Though the Buccaneers aren’t getting quite the national hype they got last year with Hard Knocks and all the NFL Network publicity, they are still getting recognized by some for having a talented squad and a good outlook for 2018 — minus Winston, for now.

Aaron Nagler, who covers the Green Bay Packers, went out of his way to say that Bucs tight end O.J. Howard is his pick to have the biggest breakout year across the entire league.

Nagler doesn’t even cover the Buccaneers, nor does he have any association or reason to make that claim other than he genuinely believes it. After a season in which Howard tied the team lead in touchdowns with six, a breakout year for Howard would likely include more than the 432 receiving yards he recorded as a rookie.

They say “there’s only one ball”, so in an offense with Mike Evans, DeSean Jackson, Cam Brate, Chris Godwin as well as Howard, singular production is tough.

But Nagler and others think that Howard has as good a chance as any to make a big leap in 2018.