Who are the five best wide receivers the Buccaneers will face this upcoming season?
It is shaping up to be a big year for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Coming off of a 9-7 season, the Bucs are getting ready to take that next step into playoff football. They have added weapons on offense to give Jameis Winston any number of options with the football. Mike Evans is going to have a ton of room thanks to the addition of DeSean Jackson. Between Jackson and the addition of O.J. Howard to the existing group, even the running game will have room to return to its past success.
What about the group led by Mike Smith? During the winning streak that brought the Bucs back into playoff contention, the defense looked like world beaters. At times, they rivaled the Super Bowl season of 2002. But the pass defense did not improve to the level they had hoped. In 2016, the Bucs were ranked 22 in the league in pass defense. Brent Grimes had a big year, but it was a growing year for the rest of the bunch.
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It won’t get any easier in 2017. Besides the talent that exists in the division, the schedule boasts some tough opponents, especially at the wide receiver position. After all, finishing 9-7 last year, the schedule is always going to be a bit tougher.
The Bucs face the AFC East in 2017 which has some talent on the outside as well. Even the Jets have a strong group at wide receiver, but not good enough to make this list.
So who does? Who are the five best receivers the Bucs face in the upcoming season? We count it down right here.
5. Sammy Watkins
The Bucs take on the Buffalo Bills on October 22. Now, I understand he was hurt in 2016 and had an off-year. But, don’t fall asleep on this guy. Sammy Watkins, when healthy, is about as dangerous as anyone in the league, and he has something to prove.
First, take a look at his stats to date:
| Games | Receiving | Rushing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Tm | Pos | No. | G | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | Lng | R/G | Y/G | Ctch% | Rush | Yds | TD | Lng | Y/A | Y/G | A/G | YScm | RRTD | Fmb | AV |
| 2014 | 21 | BUF | WR | 14 | 16 | 16 | 128 | 65 | 982 | 15.1 | 6 | 84 | 4.1 | 61.4 | 50.8% | 2 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 4.0 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 990 | 6 | 1 | 8 |
| 2015 | 22 | BUF | WR | 14 | 13 | 13 | 96 | 60 | 1047 | 17.5 | 9 | 63 | 4.6 | 80.5 | 62.5% | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1048 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 2016 | 23 | BUF | WR | 14 | 8 | 8 | 52 | 28 | 430 | 15.4 | 2 | 62 | 3.5 | 53.8 | 53.8% | 430 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |||||||
| Career | 37 | 37 | 276 | 153 | 2459 | 16.1 | 17 | 84 | 4.1 | 66.5 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 3.0 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 2468 | 17 | 1 | 21 |
His first two seasons weren’t just solid, they were explosive. In Watkins’ first 29 starts, he went over 100 yards nine times. Three times, he eclipsed the 150 yard mark. This is not a player that is invisible. He is a weapon deep, short, and on intermediate routes.
Furthermore, like I mentioned earlier, Watkins has something to prove. The Bills declined to pick up Watkins’ fifth-year option. So, unless the Bills sign him to a long-term deal, which is unlikely coming off of last year, 2017 will be his contract year. We all know players perform in their contract year. Even if Tyrod Taylor is the quarterback, Watkins will have a big year.
4. Brandin Cooks
Here is a guy that we have become all too familiar with over the years. We won’t see him as often as we have in the past, but in his new setting, he will be even more lethal than he was before.
In 2014, Brandin Cooks was the 20th overall pick of the New Orleans Saints. After a rookie season where he only put up 550 yards, Drew Brees took an extreme shine to him over the next two seasons. Brees targeted him well over 100 times each year and received good results in return. In 2015, Cooks pout up 84 receptions, 1,138 yards and nine touchdowns. He followed that up last year with 78 receptions, 1,178 yards and eight touchdowns.
To date, Cooks has had modest success against the Bucs. In five previous meetings he has caught 27 passes for 306 yards, though he hasn’t found his way to the end zone as of yet. You might wonder why he makes this list, but the reason is more about where he is now.
The Saints found him expendable so they traded him, in case anyone missed it, to the New England Patriots. Oh how the rich get richer. Tom Brady has a unique ability to make everyone around him better than they are. He will find a way to use Cooks to his fullest. Cooks will be targeted early and often when these two teams face off in October. He is a great receiver and in the best place he can be. Watch out.
