"I'm amazed," ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said on the live draft broadcast. "You think about Jameis Winston and the weapon he can be. You've got Cameron Brate and now you add a guy like O.J. Howard. He'll help out your running game ... you look at a guy like O.J. Howard, you'd like to see him sustain a little better, but I like the blocking. You don't see out of too many tight ends these days."
ESPN's Louis Riddick said of Howard: "This guy is a multidimensional threat, run and pass. You think about Jameis Winston's pass distribution last year, of all the passes he completed most of them were outside the numbers. He'll help that. They need a running game to help them and they need a guy at the tight end position that can help them secure the edges, and whoever they wind up playing at running back, help him get on the perimeter ... He's putting defensive backs and small linebacker types on their backs. Jameis Winston needs this kind of weapon in the middle of the football field. Great pick by Jason Licht, the GM down there in Tampa."
More reaction from national sites online:
-- SI.com gave the Bucs an "A" grade for selecting Howard, and writer Chris Burke wrote that "Howard has the type of mismatch-creating abilities as a receiver that’s perfect for the modern NFL, and he’s a blocker with an advanced skill set."
-- CBS' Pete Prisco gave the Bucs a "B+" grade, saying that "They could have used defensive help, but they took a player who might be the cleanest in this draft."
-- Foxsports.com's Dieter Kurtenbach only gave four "A+" grades in the first round, but the Bucs got one of them: "My No. 2 overall player at No. 19 for a team that needs a tight end that can stretch the field and block? Tremendous pick."
-- Yahoo.com's Eric Edholm gave the Bucs an "A-" grade, writing that "The Buccaneers were not planning to take a tight end here, but when Howard fell it became a natural fit. ... Howard is an upgrade over the latter and can be a seam threat for Jameis Winston and also a strong blocker to help the run game. ... Dirk Koetter and Todd Monken love utilizing the position to its full extent"
-- NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal named Bucs QB Jameis Winston among the draft's big winners: "It's been an incredible offseason for Winston, who saw the Bucs add tight end O.J. Howard on Thursday after picking up DeSean Jackson in free agency. Tampa's offense is loaded, just in time for the Buccaneers' "Hard Knocks" close-up."
-- NFL.com's Chad Reuter gave 15 out of 32 teams an "A" grade, but the Bucs were one of them: "The fact that O.J. Howard was on the board for the Buccaneers was ridiculous. He's a future Pro Bowler, and will make life much easier for quarterback Jameis Winston as a great safety valve. He and Cameron Brate will be a tough duo"
http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/bucs/what-theyre-saying-about-bucs-rookie-oj-howard/2321926
