It’s too early in the season to overreact to some elements of what the Bucs’ coaching staff has done in 2020, especially after play-calling and play sequencing were moving in a positive direction in Week 2. There will be plenty of kinks to work out as the season progresses, and there will assuredly be sub-optimal decisions to criticize, but the time for most of that is not yet upon us.

However, the time to scream – at the top of our lungs if necessary – for more O.J. Howard, is here.

Through two weeks of the season, including a Week 1 that saw the Bucs deploying a banged up Mike Evans and a Week 2 that saw them go Chris Godwin-less against the Panthers, Howard has played 71 total snaps, or an average of just over 35 snaps a game. On Sunday that meant seeing less playing time than 31-year old Rob Gronkowski, Scotty Miller and considerably less than WR4 Justin Watson, who was on the field for 54 snaps in Week 2 to Howard’s 34.

Bucs TE O.J. Howard – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

As talented as he is, it would be one thing if Howard were a rookie, or were struggling to pick up the entire offense like last year, but that simply isn’t the case. Howard dominated in training camp, earning glowing praise across the board, from coaches and teammates to media who were in attendance as well. He got open, he made high-degree-of-difficulty catches, he eliminated mental mistakes, he had rapport with Tom Brady and he was working hard to improve as a blocker.

Through two weeks of the season, the only thing Howard has really been able to show is his prowess as a blocker, which has been a pleasant surprise, but represents only a fraction of what he is capable of as a player. At 6-foot-6, 251 pounds, Howard is an offensive weapon, a mismatch nightmare who can make big plays down the field and reel in tough catches outside his frame as he makes improvement as a receiver. This isn’t just a hypothetical either, as we’ve already seen him do all of these things on tape.

Last season, when Howard finally got healthy and was comfortable in his role, he impressed over the final stretch of the year, making several big plays down the field in games against Arizona, Jacksonville and others. He is never going to be the consistently dominant all-around player that Pro Bowlers George Kittle and Travis Kelce are, but can he be a Jared Cook type of player? With some frustrating drops and mistakes at times, but the ability to work safeties as a route runner and separate down the field and at the catch point? Absolutely.

Listening to Bucs coaches and personnel this offseason, it sounded like they finally understood that. Now, I’m not so sure.

“Well, the first year in the offense he didn’t quite get the numbers that we thought that he would,” Bucs GM Jason Licht said at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine in early March. “But as we’ve gotten into the offseason and looked at all the tape and the coaches have gone through all the cut ups, they’re more than excited for what he can do in his second year. It took a little bit of acclimation part of O.J. to the offense, but also our coaching staff and our scheme to O.J. so we have a lot better idea of what he can do and what he does best that Bruce will implement into the offense so we’re very excited, we just had that conversation the other day Bruce and I. We’re very high on O.J.”

Bucs TE OJ Howard – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Licht’s statements were consistently echoed by Bruce Arians throughout the offseason, especially during a spectacular training camp for Howard.

“I think O.J. is playing at an extremely high level right now and [I] would not expect to see any kind of drop off – only continued growth,” Arians said about Howard in late August. “He’s had a great camp. He came back in great mental shape and physical shape. He’s making plays every single day, so I can’t say enough about him right now.”

Fast forward through Weeks 1 and 2, and what is going on? Howard is playing less than he did a year ago at this time, and is on pace to play over 200 less snaps in 2020 than he did in 2019 – and he missed two games due to injury last year.

Spare me the line about Gronkowski not being around last season. It’s definitely understandable that Gronk could eat slightly into Howard’s playing time, but that doesn’t explain how, in a Week 2 that saw Watson out-snapping the fourth-year tight end and Cyril Grayson earning 18 snaps to make the blooper reel, Howard couldn’t receive more opportunities.

Howard isn’t just an in-line, blocking tight end who runs hitches and quick outs underneath. That’s how the Bucs are deploying him, and it doesn’t make any sense. Per Pro Football Focus, Howard was on the field for just 19 passing plays on Sunday, and four of those he stayed in to block. That means Howard had one more opportunity to catch a pass than Cyril Grayson did against the Panthers.

One!

Howard’s value is in the big-play ability he provides an offense, inconsistent though he may be. Even with a semi up-and-down start to his career, Howard leads all tight ends in the NFL in yards per target and yards per catch since entering the league in 2017. Through two weeks this season, Howard is averaging 9.4 yards per catch on five grabs for 47 yards. He’s been targeted nine times – or once more than 32-year old running back LeSean McCoy.

Bucs TEs OJ Howard and Rob Gronkowski – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

On a Sunday without Godwin, Howard played just four snaps in the slot – Godwin’s typical place of deployment. How were the Panthers going to match-up in man coverage with a 6-6, 251-pound tight end that can run a 4.51 with a two-way go off the line of scrimmage in the slot on Sunday? With rookie Jeremy Chinn? He couldn’t even stick with Gronk on the few routes the veteran ran?

What about if they put Howard out wide for more than four snaps? The Panthers have probably the worst linebacking corps in the league and their strong safety group isn’t better. Who is gonna step outside and cover Howard? If they zone it up, who is going to battle through that body and length at the catch point?

The Bucs offense knows how to maximize Evans and Godwin, now they have to figure out how to do it with Howard. He is not just a tight end. He is a versatile chess piece that can do far more than the team is currently asking him to do.

Tampa Bay needs to study how New Orleans utilizes Cook all over the formation, and model some of what they do with Howard around that plan of attack. They are very similar players, but only one is producing, and it is because of how his team is using his skill set.

The Bucs can top the Panthers and the weaker teams in the NFL without maximizing their offensive weaponry, but when they dance with the big dogs, a mismatch piece like Howard is going to come in handy. Let’s hope by then Arians and play-caller Byron Leftwich have a better plan for Howard’s deployment, because they sure haven’t through Weeks 1 and 2.