Buccaneers: Gerald McCoy ranked above Jameis Winston?

Recently NFL.com writer Conor Orr named defensive tackle Gerald McCoy the best player on the Buccaneers roster.

Okay, I love Gerald McCoy. I’m a certified McCoy apologist. I don’t buy into the narrative he “disappears” or is “injury prone”. He is the best player along the defensive line – possibly even the Buccaneers defense as a whole.

But I’m not taking him over Jameis Winston. Ever.

Orr focused on the NFL teams whose “best player isn’t the quarterback” and listed McCoy as just that for the Bucs. Orr states;

"McCoy is the best defensive player the franchise has seen since Warren Sapp, and he seems to be getting better. Over the last four seasons — all Pro Bowl campaigns — McCoy has logged at least 6.5 sacks. Quarterback Jameis Winston is on the rise, but he is not yet the bona fide superstar that McCoy has become."

Hold up.

Again, McCoy apologist here but you mean to tell me McCoy is better than Ronde Barber? Yeah yeah – different positions. However, when you throw out a proclamation like “best defensive player since Warren Sapp” that means you’re including Barber in that category.

Some may include Derrick Brooks. I won’t quite simply because Sapp and Brooks were of that same era. Yes, Brooks outlasted Sapp in Tampa Bay but Barber didn’t hit his prime until after Sapp was gone – and he played the vast majority of his career on a Sapp-less Bucs team.

But I digress.

The point is quite simply this; if Gerald McCoy goes down, the Buccaneers are built to withstand it. They aren’t going to free fall to the basement of the division with McCoy on the sidelines. Are they a better team with McCoy on that line? Of course. The same can not be said about Jameis Winston.

If Winston goes down, the team (likely) goes down with him. If it’s one or two games, Fitzpatrick can keep them afloat for a brief moment. If we’re talking pre-season ACL tear, the season is already over.

The Buccaneers would lose their leader, their heart, their swagger without Winston. We’re talking about a quarterback entering his third season and he’s already the greatest quarterback in team history.

The same can not be said about McCoy and his position.

Next: Eye In The Sky: Noah Spence Part II

McCoy, as of now, is more decorated as an individual. That is not up for debate. If you’re talking about the best player on this team, that designation should – and does – belong to Jameis Winston and Jameis Winston alone.