AP

Jameis Winston looked even better at rookie minicamp than the Buccaneers were expecting when they selected him with the first overall pick in the draft.

“I told my wife, Blair, ‘I gave him an A,'” Bucs G.M. Jason Licht told USA Today. “I thought it was a great day. He knew the offense already. He wasn’t overwhelmed. He was even a little ahead of the game. He was already trying to change protections. The coaches were like, ‘Wait up. Hold on.’ You’re right. But the other guys aren’t there yet.”‘

Bucs coach Lovie Smith liked that Winston arrived early at rookie minicamp so he could be there to introduce himself to his teammates individually as they arrived.

“That’s a leader,” Smith said. “That’s a trait you’re looking for in your quarterback, a guy who can bring the group together. That’s definitely him.”

The Bucs haven’t anointed Winston as the Week One starter just yet, but Licht noted that that’s the idea when you take a quarterback No. 1. In Tampa Bay, Winston looks like the franchise quarterback.