Much has been made of the Bucs’ offensive struggles throughout the 2022 season. Practically every week, criticism of their play calling and lack of high point totals from years past have come up as new wrinkles of their woes emerge. From the well-documented struggles of offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and Mike Evans not connecting with quarterback Tom Brady as he did in previous seasons, implementing an X-factor is in order. And that X-factor is wide receiver Julio Jones.

Let me preface this by saying we should expect less production than the 2014-2019 Julio Jones, a six-year stretch in which he was arguably the most dominant receiver in the NFL. In that time, he put up mind-boggling season averages of 161.7 targets, 103.8 receptions, and 1564.7 yards.

Injuries Have Taken Their Toll On Jones, But Something’s In The Tank

As he has aged, injuries have crept up on him, sapping some of his game-breaking speed and limiting him to just 9 games in 2020 and 10 games in his lone season with the Tennessee Titans in 2021.

They have not eluded him this year either, costing him roughly half of this season for weeks at a time (missing Weeks 2-3, 5-7, and 11). Keeping this in mind, when he is on the field, he has made a large impact against both the Seattle Seahawks and in the Bucs’ Monday Night Football comeback victory against the New Orleans Saints.

In this play against the Seahawks, Jones made history by scoring the first touchdown in an NFL regular-season game in Germany. Moreover, he also displayed the speed he still possesses by beating their defense on a drag route over the middle. Simply putting the ball in a 6-3 receiver’s hands and letting him fight for yards is just another element for defenses to consider.

Bucs WR Julio Jones – Photo by: USA Today

Coming into this season, there was extreme excitement for the team’s receiver room. Wide receiver Russell Gage, a former teammate of Jones back with the Falcons, said before the season that “As a group this is probably one of the best groups – maybe ever.”

It was not and still is not hard to see why on paper, but the name recognition has not translated into the results many expected — yet. Mike Evans has had another solid season but has not found the end zone as he did with Brady in 2020 and 2021. His touchdown total has slipped from 13 in 2020 to 14 in 2021 to just three scores in 11 games this season.

Chris Godwin has gotten a lot of targets in the passing game but is only averaging 9.5 yards a reception. As he has been recovering from a torn ACL on the fly, he has not shown the ability to gain much separation except on short routes. The same goes for Gage, averaging just 8.1 yards a reception and missing roughly half the season with a hamstring injury. All of this adds up to Julio Jones needing to step up.

‘If Julio Can Win His 1-on-1s, That’s A Great Option For Brady’

Speaking with Bucs safety Logan Ryan after practice Wednesday, he still sees Jones as a player who can draw attention away from both Evans and Godwin.

“I just think you see a guy who’s still a really good player in this league and who is taking advantage of his opportunities when he gets it,” Ryan said. “You can’t control how many targets you have, but you control what you do when it comes your way.

Bucs WRs Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Julio Jones – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“It seems like he’s catching the ball, and that’s a really big key to our offense because when you look at the matchups that we have and the players that we have, obviously, Mike’s going to draw attention, and Chris is coming back into form, that’s going to draw attention. To have someone account for Julio, if Julio can win his 1-on-1s, that’s a great option for Brady.”

In the past five games he has played, Jones has averaged 4.8 targets a game. In Monday night’s game against the Saints, his snap count went up 11 plays from the prior game to 65%. And if it were not for his late catch in double coverage on the game-winning drive, the Bucs would be going into their next game at 5-7.

While he has been held back on a pitch count like a reliever in baseball, now is the time to “stretch him out” on offense and see what he has left. If he builds upon being that third option for Brady, it will be very hard for defenses to contain all three of them, along with rookies Cade Otton and Rachaad White, who have been solid all season and came through in the clutch against the Saints.

Bucs WR Julio Jones – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“From a defensive perspective, when you have three guys at least that you have to worry about, that’s very hard to take away schematically,” Ryan added. “The more that you can develop a third threat, whether that be a tight end or a pass-catching running back or a third receiver, as a defense, there are very few defenses that can take away three people. Some defenses can take away one, some take away two, but very few can take away three, so if you got that third option, it makes it really advantageous for an offense.”

While it may not be the production we have come to expect from the future Hall of Famer, getting more splash plays from Julio Jones on offense would be a realization of a dream Brady imagined in training camp and a nightmare for opposing defenses for the rest of this season.