Breakout!
March 26th, 2021
Bucs WR Tyler Johnson.
Joe has stated since the Bucs are all-in with their effort to “Go for Two,” Joe doesn’t want to hear one damn word about “development.” The word should be banned from the confines and practice fields of One Buc Palace in 2021.
If you are all-in, there is not one snap that should be wasted on developing an unproven player, unless you have a massive lead in the fourth quarter. Let lesser teams worry about development this year. Joe wants the Bucs to focus on wins.
Which brings Joe to the subject of a receiver Joe likes: Tyler Johnson. One writer who thinks Johnson will have a breakout season is Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report, who selected a 2021 breakout player from each NFL team.
Maybe Antonio Brown will return to the Buccaneers after contributing during the team’s Super Bowl run. Or the organization can give more reps to a talented young wide receiver in Tyler Johnson. Tampa Bay, particularly head coach Bruce Arians, was thrilled when Johnson was available in the fifth round last year. He caught 12 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns while playing limited snaps.
… Obviously, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin remain Tampa Bay’s top two wide receivers, and quarterback Tom Brady has a great rapport with tight end Rob Gronkowski. There’s still room for Johnson to up his target share and become yet another threat for the league’s second-best passing attack.
Again, Joe likes Johnson, but Joe still thinks he’s a bit of a project. For sure, Johnson made clutch catches and one helluva sales pitch in a critical play late against the Packers in the NFC title game.
Johnson also had too many drops for Joe’s liking, which seem to suggest Johnson may need a bit more seasoning before Bucs Super Bowl-winning coach Bucco Bruce Arians hands him a major role. We shall see.
The 2021 season is not one for seasoning; the finished products need to be on the field.
Joe is pro-Johnson in every way. This just means Joe isn’t sure if Johnson has shown enough to immediately replace a stud like furniture-tossing, bicycle-throwing Antonio Brown.
March 26th, 2021 at 11:03 am
Pretty hard to say he dropped many with such a small sample size. I honestly don’t remember him dropping very many myself. Maybe a couple? But he only had a few catches to begin with so…
March 26th, 2021 at 11:05 am
I like the current WR core combined w/ TE’s. Bucs can always trade for a WR during the season if we need one. Focus on RB…rumor says: the Bengals will release Giovanni Bernard
March 26th, 2021 at 11:10 am
I see so much resemblance to Fitzgerald in TJ game. I’ll pay Fitz to come down and be his individual coach.
March 26th, 2021 at 11:10 am
The catch against the Saints in Divisional round was insane and should alone be enough to give him more snaps.
March 26th, 2021 at 11:20 am
Tyler Johnson would have been a second or third round draft pick if he ran a modest sub 4.5 in the Combine or at the Pro Day. Supposedly, he was hurt.
Johnson has great hands, does well in route running and is terrific in traffic but does he have the separation that is needed in the NFL? We shall see this year.
March 26th, 2021 at 11:22 am
Catch against NO was super clutch considering circumstances.
March 26th, 2021 at 11:27 am
@Joe … “If you are all-in, there is not one snap that should be wasted on developing an unproven player, unless you have a massive lead in the fourth quarter.”
I’ve read a number of times Joe that many if not most coaches & QBs feel that young receivers earn their opportunities on the practice field. Do good there consistently & you’ll eventually get a chance to shine in a game. Do good there and you’ll get more chances to shine.
Tyler Johnson apparently does superbly in practice from what I’ve read & I think he’s done quite well in games too. Not that many opportunities last season (17 targets) but he caught 12 (70.6%) for 169 yards (14.1 YPC). That ranked him 3rd in catch percentage among our WRs behind Godwin (77.4%) and Brown (72.6%). And his 14.1 YPC ranked him 3rd on the team behind Miller (15.2 YPC) and ME13 (14.4 YPC). Not that shabby for a rookie.
Interestingly Tyler Johnson (6’1″ & 206 lbs) is almost the exact same size as Chris Godwin (6’1″ & 209 lbs). Chris improved every year in terms of catch percentage (61.8% in 2017 up to 62.1% in 2018 then to 71.1% in 2019 and finally 77.4% last season). Wouldn’t be at all surprised t see Johnson do the very same thing once he starts getting more opportunities.
