Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Giovanni Bernard’s most overlooked skill

Giovani Bernard was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lone notable off-season addition. He is sure to help in the passing game with his skills as a receiver, but there’s one skill of his that’s being overlooked that will benefit the Buccaneers.

Bruce Arians, Jason Licht and the Buccaneers had a plan this off-season. Their only goal was to bring back as many players from their Super Bowl LV championship team as possible, due to the high number of free agents. They not only achieved that, but they mastered it. As you may have heard by now, the Bucs were able to bring back all 22 starters from the championship roster, and some change.

This was the first time in the Super Bowl era this has been accomplished, and because of that, there wasn’t much need for any additions. If there were any additions, they were sure to be overlooked due to the magnitude of what was already accomplished by the front office.

When it was announced at the Buccaneers had signed running back Gio Bernard from the Cincinnati Bengals, it was seen as a cherry on top of the delicious sundae that was there offseason. The general consensus was that he would help out in the passing game, giving Tom Brady and the Bucs a valuable back with pass-catching skills. While Bernard is certainly a capable receiver, there’s one other skill in the passing game that he also excels at that will benefit the Buccaneers.

The most underrated, and least talked about, skill for a running back to posses is the ability to pass-block. It just so happens that Bernard is one of the best in the NFL at this particular skill. He is surely to give Brady even more extra time should the Irresistible force that is the offensive line suddenly turn into a movable object.

Having a running back that can stand back in the shotgun next to the quarterback and be an extra blocker is crucial, and giving a quarterback like Brady this advantage will pay off in dividends. In case you haven’t noticed, he’s a pretty good quarterback already.

With training camp officially underway, it’ll be exciting to see how the new pieces like Bernard, and incoming rookies fit into this puzzle. It will also be exciting to see how the returning players improve. One thing is for certain though, Giovani Bernard Ian’s his Adonis-like quads are certainly going to help in the passing game, in more ways than one.