3. Odell Beckham Jr.
He is one of the most high-strung players in the NFL. His battle on the field with Josh Norman made headlines. Last season, he had a soap opera relationship with the sideline kicking net that went viral several times over. He punches walls and causes damage to other team’s locker rooms and tunnels. He also rapidly ascended to the role of dominant wide receiver. You may not like Odell Beckham Jr. (full disclosure: I don’t), but he is a tough player and one that can break open a game from anywhere on the field.
| Games | Receiving | Rushing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Tm | Pos | No. | G | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | Lng | R/G | Y/G | Ctch% | Rush | Yds | TD | Lng | Y/A | Y/G | A/G | YScm | RRTD | Fmb | AV |
| 2014* | 22 | NYG | WR | 13 | 12 | 11 | 130 | 91 | 1305 | 14.3 | 12 | 80 | 7.6 | 108.8 | 70.0% | 7 | 35 | 0 | 13 | 5.0 | 2.9 | 0.6 | 1340 | 12 | 1 | 11 |
| 2015* | 23 | NYG | WR | 13 | 15 | 15 | 158 | 96 | 1450 | 15.1 | 13 | 87 | 6.4 | 96.7 | 60.8% | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3.0 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 1453 | 13 | 2 | 13 |
| 2016* | 24 | NYG | WR | 13 | 16 | 16 | 169 | 101 | 1367 | 13.5 | 10 | 75 | 6.3 | 85.4 | 59.8% | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 9.0 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 1376 | 10 | 3 | 10 |
| Career | 43 | 42 | 457 | 288 | 4122 | 14.3 | 35 | 87 | 6.7 | 95.9 | 9 | 47 | 0 | 13 | 5.2 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 4169 | 35 | 6 | 34 |
The numbers tell us all we need to know about this young player. He’s really, really good. There is a reason why Eli Manning has targeted him no less than 130 times in a season. Beckham has been over 1,300 yards every year and has always put up double-digit touchdowns. He has already gone over the 100-yard mark on 19 separate occasions, including a four-game streak in 2014 and a six-game streak in 2015. It’s hard to say anything else but wow.
Beckham has faced the Bucs once in his career. That was one of the 19 occasions, as he caught nine passes for 105 yards that day. Adding Brandon Marshall will open things up even more for him. October 1 at Raymond James will be a huge test for the Bucs secondary.
2. Larry Fitzgerald
The ageless wonder, Larry Fitzgerald. He has been getting it done in Arizona for so long that it’s hard to remember him not being there. Not only has he gotten it done, he has been among the best in the league.
Fitzgerald has gone over the 1,000 yard mark eight separate times, including a five-year stretch from 2007-2011. He has been selected to the Pro Bowl ten times, and every year since 2007, except for 2014. He’s also gone over 100 receptions on four separate occasions, including in each of the last two seasons. To say Fitzgerald has been consistent would be an understatement.
Since Bruce Arians moved him to the inside, he has had a resurgence. From 2012-2014, Fitzgerald went three straight years of not racking up 1,000 yards receiving. He was on the wrong side of 30 and people began to think he was falling off, finally. Boy were they wrong. Over the last two years, Fitzgerald has posted 15 touchdowns and over 2,200 yards receiving on 216 receptions. He is showing no signs of losing is dominance.
Just like against every other team, Fitzgerald has had success against the Buccaneers in the past. In five previous games, he has caught 24 passes for 348 yards and four touchdowns. The secondary is still a work in progress, so when these two teams battle in the desert, the Bucs had better have a plan to stop this guy.
1. Julio Jones
Was there really any doubt about this one? Not only is he the best on the Bucs schedule, but he will be mad, following what happened in February at the Super Bowl.
Six years in the league, and Jones has gone over the 1,000 yard mark four times, and once went over 900 yards. Over each of the last four seasons, Jones has averaged over 100 yards per game each year, and he’s led the league in the category over the last two seasons. If that isn’t an explosive player someone has to re-teach me the definition of the term. In short, it doesn’t get a lot better than Julio Jones. What makes it even more unfair is the fact that the Bucs have to face him twice per year.
Jones has been terrific against the Bucs as well, to nobody’s surprise. He has posted 68 receptions for 1,106 yards and eight touchdowns in 10 previous matchups. For anyone that didn’t realize it, that’s an average over 110 yards receiving per contest. Don’t get me wrong, I am sure he will be assigned to one Brent Grimes. Grimes did outperform my expectations, but he is still small. He can just overpower Grimes with his size. The Bucs must find a way to stop him.
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Do you guys agree with this list? Who did I leave off? Let me know in the comments…