Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Three things to know about Justin Watson

3. His NFL Comparison is a Familiar Face

A major part of the NFL Draft process involves comparing prospects to current or former players. The comparisons don’t always make sense and are sometimes tedious, but they can still be fun sometimes. In the case of Justin Watson, it’s pretty fun. One of the players he has been compared to is former Buccaneer Vincent Jackson. That should excite fans in Tampa Bay.

Jackson broke out early in his career with the Chargers before signing with the Bucs. In Tampa, he had a lot of success. He put together three straight 100-yard seasons between 2012 and 2014 before injuries cost him time in 2015 and 2016. Seeing Watson, a new Buc, compared to Jackson, an old Buc, is interesting. From a Post-Gazette article on Watson:

"NFL draft analysts have compared Watson to former NFL receiver Vincent Jackson, who played for the Chargers and Buccaneers from 2005-16 after playing at Division II Northern Colorado. Watson and Jackson share almost the exact same athletic profile and posted similar testing results."

Not only was Jackson loved in Tampa for his performance on the field, but he was also great in the community. Watson is said to be a high-character guy as well, with a work ethic that is similar to some players already on the team’s roster. His draft profile mentions his “first-in, last-out mentality.” Sound familiar? Jameis Winston, Kwon Alexander, Gerald McCoy and quite a few others have been described as having the same type of work ethic. Maybe we’ll see all of these guys racing to be the first player in the building when training camp rolls around in July.

Next: Tampa Bay Buccaneers select Penn wide receiver Justin Watson

There’s your newest wide receiver, Bucs fans. Take some time to find him on Twitter @jwat05 and welcome him to Tampa Bay.