It was the shot at Jameis Winston heard 'round the NFL Draft.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that not one, but two NFL personnel executives that weren't identified accused Winston, the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner, of entering the draft with traits similar to a former high draft pick that was a complete bust in the league:
JaMarcus Russell.
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"With Jameis Winston I see JaMarcus Russell," a longtime executive in personnel said to the publication. "They do dumb things. Isn't it interesting?
"Lack of focus by JaMarcus is what I see in Winston," the personnel man said. "They're physically talented, but during the course of a game they kind of lose their focus and just put the ball up for grabs.
"I see the body. I see the lack of focus. I see the same coach and system. Only Winston's not as good an athlete and his arm isn't as strong as JaMarcus'."
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"Until now, the only red flags associated with Winston concerned his off-the-field issues that included an unsubstantiated rape allegation and the infamous crab-legs theft-hookup."
The paper noted that both players were coached by Jimbo Fisher, who was LSU's offensive coordinator during Russell's four years there.
"We're looking at another guy [Winston] that's a product of the system and has tremendous athletes around him," another personnel man told the publication. "Oh, my goodness. Is this guy really going to be the first pick of the draft? You'd be drafting a quarterback that can't run, has off-field problems, has no power in his legs and makes bad decisions on the field."
He continued: "Somebody's going to make a horrible mistake."
CBSSports.com called the report an unfair characterization of Winston, although it mistakenly reported all of the comments in the Journal Sentinel coming from one source. It also quoted former Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Mark Domenik, now an analyst for ESPN, who appeared on ESPN radio and also took exception to the comments in the paper.
"I think it's rude," he said during the interview. "I think it's completely off base to call him JaMarcus Russell. I just don't see the comparison. ... But from a football standpoint, from a football intelligence, from a competitor, from a leader, it ain't close. It's embarrassing. For my personal opinion, whatever GM said that, probably should not be a GM, quite frankly."
The only thing that seems certain is that Winston is going to get his chance to prove those anonymous personnel men right or wrong.
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