Last week, I wrote about three options Bruce Arians and Byron Leftwich might consider as they take on the unenviable task of replacing Chris Godwin – the scheme’s most important player. That task became even more unenviable once Antonio Brown was halfway into his birthday suit and waving deuces to Jets fans.

However, the last two games have been telling with regards to how the coaches plan to adjust. Against the Panthers in Week 16, with Brown active and Mike Evans out, the Buccaneers played only 17 snaps in 11 personnel, by far the lowest mark during Arians’ reign in Tampa Bay. The Bucs were back to their usual 11 personnel selves against the Jets, at least momentarily.

They decreased their three wide receiver usage after Brown’s departure, but the drop-off wasn’t as stark as expected. This could partly be due to Leftwich constructing his game plan with the expectation that Brown would play, thus making it difficult to abruptly switch to a tight end-heavy script. But it likely also has to do with the practice squad track star who entered Week 17 with eight targets and five receptions over his entire professional career.

“Put him in,” Tom Brady told Arians. “I trust him.”

Cyril Grayson Jr. delivered. Six catches, 81 yards, and a game-winning touchdown.

“He started catching the ball much much better in the last year-and-a-half,” said Arians. “You saw the talent. He had a redeeming quality. He was fast and he was strong. That’s a great start. And then he started working on his hands and route-running and… the nuances of playing wide receiver. He was killing our scout team.”

The exciting part of Grayson’s performance against the Jets is all those other nuances. Yes, it starts with speed, and that will always be his most important asset. But it’s everything else that will make him serviceable over an entire game.

Grayson even showed an instinctive feel for finding soft spots in zone coverages. On third-and-7, he stopped his route short against the Jets’ Cover 3 Zone, positioning himself for an easy first down conversion.

Of course, without being in the Bucs’ offensive meetings, it’s impossible to know if this was purely by design and or if it was Grayson’s own discretion. Evans being directly over Grayson makes it seem like there may have been some improvisation. There was poor spacing between the two receivers, and the play was unlikely to be drawn up that way. Maybe Evans ran his route incorrectly. However, the optimistic take is that Grayson saw the gap in coverage and, design be damned, knew he could take advantage.

Grayson also came through on third-and-20 by running a deep comeback route on a play that’s part of the Bucs’ staple 989/Go family.

His cut created impressive separation, and that’s a crucial skill if the Bucs continue playing him in Brown’s spot. There’s room for improvement here, too. And it’s not just on Grayson. Notice how long Brady waited before throwing the ball. Instead of throwing with anticipation, Brady – probably due to his unfamiliarity with the receiver – waited for Grayson to turn.

Though not the same route or concept, the above play is a useful comparison. Brady knew when and where Brown would turn. As Grayson and Brady practice more together, expect their timing to get closer to this – even if Grayson never obtains AB’s ridiculous turnaround speed.

With his ability to separate and his feel for coverages, the Bucs might consider moving Grayson inside more often. Against the Jets and Panthers, Grayson has played 61 snaps out wide, 32 from the slot and six in-line. That’s a high proportion of snaps inside – generally the most important and difficult area to play in Arians’ offense – for a guy who has spent most of his time on the practice squad.

And it’s a worthwhile consideration. Tyler Johnson played 69 percent of his snaps from the slot, effectively acting as a pure plug-and-play for Godwin on Sunday. But his performance was underwhelming. He failed to separate much even against linebackers. Further, if Breshad Perriman plays well enough to take over the outside spot opposite of Evans, the coaches will have more freedom to experiment with Grayson inside.

No one can fill the hole that Godwin and Brown left. And Grayson needs to continue to improve – especially against stronger competition – for the Bucs to compete for another Super Bowl. But if these flashes are true signs of what to expect moving forward, Grayson will become a fixture in this offense. It won’t matter where he lines up.

In Arians’ succinct words, “This guy can play.”