Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Look out for O.J. Howard in 2019
By Cory Kinnan
Improving from his rookie to sophomore year in the NFL, Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end O.J. Howard is looking to make a bigger jump in 2019.
When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected tight end O.J. Howard with the 19th pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, they knew that an explosive playmaker was being added to their roster. However, in two seasons with the team so far, Howard has not put up the numbers that were expected.
The blame for Howard’s production does not fall solely onto his shoulders, as he has dealt with injuries and inconsistent quarterback play thus far in his career. Howard has missed eight games over two-year career to this point due to injury, and when he has been on the field, the Alabama superstar has had to deal with the windshield wiper quarterback situation; Jameis Winston, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Winston, Fitzpatrick, Winston, Fitzpatrick.
To this point in his career, Howard has been able to manage just 997 yards on 60 catches and 11 total touchdowns. In 2018, Howard posted a stat line of 34 catches, 565 yards, and five touchdowns.
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Look out for the tight end in his third season in the league. Tight ends usually have a learning curve when entering the NFL as fellow first round tight ends from 2017 Evan Engram and David Njoku have had similar results. With Winston as his sole quarterback in 2019, Howard is poised to break through the glass and explode onto the scene this season.
Although his numbers do not reflect the result on the field, Howard was ranked as the Buccaneers top rated pass catcher a year ago, and it is only a matter of time before his numbers catch up to his significance on the field. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Howard graded out at an 89.4 which ranks him well into the green.
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With the departure of Adam Humphries, Howard may be asked to play a bigger role between the numbers and underneath as well as down the seam where his explosiveness really shines. Howard is a dependable and explosive threat, and it would not be a shock to see him double his stat line in 2019 from the year before; look out for the third-year tight end.