Easop

Winston Jr.

Winston entered the league as an undrafted free agent with the Rams in 2020 before being waived during final cuts. He has since bounced around the league, signing with the Saints, Browns, and Seahawks, but has seen offensive snaps in only three games during his professional career. Winston will likely be forced to audition in a kick return role for teams needing special teams help this offseason.

Winston was said to be having a good camp by Saints beats. He does return kicks, and the Browns are suddenly in need of that after Jakeem Grant’s Achilles’ injury. Winston’s path to sticking likely runs through special teams first.

The Saints also signed WR Kawaan Baker, LB Sharif Finch, OT Jerald Hawkins, DT Braxton Hoyett, DB Dylan Mabin, DB Jordan Miller, and DB KeiVarae Russell to reserve/future contracts. With Deonte Harris suspended, Winston took over punt returning duties for the Saints late in the year. He returned 10 kicks for 119 yards while adding a single catch for five yards.

Winston (6'0/192) tied with RB Max Borghi for second in receptions in this game behind WR Brandon Arconado. The redshirt senior ended up hauling in 85 receptions for 970 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2019, and 132 catches for 1,581 yards and 19 scores in his seasons in Pullman in Mike Leach’s Air Raid offense. He saw his NFL Draft stock rise this season, and he could potentially be a Day 3 pick, or at the very least an undrafted free agent who gets a shot in a camp next summer.

Winston (6'0/192) continues to put up big numbers for the Cougars, and the 11-catch effort on Saturday is his third double-digit total of the season. This also ended a scoreless streak for the talented senior, as he hadn’t scored since October 12 in the loss to the Sun Devils. Winson now has 68 catches on the year, and he’s closing in on a thousand-yard season with 11 touchdowns to boot. He’ll assuredly add to those totals next Saturday against Oregon State.

Winston (6'0/192) was quite a ball-hog as he had twice as many catches as the next highest receiver, who had seven. Winston has caught a touchdown pass in five-of-six games this season and has a total of nine with three 100-yards games thus far. He is averaging seven catches per game and will continue to be the favorite target of QB Anthony Gordon when Wazzou hosts Colorado next Saturday.

Pro Football Focus use the NFL passer rating scale of which 158.3 marks a “perfect” rating. Winston’s 145.8 rating versus the Bruins secondary came close to perfection as he led the way for Washington State’s passing offense in a 67-63 shootout. His heroic effort was not enough to propel the Cougars to a win, but every defense on Washington State’s schedule should be scared that Winston can put up similar numbers against them. Winston (6'0/192) currently leads the nation with eight receiving touchdowns.

Winston (6'0/192) was on the receiving end of four of Anthony Gordon’s school-record nine touchdown passes, but the good feelings were washed away when the Cougars suffered a four-point loss in the effort. The receiver also matched a school record with the four TDs. Winston has at least one touchdown grab in each of his first four outings, totaling 26 catches, 348 yards and eight scores. He’ll look to keep up the huge offensive production next Saturday at Rice-Eccles in Utah.

Winston (6'0/192) has found the end zone in each of his three games so far, totaling four touchdowns with at least five grabs and 51 yards in every outing. He is averaging 14.6 yards per reception. Winston has jelled nicely with new QB Anthony Gordon. The Cougars will look to keep the offense rolling when UCLA pays a visit to Pullman next Saturday for the Pac-12 conference opener.

Winston (6'0/192) was doing all kinds of work in the intermediate area, averaging 15.8 yards per reception on the late afternoon. His touchdown grab came from seven yards out, with a little under 10 minutes remaining in the first quarter. On the play, he showed a nice reach for the ball in end zone traffic to open the scoring for the Cougars. Winston is now up to two touchdown catches on the young season after scoring eight of them a year ago.