March 26th, 2021 at 11:30 am
Tyler Johnson coming into his sophomore year in the NFL – would be the 2nd most talented receiver on many NFL teams.
Right now in Tampa Bay he’s 4th at best and 5th if AB is re-signed
Nice situation for the Bucs.
And its allowing them to take a very tough contractual stand with AB.
March 26th, 2021 at 11:31 am
If you remember Godwin had some bad drops in his first year. It’s a good thing that didn’t set him on the bench and play some older guy. Johnson’s stock is going up and AB has peaked. AB is still very talented (certainly the more talented player) but he also has a court date in December and might not be available for the playoffs. So, putting too many eggs in your AB basket….just may end up scrambled.
March 26th, 2021 at 11:34 am
Defense Rules
I call him Godwin 2.0. Major potential.
March 26th, 2021 at 11:40 am
Ho….Joe….put on the brakes……how ’bout letting TJ break-in while he breaks-out…..give the kid a break!!!
March 26th, 2021 at 11:47 am
I’m not sold on your philosophy Joe. I think we need to keep developing young players behind our starters. I don’t think you have to go through a complete rebuild if you can develop the young players at the same time your starters are winning another championship. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. The young players provide depth for 2 years.
March 26th, 2021 at 11:59 am
I heard that AB’s court date in December is a civil case – so does would the NFL be able to suspend AB if the ruling favored the plaintiff? Perhaps I heard wrong.
March 26th, 2021 at 12:00 pm
White, VV, Whirfs, Winfield, Godwin…this team is full of young, future pro bowlers. I get that the Brady window should be our focus, but dont discount development beyond that. This team is not going to fall off a cliff post Tommy.
March 26th, 2021 at 12:00 pm
“does would” – great grammar! lol
March 26th, 2021 at 12:04 pm
Why did Ju$tin Wat$on fall off the face of the Earth?
March 26th, 2021 at 12:31 pm
AB has great hands, but I would like to see what Tyler Johnson can do too.
March 26th, 2021 at 12:54 pm
didn’t know he was bigger than AB. AB plays bigger though.
March 26th, 2021 at 1:11 pm
“Joe has stated since the Bucs are all-in with their effort to “Go for Two,” Joe doesn’t want to hear one damn word about “development.” The word should be banned from the confines and practice fields of One Buc Palace in 2021.
If you are all-in, there is not one snap that should be wasted on developing an unproven player, unless you have a massive lead in the fourth quarter. Let lesser teams worry about development this year. Joe wants the Bucs to focus on wins.”
^^^^^
Joe: You do realize the Bucs have 8 draft picks this year, right? How many of the draft picks and undrafted free agents are going to be developmental players? There’s zero logic to your theory of zero Bucs development in 2021.
March 26th, 2021 at 1:17 pm
No offseason, injured early on, the second year jump and the layoff experience, I feel confident if any of our receivers need a break or gets injured in TJ
March 26th, 2021 at 1:19 pm
Wirfs, AWJr. were developed in the midst of this SB run, the culture of winning will grow you up
March 26th, 2021 at 1:24 pm
Sorry if you’re going for two, go for two with what got you there and it wasn’t Johnson, experiment in 2024 for now create the dynasty with dynasty players. Fournett 4mil is a joke way too much $ for what RB’s are getting should of given that to AB.
March 26th, 2021 at 1:26 pm
All he does it make plays. Give him more reps.
March 26th, 2021 at 1:38 pm
“Seasoning” hmm. OTAs – practice – pre-season?
March 26th, 2021 at 1:40 pm
We don’t need A.B. I’d rather use that money on secondary depth.
March 26th, 2021 at 1:47 pm
LISTNFRMAFAR: Fournette got $3.25 with a chance to make an extra $750,000 with incentives. Chris Carson got 2 years, $14 million to put this signing in perspective. The Bucs can still sign AB if they want to, and he wants to be back.
