The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had an off-season banner, signed Tom Brady with the free agency, and lured Rob Gronkowski out of retirement to join him for a possible Super Bowl run in the next two seasons.
Although there are currently a lot of players on the Bucs squad who have achieved a lot, there are still a handful hoping to make a name for themselves in 2020 and step out of the shadows to make a name for themselves in the league do.
Here are three bucks that have something to prove this season:
RB Ronald Jones II
When the Bucs ran Peyton Barber this off-season, it was clear confirmation for Jones, who took the lead in early defeats. After a gloomy rookie season, Jones got promising results last season when he broke up with Barber enough to lead the team into the 2020 season as the clear number 1 on the depth map.
However, in the 2020 NFL draft, the Bucs also issued a third round selection for Vanderbilt’s Ke’Shawn Vaughn, who is likely to prevent Jones from interfering with the third downs and challenging him for this early down work . This should motivate Jones to have the best season of his career in 2020, especially when the opposing defense is paying so much attention to the team’s talented air forces.
TE OJ Howard
Buc’s fans have been waiting for Howard to drop out of his career, but injuries and inconsistencies have prevented the previous round’s choice from living up to the hype of being a top 20 pick. On paper, Howard’s rare combination of size and athleticism was supposed to make him a matchup nightmare for enemy defenses, but that hasn’t happened to the former Alabama star yet.
Instead, Howard is now in a crowded, cramped space with veteran Cameron Brate and newly acquired Gronkowski. That should make Howard be the best version of himself this season, but it could limit his ability to shine even further. Howard is running out of time to live up to his draft slot, and now is the time to prove that he deserves to be part of Tampa Bay’s long-term roster.
OT Donovan Smith
Smith’s best skill was availability, having missed only one left-handed start since he was named Week 1 Starter as a rookie in 2015. While there is something to be said about durability in a premium position, Smith’s overall performance has not been the most consistent, especially against some of the league’s leaders.
Smith signed a $ 41 million three-year extension last season, but there is no guaranteed money left for the deal after the 2020 season. If he wants to stop the Bucs from finding an alternative solution (which is younger, cheaper, and possibly better), he has to prove that he can be a consistent performer, especially now that he’s protecting Tom Brady’s blind side.
