3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers who could make first Pro Bowl in 2019

NEW ORLEANS, LA - NOVEMBER 13: Shaquil Barrett #48 of the Denver Broncos celebrates a sack during the second half of a game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on November 13, 2016 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - NOVEMBER 13: Shaquil Barrett #48 of the Denver Broncos celebrates a sack during the second half of a game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on November 13, 2016 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images
Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images /

O.J. Howard

O.J. Howard is heading into year-three of his NFL career and has much to prove after ending the 2018 season on the sidelines nursing an injury. Howard, along with his fellow 2017 first round tight end draftees in Evan Engram of the New York Giants and David Njoku of the Cleveland Browns, is looking to make big jumps on the gridiron.

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Howard has split the tight end targets with Cameron Brate the last two seasons but is expected to have a featured role now that Bruce Arians is the head coach. Howard is an elite blocking tight end which, can hurt your overall stats because most who vote on the Pro Bowl do not look at blocks when it comes to vote.

Howard will need to capitalize on his new role in the offense and post at least 800 yards and at least five touchdowns if he wants to be a Pro Bowler in 2019. This may seem like a tall task for Howard seeing as he only has 997 yards and 11 touchdowns in two seasons in Tampa Bay. The Bucs are expected to have one of the more prolific offenses this season so having more than one pro bowler from the group will not be surprising.