March 26th, 2021 at 2:12 pm
Development Development Development Development Development Development Development Development Development Development Development Development Development Development Development Development Development Development Development Development Development Development Development Development Development Development Development Development Development Development
Sorry. Coaches are always developing players. Good ones at least. Preparing young guys to play week to week is game day prep *and* development. Good coaches are teachers. I don’t accept the idea that being all-in on winning excludes player development.
March 26th, 2021 at 2:13 pm
Joe, Bucs do not need another up the gut RB. All this does is take away Rojo reps. Brady has ALWAYS had a featured receiving RB, that’s what the offense was missing. And Wesley, AB was the BEST receiver Bucs.had last year, not to mention coming off the couch and what I’ve read on this site a positive leader and locker room presence. Didn’t hear that of Lenny, the guy that got benched until Rojo got hurt and Vaughn fumbled.
March 26th, 2021 at 2:14 pm
Tom raves about what he does in practice…if he didn’t have confidence in him he would see no throw from T B on game days.
March 26th, 2021 at 2:35 pm
If the Bucs get the Playoff Lenny for a majority of the 2021 season, they have a great signing. If he’s the Leonard Fournette that looked as though that he needs to be replaced last year, then the Bucs cut him, no biggie.
March 26th, 2021 at 3:07 pm
The one drop that comes to mind was during the NFC Championship when the ball literally hit him in the numbers and somehow was dropped. But he did make that clutch catch vs the Saints. He could use more reps, I think he could be a solid receiver. He was known for his hands and positional play/ contested catches in college similar to Godwin so it would be great if he turned out as good as Godwin.
March 26th, 2021 at 3:16 pm
Thinking TJ has a high potential ceiling for sure
However getting OJ back into the TE group, and getting Miller more snaps is going to give us so many weapons to choose from its unreal.
I don’t have a problem with getting some of the younger guys more reps in practice
Was it “Polian” that said the most important thing is for the “Star players” to get as much rest as possible?
That opens the doors for the younger guys to get practice reps
March 26th, 2021 at 3:56 pm
I agree on the development aspect with one exception – QB. The Bucs need to plan for life after Brady. They need to start developing a good, young QB prospect and he doesn’t need to take a single snap in a regular game. He has the GOAT and excellent coaching to learn from and he needs to be steeped in Brady’s study and conditioning habits. The Bucs will squander a unique opportunity to develop a top tier QB if they don’t draft or sign TB’s ultimate replacement very soon. Of course the trick is to get the right guy. Seems like they’ve got all the right eyes to evaluate talent and make a good educated pick. If it doesn’t pan out, oh well. They’ll be no worse off than if they just ignore the situation, which I doubt they are.
March 26th, 2021 at 4:48 pm
Good thing we drafted Tristan and Winfield last year or Joe would let them on the field. Kind of like your Johnny Maziel pick brilliant!
March 26th, 2021 at 10:22 pm
does anyone forget in the Super Bowl when Brady tied to go to Tyler he wasn’t even looking I believe it was a crossing pattern and Evans was the other receiver in the area brady was pissed
March 26th, 2021 at 11:21 pm
Young players get the reps because they’re earning them by improving and *developing* further on the practice field. Game reps are only developmental if you’re a quarterback and the team you’re playing for is using you as an excuse for losing.
March 27th, 2021 at 9:24 am
So to quote Joe “Johnson also had too many drops for Joe’s liking, which seem to suggest Johnson may need a bit more seasoning” all while saying this : “Joe doesn’t want to hear one damn word about “development.” So which way is a talented young receiver supposed to get better? Is a players “Seasoning” not the same thing as a players “Development”? And why do we have the largest coaching staff in the entire NFL? Are we not still doing the two practices at the same time, so you know players get some “Developmental Seasoning” as we practice? Or was that just all fluff and stuff? Just so they could pass off the coaching bill to the GM and owners?
I am excited to see year two of all our WR’S with Brady.
Go Bucs!
March 27th, 2021 at 3:27 pm
I think a lot of younger players will get a ton of reps this season. I wouldn’t be surprised to see even Gabbert get some snaps with Vaughn. Tyler Johnson and OJ Howard (pretty established, but youngest TE).