182-pounder was clocked at 4.53 seconds in the 40. It was interesting that Greene elected not to run again as he dropped seven pounds from his combine weight, measuring in Tuesday at just 175 pounds. Speaking of drops, Greene did have one particularly well-thrown deep ball from Winston simply slip through his fingers.

With four players projected to be drafted, the offensive line drills were well attended by NFL personnel. Former left tackle-turned-center Cameron Erving was the headliner among Florida State’s prospects, but guard Josue Matias helped his cause by turning in a significantly faster 40 time Tuesday (5.38) despite measuring in five pounds heavier (6-5, 312 pounds) than he did at the combine when his fastest time was 5.52 seconds.

Chief among the hundreds of spectators at the Albert J. Dunlap Athletic Training Facility were Smith and Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht, who are tasked with making the No. 1 overall pick roughly a month from now. The brain trust of the team making the No. 2 overall pick – the Tennessee Titans – was also well represented with general manager Ruston Webster and head coach Ken Whisenhunt attending the workout.

Among other headliners attending the pro day was a strong contingent from the Pittsburgh Steelers – who had general manager Kevin Colbert, head coach Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Todd Haley on hand – and the Saints, who sent head coach Sean Payton and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, among others.

–Rob Rang is the Senior Analyst for www.NFLDraftScout.com, a property of The Sports Xchange distributed in partnership with CBSSports.com

Since 1987, the Sports Xchange has been the best source of information and analysis for the top professionals in the sports publishing & information business

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Source: Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk

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