5 decisions that give Buccaneers a shot at the Super Bowl
By Rob Leeds
Use O.J. Howard the right way
Tom Brady loved throwing the football to tight end Rob Gronkowski while in New England. Brady and Gronk were one of the most dominant duos in league history, and Tampa Bay even went as far as to trade for Gronk when he returned from retirement to reunite the pair.
Gronkowski is the greatest tight end of all time, but no one is sure what he is going to look like when he returns to football. After losing weight and several nagging injuries, most people wonder what role the new tight end for the Bucs will play.
Gronk will likely be able to put the weight back on and will bring a lot of versatility to the team. In addition to his prowess as a pass-catcher, Gronk is one of the best blocking tight ends ever, which should free up O.J. Howard to catch more passes.
Howard is the most mismanaged player on the Buccaneer roster by a mile. As one of the most explosive tight ends in the NFL, it boggles the mind to wonder why he doesn’t run more routes than he does.
If the Buccaneers could use Gronkowski more as a blocker, O.J. Howard can become Tom Brady’s newest favorite tight end option. Howard was only targeted 3.7 times per game last season, but one has to think that said number will rise significantly with Brady at the helm.
By making this decision, the Buccaneers would give Brady another elite offensive weapon instead of sidelining Howard as a blocker.