The WR room

[Defense5599]

Here's as it stands now:

Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Russell Gage, Breshad Perriman, Tyler Johnson, Scottie Miller, Cyril Grayson and Jaylen Darden.

Assuming the Bucs keep six, who do you think stays and who do you think goes?

[_MB_]

Start from the bottom and work your way up.

[Defense5599]

Start from the bottom and work your way up.

It's a tough call on who to keep. Two of the last four obviously but who? Only Evans, Godwin, Gage and Perriman are guaranteed spots

[King Bootz]

People still think Tyler Johnson deserves a spot?

Ok.

I don't think anyone does anymore. He's been given NUMEROUS opportunities to shine and it just isn't there. That's not an indictment on him. He was a 5th round pick for a reason. Sometimes you are what you are.

[King Bootz]

Evans, Godwin, Gage. Beyond that, may the best man win. I wouldn't even rule out WR in the draft early on. The elephant that's soon to be in the room is that as often as we have restructured Evans contract, the reality is 2023 is the final year on his deal and he'll be 30. We could be looking for his replacement soon.

[Cheb]

I would say that Evans, Godwin, and Gage are roster locks.

I'd say to the rest that I have three jobs between the five of you, so best show up at your finest. I would presume Darden doesn't make the cut in an open competition. The other odd man out is open to interpretation. I'd guess Perriman would be the guy polishing his resume.

[_MB_]

I would say that Evans, Godwin, and Gage are roster locks.

I'd say to the rest that I have three jobs between the five of you, so best show up at your finest. I would presume Darden doesn't make the cut in an open competition. The other odd man out is open to interpretation. I'd guess Perriman would be the guy polishing his resume.

[Redrum]

Johnson and Miller are probably the underdogs to stay at this point.

[Phantom]

Here's as it stands now:

Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Russell Gage, Breshad Perriman, Tyler Johnson, Scottie Miller, Cyril Grayson and Jaylen Darden.

Assuming the Bucs keep six, who do you think stays and who do you think goes?

I’m not sure about Darden. He played horribly last year but I agree with your list

[uscbucsfan]

Miller was in the dog house last season after he came back healthy and Darden sucked.

I bet we lose both of them...and yes, keep TJ...even though he isn't very good...and draft a guy.

[Miller4Prez64]

Grayson is my clear #4, he made big plays last year and has Brady’s trust. He can stretch the defense as a deep threat as well.

The rest? Idk I’m not digging the group. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of our later picks is another WR prospect to compete. Johnson and Miller shit the bed when we needed someone to step up last year, Perriman has always been inconsistent and Darden was a huge disappointment for a rookie as a receiver and returner. I know we are talking about WR5 here, but I think we could look at some options there.

[Doctor]

Remember when people were saying we could replace Godwin with Tyler? Good times.

[Cheb]

Remember when people were saying we could replace Godwin with Tyler? Good times.

I was in that camp and I stand by what I said.
TJ had a possibility of replacing Godwin, given some overlap in skillsets. But as we've seen, Tyler Johnson has yet to ascend to such lofty heights, and Godwin has only gotten better with time.

But I wouldn't count out Tyler Johnson just yet. He's about to enter year three, which is the traditional benchmark to see whether a player has It. Who knows, he may surprise us with more consistent play. For one, he needs to stop pussyfooting around when he gets the ball and work himself upfield.

[MJW]

I'm guessing we carry 6.

Godwin will most likely begin on the PUP.
Evans and Gage are the 1-2 to start the year.
The other four spots will be between Perriman, Tyler Johnson, Grayson, Scotty, Darden, as OP said.

I'm guessing Perriman and Scotty are the safest of those five. Tyler Johnson will probably make it because his skill set is unique in that group. So that means Grayson vs Darden for the last spot. I'm going to say that Grayson gets it. Darden didn't distinguish himself in any aspect of the game last year. Grayson seems to be ascending. It means we'll have to find another returner, but so it goes.

Then, when Godwin is back, one of those guys most likely gets cut. OBP will probably have a good idea which one is contributing least.

[Doctor]

I may be in the minority here (what's new) but I'm a huge believer in training camp and preseason. I'm much more interested in seeing who shows up in the best shape, who worked on their craft during the offseason, who is giving it their all on every practice snap today in 2022 more so than anything they've put on tape in their handfuls of snaps to date.

