Could Jimbo Fisher's opinion on JaMarcus Russell be hurting Jameis Winston's draft stock?
When JaMarcus Russell was at LSU, Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher was his offensive coordinator. While it's been more than seven years since Russell was taken No. 1 overall in the 2007 NFL draft, is there a chance Fisher's opinion of Russell could hurt the evaluation of Florida State QB Jameis Winston when he enters the NFL draft?
When NFL scouts were evaluating Russell before the draft, Fisher spoke well of Russell. Given the questions that have arisen about Winston's maturity level off the field, that good opinion of Russell could raise some skepticism in the NFL about Winston.
“He told the entire NFL that JaMarcus Russell was a great kid,” the person said. “He was a f------ turd then.”
Russell, of course, went on to be one of the NFL’s biggest draft busts after the Oakland Raiders took him with the first pick in 2007. The team released him after three disappointing seasons that featured dreadful play, a bad attitude and poor work ethic.
NFL personnel haven’t forgotten Fisher’s rosy endorsement of Russell. Combine that with all of Winston’s misdeeds under Fisher’s watch and whatever Fisher might say positive about his star quarterback won’t count for much.
Is it a little harsh to use what Fisher said over seven years ago against Winston? Yes. And it's no surprise that Fisher has been publicly supportive of his QB. Winston is the face of Florida State football and without him, the Seminoles may not go undefeated and win the BCS Championship Game in 2013.
But Fisher doesn't have to say the same exact things to scouts that he does on camera. Coaches will obviously protect their players to an extent, but will tend to be more open when they know the comments are private.
However, it's also way too soon to be wondering how a Fisher evaluation could affect Winston's draft stock. We don't know if Winston will declare for the 2015 NFL draft. After his game suspension for shouting an obscene gesture and then downplaying the incident to FSU officials and his shoplifting citation and other incidents, he could return to school next year to help rebuild his draft stock for '16.
And even if Winston does go to the draft after this season, there is plenty of time for him to keep a low profile off the field. Four in-season months could change a lot of perceptions about Winston. Couple that with comments from Fisher and how Winston has changed and there wouldn't nearly be as much potential skepticism, right? (And what if Fisher tells scouts he was wrong about Russell?)
There's still plenty of time before the draft. And while Winston and Russell are both quarterbacks, they have different body types and skillsets. As the time for Winston to be drafted (whenever it is) approaches, there will be plenty of time for NFL teams to look at everything for selection. Assuming now, seven months before Winston could possibly be drafted, that Fisher's opinion of Russell could have a significant impact is a bit premature.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
