Written by Tim Daniels at BleacherReport.com
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston was named the 2015 Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year on Saturday after accounting for more than 4,200 yards of offense and 28 touchdowns.
Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times and NFL Canada confirmed Winston’s triumph following a fan vote. He edged out fellow finalists Amari Cooper (Oakland Raiders), Todd Gurley (St. Louis Rams), Tyler Lockett (Seattle Seahawks) and Marcus Peters (Kansas City Chiefs) for the honor.
Jenna Laine of Sports Talk 1040 in Tampa Bay provided a statement from the winner:
Winston arrived in Tampa with incredibly high expectations after beating out Marcus Mariota to become the first overall pick of the 2015 draft. He did nothing during his rookie season to lessen the long-term outlook and is well on his way to establishing himself as the Bucs’ franchise QB.
The 22-year-old Florida State product threw for 4,042 yards and 22 touchdowns with 15 interceptions en route to an 84.2 passer rating. He also added 213 yards and six touchdowns on the ground while appearing in all 16 of the team’s games.
Even though Winston led Tampa Bay to a fifth-place finish in yards per game (375.9), the Bucs only managed to win six games. That left them in the basement of the NFC South and four games out of a playoff spot.
It’s from that perspective Winston entered the offseason looking for more. Rick Brown of ESPN passed along the quarterback’s thoughts on starting to build a contender:
“I know everyone on this team wants to win. It’s just the way that you do it. It’s about preparation and having that mindset of I want to win at all costs. That has to be developed and that has to be molded.
It starts with actions. We have to have a good offseason. … If we are really serious about winning here [and] if we’re serious about changing the culture, we will dedicate ourselves in the offseason so we can be successful.”
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