You probably didn’t realize Jameis Winston is a top-10 fantasy quarterback this year, but can he deliver right through the playoffs and win some league titles?
A look at the leaders in some notable NFL passing categories, good and bad, has one name across the board. Jameis Winston is second in the league in passing yards (4,115), No. 2 in attempts (512), tied for second in touchdowns (26), second in yards per game (316.5) and top-10 in yards per attempt (8.0).
But the good always comes with the bad with Winston, and he has also thrown the most interceptions in the league by a good margin (23, ahead of second place Baker Mayfield’s 16). He has topped 300 yards through the air nine times this season, with 400 yards or twice (albeit with eight combined interceptions in those latter two games). Since Week 2, he has failed to top 300 yards only twice and he has failed to top 260 yards just once. And in that one sub-260 game, he threw two touchdowns.
All of that has yielded this–Winston is QB5 in ESPN fantasy leagues through Week 14. It’s not pretty very often, but volume is king in fantasy football, sometimes at the price of aesthetics, and the former No. 1 pick has delivered high-level production in fake football.
Winston left last Sunday’s game for a series due to a thumb injury, but he’s expected to play in Week 15 against the Detroit Lions. It’s a plus matchup, as the Lions are allowing the eighth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this year and the third-most passing yards per game to the position (289.2). As long as Winston remains in track to play, he’s a virtual lock to finish as a QB1 for the week.
In Week 16 (again assuming health) Winston will face the Houston Texans, who are allowing the sixth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this year with the sixth-most passing yards per game allowed (281.3).
If Week 17 matters in your league, Winston gets another prime matchup. The Atlanta Falcons enter Week 15 allowing the third-most fantasy points to quarterbacks, and in Week 12 Winston had 313 yards with three touchdowns (and two interceptions) along with 38 rushing yards against them.
Good, bad and sometimes very ugly, Winston is what he is at this point in his career and his fantasy owners know what they are getting. No matter how he continues to get there, Winston is set to be a league-winning difference maker right through the rest of the fantasy playoffs.