Future Bright For Wright
December 29th, 2013
Joe’s going to take a break from stomaching another brutal Bucs season to celebrate all things Tim Wright.
The Bucs’ rookie tight end from — all together now — Rutgers rose from fourth on the opening-day depth chart at tight end to shock the NFL.
Wright’s got a savage pair of mitts. He’ll make the tough catches. He’ll take a beating over the middle. He runs sound routes. He’s a handful — big and quick — for linebackers. And Joe likes how he catches balls with his hands and presents a big target for quarterbacks.
With Mike Williams hurt and the likes of Skye Dawson, Chris Owusu and Tiquan Underwood playing No. 2 and slot receiver for the Bucs, Wright saw his share of double-teams the second half of this season.
That didn’t slow him down.
Wright gained 15 pounds or so of muscle through the season and finished with 54 catches and five touchdowns. It was one of the best rookie tight end performances in NFL history. By comparison, Tony Gonzalez, who retired today, had 33 catches in his rookie season and 59 in the next. Jason Witten? He snagged 35 balls in his rookie campaign.
Wright will be here next season regardless of the head coach.
Joe also can say that Wright is a well spoken good guy, as well. Success didn’t go to his head. He’s the same guy Joe talked to in training camp who looked lost running occasionally with the first team in four-wide sets.
The Bucs landed a good one. Wright should be able to do a lot more damage with more talent around him.
December 29th, 2013 at 10:01 pm
Great to root for one of the good guys…what a find….
December 29th, 2013 at 10:06 pm
Honestly I would give Schiano another yr!…I think Glennon can flourish in a better season w/ a lil more talent around him…just like Andy Dalton w/ the abundance of talent around him, I think Glennon can be better!…don’t need superstars but solid pick ups like a Tim Wright would go a long way
December 29th, 2013 at 10:08 pm
I like this kid. Gives the other team match-up problems. If another coach comes in I wouldn’t be surprised to see him move more to the slot.
December 29th, 2013 at 10:11 pm
agreed he is a man among boys and overpaid has beens on this team….
December 29th, 2013 at 10:13 pm
Usually when the season ends I think it went by to fast. Not this season lol.
December 29th, 2013 at 10:17 pm
Stud – he deserves better, imagine him in a real offense like Philly, Saints, GB, Bears, and others.
He’s going to rot away in tampa
December 29th, 2013 at 10:20 pm
Just imagine how well Tim Wright would have done in an offense that features a TE. For some dumb a$$ reason, the Sully/Schiano offense does not value the TE position, yet every other team uses a TE quite well. Look at how many times Jimmy Graham, Tony Gonzales, and Greg Olsen made big plays all season long.
December 30th, 2013 at 12:38 am
Thanks for the ray of sunshine, sincerely.
December 30th, 2013 at 8:43 am
Joe,
You are either incredibly naive or Wright is on steroids. Nobody gains 15 lbs. of muscle during a season without the assistance of some serious performance enhancing drugs. Even 15 lbs. gained in one 12 month period is fairly implausible for a person that had already been lifting regularly at a D-1 program. Did Wright gain 15 lbs of weight? Probably. Was it all muscle? Very unlikely.
December 31st, 2013 at 1:06 am
He will play. At either TE or slot. Way to go Wright!