The PewterReport.com Roundtable features the opinions of the PR staff as it tackles a topic related to the Tampa Bay Bucs each week.

This week’s topic: Which Bucs’ veteran bounces back in 2019?

Scott Reynolds: C Ryan Jensen

In last week’s PR Roundtable we talked about which rookie from the 2018 draft class rebounds this season? Now let’s take a look at which underperforming veteran from a year ago bounces back this season. Given the fact that the Bucs are coming off a 5-11 season in which a lot of players underachieved, there are a lot of candidates for this topic. I’m going to go with Ryan Jensen, who was signed to a four-year, $42 million contract last offseason and didn’t live up to the distinction of being the highest-paid center in the league.

In the previous PR Roundtable – and elsewhere – I’ve shared that I wasn’t a fan of offensive line coach George Warhop. I don’t think Warhop, who served as the team’s run game coordinator, served the team well at all in that he failed to develop the talent on Tampa Bay’s underachieving offensive line. I take Pro Football Focus’ evaluations and grades with a grain of salt because analytics can only tell us so much. Jensen had a 74.9 grade and was the ninth-rated center in the NFL in 2017 when he was in Baltimore, and was given a 54.9 grade and labeled the 28th-best center in the league last year, according to PFF.

What I will say is that Jensen played better in Baltimore in 2017 than he did in Tampa Bay in 2018. His strength is run blocking rather than pass protection, and by virtue of the Bucs’ being the No. 1 passing team in the NFL last year with 625 pass attempts, which ranked fourth in the league, Jensen was asked to play more to his weakness than his strength as the Ravens only passed the ball 567 times in Jensen’s last year in Baltimore. In 2017, the Ravens ran the ball 460 times, which ranked seventh in the league. By contrast, the Bucs ran the ball just 389 times last year, which ranked 26th in the league. Now factoring in that a lot of Dirk Koetter and Todd Monken’s pass plays were targeted to go downfield 20 yards or more, and that means offensive linemen have to hold their blocks longer as a result.

Bucs C Ryan Jensen – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

I think new head coach Bruce Arians and offensive play-caller Byron Leftwich will try to achieve more balance on offense with more running plays in 2019. Arians, Leftwich and run game coordinator Harold Goodwin will play more to Jensen’s strengths, which are power runs that feature man blocking rather than zone blocking, and that more deep shots will come on play-action passes, which will help the offensive linemen. I also think that between the coaching of Goodwin and line coach Joe Gilbert that Jensen’s technique will improve, as the number of penalties he gets will go down as a result.

Jensen doesn’t have to play like the best center in the league for the Bucs’ offensive line play to improve. He just has to play like the ninth-best center in the league, which is what Tampa Bay thought it was going to get, rather than the 28th-best center. I think that happens in 2019 with better coaching because Jensen is a prideful player with a good deal of mental and physical toughness that will take the new coaching and raise his game. Remember, the 27-year old Jensen only had 25 career starts at Baltimore before moving on to Tampa Bay. He’s still young and can improve.

Mark Cook: FS Justin Evans
What a difference a year makes, right? After a solid and very, promising rookie year in 2017, Justin Evans, like many on the defense, had a subpar season in 2018.
Every stat was down in 2018 from his 2017 rookie season for Evans. Tackles went from 66 to 59, interceptions went from three to one and pass breakups declined from six as a rookie to two last year.

There is no doubt, part of Evans’ disappointing 2018 was due to a nagging toe injury that ended his season prematurely, and allowed him to only play in 10 games. Just getting healthy and playing a full 16 games would be a step in the right direction in terms of rebounding.

Bucs FS Justin Evans – Photo by: Mary Holt/PR

But even when Evans was healthy his play was very mediocre in terms of having an impact on the defense. There were times last season when one forgot Evans was even on the field. It started well enough for Evans who had a fumble recovery and return for a touchdown against the Saints on opening day in a 48-40 win, then an interception in Week 3 against the Steelers on Monday Night Football. After that? Crickets.

Someone in the organization told us midway through last season he hated the position term “safety,” because the Bucs’ coaching staff used the term to describe a safety net. That mentality did not create playmakers at the safety position in Tampa Bay. Safeties played extremely deep and the coaching philosophy was “don’t give up the big play under any circumstance.” Essentially the safeties, particularly Evans, were neutered. Evans is a big, physical, instinctive safety who was asked to play tentatively, and it showed.

Evans, like the rest of the defense, gets a new lease on life and a fresh start in the Todd Bowles’ defense that will be rolled out in 2019. Bowles asks his safeties to be mindful of letting balls get over their head, but also likes to see aggressiveness and physicality from the position.

If Evans can return to 100 percent health, and not have issues with the turf toe type injury he had last season, he may benefit from a new coaching staff as much as anyone the Bucs roster. And the Buccaneers need him to after investing a second-round pick on the Texas A&M product in 2017.

Trevor Sikkema: CB Vernon Hargreaves

Bounce back, bounce up – whatever you want to call it – I think Vernon Hargreaves III plays his best year as a Buccaneer in 2019.

Bucs CB Vernon Hargreaves – Photo by: Mark Lomoglio/PR

Hargreaves had a rough start to his NFL career. As a rookie cornerback starting opposite veteran Brent Grimes, Hargreaves had a target on his back all season long in 2016. He was the most targeted cornerback in the league that year, and because of it gave up the most catches, the most yards and the most touchdowns.

Due to Mike Smith’s terrible defensive scheme, Hargreaves was often left out to dry, both due to no help from other defenders and in the nature in which they asked him to play off coverage on wide receivers. In 2017, he only played nine games due to injury combined with poor play, and in 2018, he suffered a season-ending injury in the very first game of the year.

Hargreaves, who has just one interception in his career three years in, was poised for a big year in 2018 before getting hurt. He just looked like a different player in training camp and in the preseason. He was confident in his new role in the nickel on the inside, and was matching up against all kinds of players in practices from Mike Evans to Adam Humphries – standing his ground against them.

This season can be Hargreaves’ year to blow his previous production and overall productivity out of the water. I assume Hargreaves will stay as the team’s outside cornerback opposite Carlton Davis when they’re in base formation, but will then be the team’s nickel cornerback in sub-package situations. That seemed to be the role he was most comfortable with before getting hurt last year.

Keep his confidence up and Hargreaves can contribute to this team better than he ever has before.