All-Twenty Tuesday: Rookie Review of O.J. Howard

NFL Draft night was a lot of fun last year.

I’ve always been into the draft. Well, not always; I likely didn’t care about it when I was a toddler and all. But, for as long as I’ve been a football fan, I’ve also enjoyed the NFL Draft. I’ve gone from learning about it to loving it to wanting to be a part of it over the years, and in 2017 that last part came to fruition as I got to cover every pick of the draft live for PewterReport.com.

As the night unfolded, I watched the Bears trade up for their future quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. I celebrated as wide receiver Corey Davis was selected No. 5 overall. I watched the Chiefs trade up for quarterback Patrick Mahomes and I watched my favorite player in the class, safety Malik Hooker, go to a spot that really needed him in Indianapolis.

As the Bucs’ number grew closer and closer, one specific name on the board remained as each pick went by. “There’s no way he last to No. 19,” I said. “His floor is certainly the Tennessee Titans right before the Bucs.”

But, as time flew by, that pick was in. The Titans selected cornerback Adoree’ Jackson.

That meant he was still there – the Bucs dream prospect in this class. As every person who had a vested interest in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers stayed glued to the television for the next few minutes, I received a text from a very well connected friend in the NFL business. I read the text and smiled – I knew who they were selecting.

Minutes later we all heard, “With the 19th pick in the 2017 NFL draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneer select O.J. Howard, tight end, Alabama.”

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We weren’t really sure how the Buccaneers were going to use Howard when we just watched Cameron Brate tie the NFL lead for touchdowns for a tight end the season before. It was clear Brate and quarterback Jameis Winston had a good connection going, so the question became how was Howard going to fit? I get that you acquire good football players and figure the rest out later, but they did the first part, they then had to figure out how to achieve the second part.

Howard’s year, statistically, was pretty good for a rookie. Howard had the 20th most receiving yards (432) with the 7th most touchdowns (6) and the highest yards-per-catch average (16.6) among tight ends with at least 25 receptions (26) in 2017. He only missed two games due to injury during his first season, and started from the very first play and was heavily involved in the game plan after that.

So, beyond the numbers, what did it look like? Was Howard the steal we thought he was a year ago? And in relation to Brate, is Howard’s time coming to be the team’s No. 1 full-time tight end?

Let’s go over his first season in its entirety.

Tampa Bay wasted no time getting its first-round pick involved in the offense. On the very first play of Howard’s regular season NFL career, head coach Dirk Koetter dialed up a play over the middle where Howard was the hot read on the seam route.

This was Howard’s bread and butter at Alabama. Though he was underused as a receiver, when it came to vertical routes, Howard was tough for any defensive player to cover. This stayed true in the NFL, and this play won’t be the last we point out of Howard winning vertically. However, I also want to point out that right away, you can see some lateral limitations with Howard as he isn’t very crisp of a route runner. That showed evidence in play No. 1.

Just like they weren’t afraid to throw the ball to Howard right off the bat, they weren’t afraid to trust him in the blocking game either. Later in the quarter, the Bucs designed a run that went right to where Howard was asked to seal the edge on a block, and he did so pretty well.

The edge player here was Sam Acho. He’s about 6-foot-3 and 260 pounds. Howard is 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds. Howard gave up some weight against most of the edge defenders he faced this year, but anytime it was within 10 pounds or so, you never really saw a deficit. Howard’s length makes it tough for edge defenders to get around him, so when he turns his shoulders and redirects a player quickly, it’s tough to get off his block and get by. Howard showed savvy blocking technique very early in his rookie season.

Later in the year, Howard did struggle some against power rushing players, but in the clip above we saw again in his very first game that he has the blocking technique, build and power to take on all sorts of defensive linemen in the run game. The player Howard went up against in the clip above is Mitch Unrein, who weight around 300 pounds. So, at that time Howard wasn’t on an even playing field, size-wise, with his opposition. Yet, just like he did with Acho, Howard was able to anchor, hold his ground, and even use his upper leverage to push Unrein down and onto his knees when he tried to get too low. Again, a great sign for Howard as a blocker. The building blocks are there.

I’m showing quite a few clips from just the first game of the season, but those show his foundation, so when there’s something to highlight, the sooner we see it in his season the more you know they trust him and the more we can see the potential.

Previously, we saw how Howard can block when left on his own with a single assignment. In the play above we saw him working in a combo block to the top of your screen.

It wasn’t a perfect finish to the block, but I thought Howard and right tackle Demar Dotson really did a good job of paving the way for the running back – the rest kind of just fell apart around them. When you combo block in the run game, usually you’re taking two of your offensive linemen and going after one player to really guarantee a running lane. When you can substitute a tight end to help combo block instead of two offensive linemen, that’s a real luxury. If the rest of the line could have picked up the blitz on the back side, that lane Howard and Dotson opened up would’ve led to a big gain.

