Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 3 players in need of bounce-back seasons
By Cory Kinnan
Justin Evans
After an extremely productive and promising rookie year, safety Justin Evans took a massive step back in 2018 under former defensive coordinator Mike Smith. He has a new defensive coordinator in Bowles, who loves to walk safeties closer to the line of scrimmage, so Evans should be entering into a favorable defensive scheme to fit is style of play.
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After knocking down six passes and intercepting three as a rookie, Evans managed to tally just one pick and two knockdowns during his sophomore campaign last year in ten games. Evans does record a good deal of solo tackles for a safety, so the Buccaneers will need him to continue to produce against the run.
Evans has historically looked a bit lost against the pass, and will need to make strides on that element of his game in 2019. The Buccaneers’ secondary was torched endlessly last year, and the progression of Evans as well as the additions of Murphy-Bunting and Jamel Dean could prove to be key contributors towards improving the Tampa Bay defense.
The Buccaneers drafted one safety and signed another in Mike Edwards and Kentrell Brice respectively, and with Evans being from the former regime, he too could see himself displaced should he fail to earn the favor of the new coaching staff. This upcoming season will be a crucial one for the Buccaneers and for the trajectory of the rest of Evans’ career.