I'm starting to like Bleacher Report more and more...
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Receivers: Mike Evans, DeSean Jackson, Chris Godwin, Adam Humphries, Josh Huff, Freddie Martino, Donteea Dye, Bernard Reedy, Derel Walker
Tight Ends: O.J. Howard, Cameron Brate, Luke Stocker, Alan Cross
The Buccaneers went 9-7 in 2016 with an offense that ranked 16th in passing attempts, and 16th in passing yards. Clearly, the front office felt that this franchise was perhaps one dynamic receiver from the proverbial Next Step, and that’s why they signed former Redskins receiver DeSean Jackson to a three-year, $35 million contract in March.
As I detailed in this article after the deal was made, Jackson is a perfect complement to this offense, because he has the deep speed and separation ability that nobody else on Tampa Bay’s roster possesses—only Mike Evans caught more than 10 passes thrown 20 or more yards in the air last season, and Evans, while reasonably fast, is more of a contested-catch receiver. But Jackson had the most yards of any receiver on those types of deep passes with 579, and only Indianapolis’ T.Y. Hilton caught more deep passes than Jackson’s 16. Jackson will take safeties out of the picture for Tampa Bay’s other receivers and ease Jameis Winston’s reads on short and intermediate passes.
That will also make things better for Evans, a 6'5", 231-pound monster who can terrorize opposing cornerbacks with his skill of jumping for balls and using his body to block out defenders, especially in the red zone. Last season, Evans matched his 2014 rookie total with 12 receiving touchdowns. Adam Humphries was the main slot receiver in 2016, with 36 receptions on 56 targets for 395 yards and one touchdown inside the formation.
Speaking of red-zone targets, tight end Cameron Brate was underrated in this regard in 2016, with eight touchdowns, and he displayed a nice ability to get open in close quarters near the end zone. And to that tight end group, the Bucs added Alabama’s O.J. Howard in the first round of the 2017 draft. At 6'6" and 250 pounds, and running a 4.51 40-yard dash at the scouting combine, Howard has the size, release speed and blocking ability to become a major cog in this passing game.