Early on in the Bucs’ second game of the season, Howard continued to show his strides. In the play above, Howard was savvy with how he used his contact with the cornerback to look like it was just minimal bumping and turned it into separation down the field on the out route.

This might be what Howard has to do more and more. If he can’t be as explosive and crisp when changing direction – which, to be fair, is really hard for a guy his size – then doing things like we saw in the clip above could be how he really makes his mark in the receiving game.

The play above is the same play as before just from a different angle.

Watch how everything is calculated with Howard. At first he has that little side step to his right to mess with the player who’s on the edge. Then he runs forward straight into the coverage player. This could be confused with being incidental contact and will often not get called. Not only did that provide a natural break for Howard to change direction, but it also knocked the coverage player back and off balance and therefore created some separation.

Howard is very much a player who is “good at the little things” when it comes to playing tight end.

Moving on to the Giants game, this play above was something new that we saw from Howard as a blocker and it’s a subtle move that showed a lot of confidence.

In the play above, not only did Howard go one-on-one with defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul and throw him back a few yards, but the team also trusted him to play the edge defender by himself so that they could swing an offensive lineman out to the outside to dominate a defensive back. You don’t risk moving offensive linemen like that if you don’t have full confidence that your tight end can act almost like an offensive tackle would when blocking one-on-one.

Later in the Giants game, Howard hit it big with the first touchdown of his career. That touchdown doesn’t happen if all those blocking plays don’t happen in the games before it. Howard is so good as a blocker that he has to be treated as an offensive lineman. But, just when you forget that he can be more than a blocking trench player, he does something like we saw above to slip out and run down the sideline like a wide out.

A perfect play with a lot of design behind the scenes for Howard.

Earlier I spoke about Howard not being as explosive or precise on his routes. It’s not the worst thing in the world, especially for a guy his size. To be able to change direction like, say, Evan Engram is rare and almost more wide receiver-like. But, I would love to see Howard take this route above – on that he runs often – and really plant that foot in the ground when turning to the middle of the field to move at a lesser degree of an angle.

If Howard’s route above were more of a cut-in post and less of a rounded seam route, Howard’s speed would have likely prohibited the safety from tripping him up and it could have been another long run for him.

Sometimes traits like that can’t be taught. Sometimes tight ends are just big guys who do best when moving with momentum in one direction. But, if it’s possible, I think what Howard should work on most this offseason is really working on how sharp he can turn those routes. How good he can be in that area will determine how deadly he can be in the passing game.

As the year went on Howard’s inconsistencies showed up. I’m not sure whether that was just him being less confident in what he was doing for whatever reason, or maybe it was just due to the competition revving up, but whatever it was, Howard started to struggle a bit when the Patriots game rolled around.

As you can see in the clip above, Howard just gets whipped in the hands by the player he thought he had locked in. He didn’t seem to be as engaging as he had been before.

The play above was another example of Howard just failing to do what we’ve seen him do before. I like him in the wing formation and love the idea of him coming behind the line to essentially be the lead blocker in a lane. But, in the play above, Howard was late to get over and just couldn’t square up on his guy.

Howard misses so bad on his guy that he nearly puts him in a Chris Benoit crippler crossface finisher. They didn’t call holding in the play above, but they should have. The inconsistencies really showed up for Howard that game.

The timid blocking trend seemed to bleed over into the game against Arizona as well. In the play above, Howard did a great job of pushing his guy back initially, but then he let up on him and his guy ended up getting in on the tackle. When you have your guy off balance like that, you gotta finish him; take him out of the play. Howard totally won that battle, but for whatever reason didn’t show the push to keep him at bay. It’s not a talent question, just a need to finish.

One positive I did want to point of from the Arizona game (I know, there weren’t many) was the play above.

I believe that play was the first time the Bucs had used Howard as an outside receiver and actually threw him the ball. Look at how fast Howard got off the line. The defender had no chance. Howard’s release into a full sprint is part of what makes him such a dangerous weapon vertically. It’s hard to account for guys that big going that fast on the outside. You can’t press them as a cornerback because they’ll manhandle you, and if you let them run free they can do what we saw above.

Now is also a good time to bring up that when the Bucs were in 3rd-and-less than four yards up to this point in the season, Howard was rarely on the field. That needs to change in 2018. The Bucs need to show more potential to be a running team on 3rd-and-short next season and that comes with Howard being on the field as a run blocker and play action threat. The Bucs were notorious in 2017 for going four- or five-wide in 3rd-and-short. That really hurt the potential of a 2-TE set because there’s no run threat. That’s not a good utilization of talent.

The Bills game was the best game of Howard’s season, as a receiver, but as a blocker he had his troubles.

Defensive end Jerry Hughes was giving Howard fits with a speed rush to the inside. To this point, we really hadn’t seen Howard get beat much with speed on the outside, but Hughes was jumping gaps in between Howard when he wasn’t anticipating it, and without squaring his shoulders to him, Hughes was free to get into the backfield.

