Jameis Winston led the NFL in dropped interceptions, too

[Captain Fear]

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Everyone who follows the NFL is well aware that Jameis Winston was an interception machine last season. But it could have been even worse.

Winston didn’t only lead the league in interceptions last season with 30. He also led the NFL in dropped interceptions, according to FootballOutsiders.com.

The stats at Football Outsiders track not just a quarterback’s interceptions but also his “adjusted interceptions,” which add an interception to the quarterback’s total when he throws the ball into a defender’s hands but the defender either drops it or an offensive player hits the defender just in time to force an incompletion. Winston had more such passes than any other quarterback in the NFL last year.

Football Outsiders also reduces a quarterback’s interceptions for any pass he throws where the interception bounced off a receiver’s hands, as well as interceptions on Hail Mary passes, as those interceptions are really no worse than an incompletion. Take all that data and Winston’s “adjusted interception” total is a whopping 40.

That wasn’t just the worst total in the NFL last year. It was the worst total in the NFL as far back as Football Outsiders statistics can track adjusted interceptions, which is the 2007 season. Not only had no quarterback ever hit 40 adjusted interceptions before, but no quarterback had even had 35 in a season. The previous record was 34, set by Jay Cutler in 2009.

Winston has said he signed with the Saints this offseason in large part because he thinks he can learn a lot from coach Sean Payton and starter Drew Brees. Winston needs it. Last year he threw the ball to the wrong team like no other quarterback in recent NFL history.