One of Tampa Bay’s young offensive stars who is having a good camp and benefiting from the arrival of Tom Brady is tight end O.J. Howard. The fourth-year tight end has looked more confident and consistent catching the ball this summer, and has really come into his own as a viable option in the red zone.

That i an area that Howard is looking to improve upon this year after only scoring one touchdown last season. It seems as if Howard’s touchdown production in practice has been way up this year, regardless of whether it’s been Brady or backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert throwing to him. One of the areas in which Howard has thrived in practice is in the back of the end zone where he can use his 6-foot-5-inch frame and leaping ability to catch jump balls for touchdowns.

Bucs O.J. Howard – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“When you’re down in the red zone, the back of the end zone is usually the least covered part of the end zone,” Howard said. “So it’s always kind of easy to sneak back there and get open. We kind of know that and a lot of routes consist of being back there. I was just in position to have opportunities to get back there and run those routes.

“The red zone is tight spaces – it’s kind of hard to get open, but the guys are doing a great job finding me. I’m doing a great job trying to get open and working with the quarterbacks on whatever route it is. The red zone is definitely somewhere we want to improve in this year and it’s something that I think my position in general can have a big impact on the team with.”

Howard has 12 touchdowns in his four years in Tampa Bay with four of his first seven scores coming from beyond the red zone. But over the last couple of seasons, Howard has improved as a red zone weapon with his last five receiving TDs all coming from within the opponents’ 20-yard line. Now it’s time for Tampa Bay’s first-round pick in 2017 to produce more than just one touchdown in a season, and with rapport he’s established with Brady in the red zone and in the end zone, it looks like that will happen in 2020.

In fact, the Bucs’ entire tight end room is expected to play a big role in producing in the red zone. Between Howard, Rob Grokowski and Cam Brate, Tampa Bay boasts the most depth and talent at the tight end position. As evidenced by Brady’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Brate in Friday’s scrimmage at Raymond James Stadium, the six-time Super Bowl winner has had success throwing to the tight ends in practice this summer.

“Us, as a whole unit, we’re very talented.” Howard said. “We have a standard set in the room that we know week in and week out, we need to maintain that bar and hold each other accountable. I think we’ll have an opportunity to display a lot of those things this year during the season.”

Bucs QB Tom Brady and TE Rob Gronkowski – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Bucs head coach Bruce Arians has said that working with Brady and Gronkowski this summer has done wonders for Howard’s confidence after a rough year in 2019.

“I think with Tom helping him confidence-wise and watching Gronk work, they’ve been a good combination helping each other – him helping Gronk learn the offense,” Arians said. “It’s been great for him. He’s still a young player, and to be around a great player [will] elevate your game.”