Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Time for Tyler Johnson to shine?

Buccaneers: Time for Tyler Johnson to shine? (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

The Buccaneers will need to rely on wide receiver Tyler Johnson

While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won two games in a row, now holding a 2-1 record, but the news has not been all positive for the pewter and red. In their defeat of the Denver Broncos, the Buccaneers lost half of their wide receiver duo in Chris Godwin as he went down with a hamstring injury. He is now expected to miss multiple games for the Buccaneers as he recovers.

Waiting in the wings for the Buccaneers, however, is fifth round pick and rookie wide receiver out of Minnesota Tyler Johnson. Making his debut this past weekend against the Broncos, Johnson played 21 offensive snaps for the Buccaneers, but did not see a ball come his way. Now, however, after the injury to Godwin, Johnson could see a massive uptick in snaps played as the Los Angeles Chargers come to town.

Looking at the depth chart for Buccaneers at WR

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With Godwin out, the Buccaneers will look for a new running mate across from Pro Bowler Mike Evans. While Evans should dominate the looks on Sunday, the WR2 role will more than likely go to second year wide receiver Scotty Miller. However, Godwin also aligns in the slot with frequency, and this is an area Johnson is fit to fill as a Big Slot receiver.

Tight end O.J. Howard may get a few more looks lined up off the line of scrimmage, but the Buccaneers already use two tight end sets quite a bit. This will all lead to an uptick in Johnson’s snap count on Sunday as the Bucs look to move to 3-1.

What Tyler Johnson brings to the field

One of the more polarizing draft prospects pre-draft in this 2020 cycle, Johnson fell to the fifth round despite receiving first round hype at multiple points in the process. He is a good route runner and displays great footwork, but he struggles to separate down the field, and he suffered from concentration drops with the Minnesota Golden Gophers as well.

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Using him outside the numbers will not do much for the Buccaneers on Sunday, but he can thrive in the slot where he can use his frame against nickels, or be a mismatch against safeties and linebackers in man coverage. Can Johnson step up in the absence of Godwin? Only time will tell.

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