FAB 3. SR’s 5 Takeaways From OTAs

The Buccaneers had three OTAs (organized team activities) this week and the local media was allowed to watch the first one on Tuesday, May 13, which was held at the indoor practice facility at the AdventHealth Training Center at One Buccaneer Place due to inclement weather.

1. Believe The Hype About White

Inside linebacker Devin White, the team’s first-round draft pick, is going to be an absolute stud and make Bucs fans quickly forget about Kwon Alexander. Simply put, there is a reason why Alexander was drafted in the fourth round and White was selected fifth overall. He’s a better player and a better athlete. And over the next five years, White will be significantly cheaper than Alexander, who will make over $13 million per year thanks to his new deal from San Francisco.

Bucs ILB Devin White – Photo by: Mary Holt/PR

White is going to make some rookie mistakes. He’s going to miss some tackles and blow some coverages, but he picked up right where he left off at the rookie mini-camp by looking like he absolutely belongs on an NFL football field. White picked off quarterback Jameis Winston after the first couple of plays in 11-on-11 and shows great instincts and speed in coverage. Buy this guy’s jersey, Bucs fans, and pencil him in for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Yes, he’s going to be that good. White is already an absolute stud and it’s pretty clear to see.

2. The Bucs Will Work The Seam A Bunch

Head coach Bruce Arians loves taking deep shots down the field, but a lot of them will go down the middle of the field as opposed to the sidelines. Perriman’s deep touchdown came down the right sideline, but Winston also fired a couple of deep passes to Perriman and Mike Evans down the middle, too.

The Bucs lined up in a tight formation a bunch of times with the wide receivers inside the hash marks instead of outside. Some of those receivers stayed inside and worked the seam while other targets flared out and had plenty of space to operate out the hash once they got there. Expect big years in the passing game this season from tight end O.J. Howard, tight end Cameron Brate, who is still sidelined after offseason hip surgery, and Chris Godwin, who will be playing the slot quite often, along with speedy rookie receiver Scotty Miller if he makes the team.

3. Perriman Will Make Everyone Forget About DJax

After two years, the DeSean Jackson experiment is over in Tampa Bay. Bucs general manager Jason Licht traded him to Philadelphia this offseason and found another speedy wide receiver to take his place in Breshad Perriman. Granted, Perriman is not nearly as accomplished as Jackson, and after a failed stint in Baltimore where he was a first-round pick that succumbed to injuries and a case of the drops, he still has a ways to go in his development.

Bucs WR Breshad Perriman and Scott Reynolds – Photo by: Mark Cook/PR

But what Perriman brings to the table is a combination of size and speed that Jackson didn’t have. While Jackson’s slight frame and 5-foot-10, 175-pound stature didn’t allow him to be a factor in run blocking on the perimeter or going up and winning any battles for jump balls, the 6-foot-2, 215-pound is four inches taller and weighs 40 pounds more and gives Winston the catch radius he needs to complete downfield passes – not to mention 4.3 speed. The two seem to be in rhythm early with Perriman beating rookie cornerback Jamel Dean, who also has 4.3 speed, to catch a perfectly thrown deep ball from Winston for a touchdown. Perriman may not be as talented as Jackson, but he’ll catch more passes for more yards and score more touchdowns from Winston this year than DJax did in any of his two years in Tampa Bay.

4. Bowles Brings Pressure From Everywhere

As someone who absolutely loves good defense, the regularity with which new Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles brings pressure is a sight for sore eyes. This new Tampa Bay defense is going to be exciting and fun to watch, as Bowles brings pressure on nearly every play with a host of players getting in on the blitz action. Blitzing won’t just be reserved for outside linebackers in Bowles’ 3-4 scheme, either. Both White and fellow inside linebacker Lavonte David will blitz from the interior quite a bit, too.

But it was the blitzing from the interior from safeties and from the slot with safeties and cornerbacks coming off the edge that really excited me. Part of the reason why the Bucs invested draft picks in three fast defensive backs – Dean, cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting and safety Mike Edwards – is to use their speed to get to the quarterback on blitzes. That’s why in Fab 2 when I was talking about where Tampa Bay’s sacks were going to come from without Jason Pierre-Paul this year I gave a sack to Edwards, Murphy-Bunting and also second-year strong safety Jordan Whitehead.

5. OLB Kenney May Be A Real Factor

I know it’s early, but PewterReport.com was the first to see this David Kenney kid absolutely tear it up with his outside rushes during the rookie mini-camp as a tryout player. I asked Arians about Kenney on Saturday and he spilled the beans about the fact that Kenney was going to be signed to the 90-man roster and given a chance to go against the veterans. Well, Kenney handled Tuesday’s practice with no problem, consistently blowing back offensive tackles and putting pressure on quarterback Ryan Griffin.

Bucs OLB David Kenney – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Granted, Kenney was relegated to the junior varsity practice that featured most of the team’s young backup players, and the pads weren’t on, either. But it will only be a matter of time before he gets some looks on the varsity practice (the Bucs split the field and had two practices going for 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 periods with the offenses back-to-back). It’s obvious Kenney, who has been out of football for two years, is hungry. He has a wicked first step in which covers a lot of ground, and you can see the influence that former Colts pass rusher Robert Mathis, who is his personal trainer, has had working with him. Keep an eye on Kenney, as he could be a legit challenger to Noah Spence for a spot on the 53-man roster.