Jameis Winston Can Learn from Saints' Drew Brees, Sean Payton, Says Jeff Ireland

New Orleans Saints assistant general manager Jeff Ireland believes Jameis Winston made the right choice by opting to learn behind Drew Brees.

"It's a compliment to Jameis Winston to understand where he's at in this world and sign a one-year deal here and learn behind Drew," Ireland said on The Matt Mosley Show on ESPN Central Texas radio.

Ireland continued:

"Look, there's no better teacher. If Drew never said a word to him, he would observe more than he'll ever learn in football just by learning how Drew does things. He's an incredible leader. He's an incredible studier of the game, how he breaks down his opponents.

"And then you throw in [offensive coordinator] Pete Carmichael, [quarterbacks coach] Joe Lombardi and [coach] Sean Payton on the offensive side of the ball and those creative minds, Jameis Winston will learn more football in a year than he has in his lifetime."

Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson broke the news Sunday that the Saints and Winston were nearing a one-year pact, but the deal is not yet finalized.

The 2015 top overall pick "turned down a larger deal elsewhere" to benefit from the expertise Ireland referenced, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport:

Winston played five seasons for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He has thus far failed to live up to the expectations attached to him when the Bucs took him first overall out of Florida State.

Last season was the perfect case study for how the 26-year-old's pro career has gone:

Winston led the league in 2019 with 626 passing attempts, 5,109 yards and 30 interceptions—all of which were also career highs, as were his 33 touchdown passes.

The Buccaneers let Winston explore free agency in order to sign Tom Brady to a two-year contract during free agency last month. Tampa head coach Bruce Arians explained that decision on March 26:

"I think, for him, it's to get into somewhere as a backup right now," Arians added at the time. "It looks like all the starting jobs are done. Get in somewhere where he can sit, learn a system, maybe a year for an older person and take over. Or get in competition with a younger guy because he is a super-talented and a super-hard-working guy."

Winston will get the best of both worlds in New Orleans in learning behind future Hall of Famer Brees while also competing for backup reps against Taysom Hill.