CHARLOTTE, NC – JANUARY 03: Jameis Winston #3 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during their game at Bank of America Stadium on January 3, 2016 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers hold the 9th overall pick in the upcoming 2016 NFL Draft. Quarterback Jameis Winston knows the exact direction that he would like his team to go, but it probably won’t be able to happen.

Winston, like many others, is high on his former teammate, cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who will almost certainly be picked in one of the eight spots ahead of the Buccaneers. In Don Bank’s latest mock draft for Sports Illustrated, he has Ramsey going third overall to the San Diego Chargers.

Winston gave Pewter Report high praise on his former teammate:

We (FSU) definitely have the best player in the world in Jalen Ramsey. People talk about his position. But Jalen is the best cornerback, safety… I will take a pay cut to play with him again. He has a fierce mentality. And the best thing about him is he is a Seminole! I have already shot him (Jason Licht) some texts.”

While that would be great for Winston, he has known for a while that the odds of his team being able to land the standout corner were low. “He’s good enough that we probably won’t even get him,” Winston told Pewter Report. “That’s just one thing to talk about, his competitiveness, and his mentality to always want to be great. That is something that is going to take him a long way.”

Ramsey also thinks he’s the best player in the draft, as he told the NFL Network’s Albert Breer:

The Buccaneers would certainly find good use of Ramsey. They finished the 2015 season towards the middle of the pack in passing yards per game allowed. A lockdown corner such as Ramsey would easily be able to help improve the Bucs on that side of the ball.

“He’s so talented in some many ways,” Winston said of Ramsey. “He can be a lock down corner for you like a Richard Sherman, or he could be a safety-corner hybrid like Charles Woodson. This guy is very talented and has a lot of ability.”

That’s pretty high praise when you compare a guy to one of the best at his position in the league, along with a future Hall of Famer.

 

About Harry Lyles Jr.

Harry Lyles Jr. is an Atlanta-based writer, and a Georgia State University graduate.