FAB 2. Bucs Training Camp Sleepers – Offense

Summer is flying by and Buccaneers training camp will be here before you know it. Thankfully there is no Hard Knocks distraction this summer, but the team will be navigating around Jameis Winston’s three-game suspension to start the season, which will be enough of a distraction to worry about.

PewterReport.com has always prided itself on knowing the ins and outs of Tampa Bay’s roster – not just the players poised to make the 53-man roster, but players from 53 to 90 on the Bucs’ training camp roster, too. Every year there is a player that seemingly comes out of nowhere in August to make the team and contribute. In 2017 it was tight end Alan Cross and tackle Leonard Wester. Last year it was tight end Antony Auclair and linebacker Riley Bullough, who was prominently featured on Hard Knocks.

After watching every rookie mini-camp practice, every OTA and every mandatory mini-camp practice, and talking with our team insiders, let’s take a look at some of the Bucs’ training camp sleepers at every position – starting on offense.

Quarterback – Ryan Griffin

Griffin, the Bucs’ third-string quarterback, is a lock to make the Bucs’ 53-man roster this year, especially at the start of the season during starter Jameis Winston’s three-game suspension. But what if he does the unexpected and outperforms current backup Ryan Fitzpatrick, who is slated to begin the season as the starter in Winston’s absence? I’m not saying that’s going to happen, but privately the team would love for such a dilemma to occur because it has invested three years into Griffin’s development since acquiring him in September 2015 along with millions of dollars.

The 28-year old Griffin, who entered the league in 2014, has never thrown a pass in any regular season game and has only been in Tampa Bay for two preseasons. He played most of the 2016 preseason finale, which was a rain-soaked affair against the Washington Redskins, making it nearly impossible to evaluate his throwing ability. Griffin got injured almost immediately after entering the preseason opener at Cincinnati last season and missed the rest of August and half the season with a shoulder injury.

The Bucs are facing the prospects of having to start over at the backup quarterback spot in 2019 as the 35-year old Fitzpatrick will likely play his final season this year, and Griffin becomes a free agent in the offseason. Having a better handle on his skill set and game management from actual preseason games as opposed to practice film is what the Bucs need to accurately gauge Griffin’s ceiling. Tampa Bay would love for Griffin to light it up in the preseason and convince the team that he is worthy of investing in as Winston’s long-term backup quarterback. It’s now or never for Griffin.

Running back – Shaun Wilson

Wilson was featured in last week’s SR’s Fab 5, so I won’t spend an awful lot of time profiling him here. Tampa Bay’s first two running back spots appear to be locks with Peyton Barber, last year’s leading rusher, and rookie Ronald Jones atop the depth chart. The Bucs keep four running backs on the roster, and that means that Charles Sims or Jacquizz Rodgers could be in danger of losing their place on the 53-man roster to Wilson, a speedy, shifty undrafted free agent running back, who also has the ability to return kicks.

Bucs RB Shaun Wilson – Photo courtesy of Duke

Wilson is small at 5-foot-9, 185 pounds, but has make-you-miss ability, especially as a receiver out of the backfield as he operates best in space. Wilson, who received a $10,000 signing bonus and an additional $10,000 in guaranteed base salary, is eager to show the team that he is one of the toughest players on the team pound-for-pound by getting opportunities to run the ball between the tackles in the preseason. Because of his ability to return kicks and be a receiver on third downs, he is more likely to challenge Rodgers for a roster spot than Sims, who the team knows is the most trusted pass protector on third downs. Don’t be surprised if Wilson unseats Rodgers and wins a spot on the 53-man roster.

Wide receiver – Bobo Wilson

The Bucs are flush at wide receiver with Mike Evans, DeSean Jackson, Chris Godwin and Adam Humphries locks to make the team. Tampa Bay also drafted wide receiver Justin Watson in the fifth round and is excited about what he was able to show before a minor leg injury forced him to miss half of the OTAs and the team’s mandatory mini-camp. For a team that traditionally keeps only five receivers due to Dirk Koetter’s penchant for playing two-tight end sets, it might be tough for Wilson to make the team as the fifth receiver, but not impossible.

Wilson is one of the fastest and shiftiest players on the team, in addition to being one of the most competitive. This past offseason, Winston, who was Wilson’s teammate at Florida State, called him a “little Antonio Brown,” which raised some eyebrows. Wilson has a long way to go to live up to that comparison, but if he has a breakout preseason he could force the Bucs’ hand at wide receiver if they aren’t committed to keeping six.

Due to salary cap reasons, this is likely the final season in Tampa Bay for Jackson and Humphries, both of whom will play in the slot this season, although Jackson will also operate from the outside. A great preseason by Wilson, who has big-play capability, could prompt Licht to see what the trade market is for Humphries, who is making just shy of $3 million this season as a restricted free agent. Or it could force the Bucs to place Watson on injured reserve and essentially redshirt him for next year should he conveniently suffer a preseason injury that has befallen other Day 3 draft picks in past years, such as Kenny Bell (2015), Devante Bond (2016) and Stevie Tu’ikolovatu (2017).

Tight end – Donnie Ernsberger

Tight end might be the deepest position on the Bucs’ roster as the team usually keeps four, and those four appear to be set in stone with starters Cameron Brate and O.J. Howard along with key reserves Antony Auclair and Alan Cross. Brate and Howard are Pro Bowl-caliber tight ends, the team loves Auclair’s ability to block and also catch the occasional pass, while Cross is a fullback/H-back hybrid that excels on special teams. It will take a lot for one of the three rookie tight ends to unseat Auclair or Cross and make the team if the Bucs only keep four tight ends.

Bucs TE Donnie Ernsberger – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The good news for undrafted free agent tight ends Hudson, Jason Reese and Donnie Ernsberger is that Brate, Auclair and Cross all came to the Bucs as undrafted free agents, so there is a pathway to success for those young players. Of the three rookies, none really separated themselves during the OTAs and mini-camp and all three enter training camp on even footing. Yet Ernsberger might be the most intriguing due to his skill set.

The 6-foot-2, 237-pound Ernsberger played tight end and H-back at Western Michigan where he made news when his sister rushed to the field to hug her brother after he scored a touchdown last October, thinking it was the end of the game when it was not. That was one of four touchdowns Ernsberger had last year when he caught 34 passes for 394 yards. With his build and ability to catch the football and block, he poses the biggest threat to Cross for the fourth tight end spot. If Ernsberger, who received a $15,000 signing bonus, can make plays in the passing game, show improvement as a blocker and become a contributor on special teams in coverage units he could either pry a roster away from Cross or force the Bucs to keep five tight ends.

Offensive Line – OT Cole Gardner

Like Wilson, Gardner was featured in last week’s SR’s Fab 5 so I won’t spend as much time profiling him. The former tight end turned offensive tackle caught the attention of the Bucs scouts and coaches as he filled in admirably for left tackle Donovan Smith, who battled a minor offseason injury. Gardner was inserted into the starting lineup and held his own against the likes of Vinny Curry, Will Clarke, Noah Spence, and of course, Jason Pierre-Paul.

Gardner worked out with former NFL lineman LeCharles Bentley and improved his core strength, which helps him anchor in pass protection. Gardner isn’t a starting-caliber lineman just yet, but he could be the latest undrafted free agent tackle to make the Bucs, joining the likes of Donald Penn, Demar Dotson and Leonard Wester. Penn and Dotson eventually became starters in Tampa Bay. Gardner will have to make the 53-man roster first before he can be thought of as a future starter down the road.

Now that we’ve taken a look at the sleepers on Tampa Bay’s offense, let’s turn to the defense and special teams and identify some there, too.