ESPN analyst Bart Scott has made a rather incredible prediction when it comes to New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston.

The New Orleans Saints are heading into the next phase in creating a new identity for their team, having seen franchise quarterback and icon Drew Brees retire after the 2020 season, they then had to watch head coach Sean Payton walk away at the end of 2021. 

Now under centre they have former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston, who they acquired ahead of the 2020 season, but who had to sit behind Brees that year before taking over as the starter in 2021 until injuries to his ACL and MCL meant that he missed half the season.

And as their head coach they have Dennis Allen, the team’s defensive coordinator since the 2015 season, where they’ll be hoping to take a step forward after their 9-8 record last season, but as with a lot of teams, a lot of that play is going to be based on what happens at the quarterback position.

Winning with Winston?

Winston’s time in the NFL has been something of a bizarre one to say the very least, as you never know exactly what you’re going to get from him on a game-by-game basis. Having been taken with the #1 pick in the 2015 Draft, he has been somewhat erratic and excellent with his play in equal measure, with 135 touchdowns in the regular season, but with 115 turnovers as well (91 interceptions, 24 fumbles lost). 

And there is no bigger statistical query when it comes to Winston than his 2019 season, in which he led the league in passing yards with 5,109 and threw for 33 touchdowns, but also led the league in interceptions with 30, the one and only time a quarterback has thrown for 30 TDs and 30 INTs in a season.

Hopefully the years in New Orleans working under the likes of Brees and Payton have helped him develop and he can show what he’s capable of, but Bart Scott thinks that he won’t just take a step forward, he’ll take one giant leap forward. 

What has he said?

Speaking on ESPN’s First Take, Scott felt that he had the ability to take the Saints to the next level and even go to the next level personally as he tipped Winston to win league MVP as part of a Super Bowl-winning season for the Saints, something that co-host Stephen A Smith clearly didn’t agree with:

It does seem a bit of a stretch on Scott’s part, especially given Winston’s tendencies. If this was under an offensive-minded coach like Payton, perhaps he might be able to scheme something up. But with Winston’s track record, and with Allen being defensive-minded, it’s hard to see where Winston makes the leap.