Even when he wasn’t shooting a gap, Hughes just seemed to want it more than Howard. In the play above, Howard didn’t let Hughes get by him, but Hughes kept his legs churning and pushed Howard back so far the running back had to adjust courses and was eventually tackled behind the line. That’s a loss for Howard. A tough assignment, but one he need to be more consistent with. Can’t lose to a guy in both ways.

This could be remedied with Howard throwing on some weight and getting more near the 260-pound range. But, they have to be careful with that and him not losing his speed or more importantly his acceleration.

I do want to point out that the Bucs did do the right thing to counter the over aggressive edge play from the Bills when using Howard.

After watching both Hughes and fellow defensive end Shaq Lawson sell out play after play to collapse the pocket, the Bucs used Howard to chip Lawson off the line of scrimmage and then sent him into the flat knowing that a linebacker wasn’t going to be able to cover him. A good counter play design that deserves to be mentioned, and something that shows how you can use Howard not just as an emphasis but also as a moveable chess piece when countering a defensive.

Red zone. Goal line. Third down. Short distances. Great call.

There are so few linebackers in the NFL that can cover Howard on a short drag route like that over the middle. That kind of route needs to be called more often on short distances next season, regardless of if it’s used in a total play shift like we saw there and in the Giants game.

Howard is very much a momentum mover. He isn’t great with changing direction, but get him going in one way and you’ll get a 6-foot-6, 250-pound man who is running at 4.5 speed – that’s rare. Yes, I want to see him work on being more agile and more of a lateral mover, but at the same time you have to know what he’ll always do well.

The Carolina game showed a bit more of the “Howard could stand to throw on a little weight” narrative.

In the play above, Howard was holding on to his guy for dear life. Now, I’m obviously not showing you every play Howard had last year. There were still plays where he was blocking fine, as we showed he could do in the first few games. The things I’m highlighting now are just out of the ordinary plays in either a good or bad direction.

The play above is another example of that, but even more so an example that Howard need to stay consistent. He has the talent to be an edge blocker and really seal a running lane. But, for example, in the play above, linebacker Shaq Thompson took a wider base, anchored well, got leverage and was able to get Howard off balance. I think Howard can hold up a little better there.

I’ve talked quite a bit and shown examples of where putting on weight may help Howard be more consistent in the running game, but like everything it had its pros and cons. At the weight he’s at now, Howard can fly for a man his size.

Look at that release off the snap. My goodness. That is so impressive for a tight end.

Howard didn’t get the ball, but it only took him four steps to get at top speed. If he would have cut just a little more when he got even with that linebacker, he might be still running to this day. He would have blown passed that safety and into the end zone, I think.

If Tampa Bay wants to put weight on him, the signs are there that it could be smart. But, Howard had the highest yards-per-catch average among tight ends with at least 25 catches for a reason. That release and straight line speed are a few of the reasons. That’s all at the weight he is now.

Howard seemed to get whatever confidence he lost during the middle of the season back during the Dolphins game. In the play above, the tackle was made near him, but he couldn’t tell where the running back was going, so it wasn’t his fault. Instead I’m focusing on how fast and confident he got to his block at the second level. Maybe he could have had a little more force in his lock with the linebacker, but that’s just nit-picking. Howard was better all-around that day.

Look how fast Howard blew passed those Miami linebackers! Whew!

Howard was as confident as we had seen him to that point during the season and really seemed to get over any kind of lack of focus on teaching overload he may have gone through during the middle portion of his season. He was better as a blocker and was clearly as effective in the passing game.

In fact, on the very next play, Howard worked his magic to slip open once again. If quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick would have seen him just a bit earlier and would have thrown that route with anticipation, that was likely six points for Howard. That’s something the team needs to work on as well next season – throwing players open. The Bucs have plenty of shiftiness and speed with Howard, DeSean Jackson, even Mike Evans and Adam Humphries. But, Winston or whoever is in at quarterback, needs to anticipate better to let the yards after catch come.

That includes the final catch of Howard’s rookie season. It was a play that, honestly, was the perfect final catch for a nice first chapter in his career. It was unfortunate that it came a few games early and that Howard wasn’t able to finish out the season fully healthy due to a high ankle sprain, but that play was a well-time execution of a play that worked to success all season. It’s what Howard can do that most tight ends in the NFL cannot and part of why he should be even more of an emphasis in Tampa Bay’s offense in 2018.

Overall Howard showed almost the full plate of why the team drafted him already in his rookie year. The next step for him is consistency and confidence. The NFL season is long, so it’s hard to expect these guys to always be on top of their game every week, but the great ones are. Howard has the potential to be a player who can be a focal point week-in and week-out. His skills are fine, for now, and in 2018 I would like to see him just focus on being more consistent as a blocker and more confident as a player overall.