The battles for tomorrow are won today, not yesterday.

[kaimaru]

Don't forget we also have Austin Watkins Jr, Travis Jonsen, and Vyncint Smith on the team. Maybe one of them could take the last spot as a punt returner.

[King Bootz]

Remember when people were saying we could replace Godwin with Tyler? Good times.

I was in that camp and I stand by what I said.
TJ had a possibility of replacing Godwin, given some overlap in skillsets. But as we've seen, Tyler Johnson has yet to ascend to such lofty heights, and Godwin has only gotten better with time.

But I wouldn't count out Tyler Johnson just yet. He's about to enter year three, which is the traditional benchmark to see whether a player has It. Who knows, he may surprise us with more consistent play. For one, he needs to stop pussyfooting around when he gets the ball and work himself upfield.

Godwin & TJ do not compare. It was always a very strange comparison to me. Their games do not mirror each other at all. It was about as weird as the Scotty Miller/Adam Humphries comparison people tried to make a few years back. Once you get past the obvious physical "resemblance", on the field it's night and day.

[real bucs fan]

Every time I hear someone in the org talk about Grayson they have nothing but great things to say. I think he’s the #4 and the deep threat/speed guy. I like Miller as a gadget guy but he needs to learn how to field kicks and punts if he wants to stick. Hopefully he can get the hang of it because he has the talent to excel in that role.

Johnson got his shot and he didn’t do anything with it.

[Max]

I hope we draft a receiver in R1, assuming one of the top guys is still available.

With Brady playing at the level he is, it comes down to the receivers, especially in this offense.

As long as we have 3 or even 4 receivers who are getting open on a consistent basis, nobody is beating this team. Period.

[King Bootz]

I hope we draft a receiver in R1, assuming one of the top guys is still available.

With Brady playing at the level he is, it comes down to the receivers, especially in this offense.

As long as we have 3 or even 4 receivers who are getting open on a consistent basis, nobody is beating this team. Period.

FIFY

[kaimaru]

I was in that camp and I stand by what I said.
TJ had a possibility of replacing Godwin, given some overlap in skillsets. But as we've seen, Tyler Johnson has yet to ascend to such lofty heights, and Godwin has only gotten better with time.

But I wouldn't count out Tyler Johnson just yet. He's about to enter year three, which is the traditional benchmark to see whether a player has It. Who knows, he may surprise us with more consistent play. For one, he needs to stop pussyfooting around when he gets the ball and work himself upfield.

Godwin & TJ do not compare. It was always a very strange comparison to me. Their games do not mirror each other at all. It was about as weird as the Scotty Miller/Adam Humphries comparison people tried to make a few years back. Once you get past the obvious physical "resemblance", on the field it's night and day.

How can anyone compare Scotty Miller to Adam Humphries????

[kaimaru]

Every time I hear someone in the org talk about Grayson they have nothing but great things to say. I think he’s the #4 and the deep threat/speed guy. I like Miller as a gadget guy but he needs to learn how to field kicks and punts if he wants to stick. Hopefully he can get the hang of it because he has the talent to excel in that role.

Johnson got his shot and he didn’t do anything with it.

Unfortunately, they tried him out in practice with kick and put returns last season. They decided Darden was better. That should tell you everything.

[Doctor]

Godwin & TJ do not compare. It was always a very strange comparison to me. Their games do not mirror each other at all. It was about as weird as the Scotty Miller/Adam Humphries comparison people tried to make a few years back. Once you get past the obvious physical "resemblance", on the field it's night and day.

How can anyone compare Scotty Miller to Adam Humphries????

Oh you know how... you know...

[kaimaru]

I hope we draft a receiver in R1, assuming one of the top guys is still available.

With Brady playing at the level he is, it comes down to the receivers, especially in this offense.

As long as we have 3 or even 4 receivers who are getting open on a consistent basis, nobody is beating this team. Period.

FIFY

So if Brady says "I love that Olave guy. He will bring a new dimension to this offense. I would love him on our team" to Licht. He falls to 27, do you think Licht won't draft him? Go for 3-4 DE/DT in the second round instead? All but one top DLine has been graded 2nd or 3rd rounds for this draft. The one exception won't be around at 27 and I would hope we wouldn't reach for someone with a much lower gfrade.

[Cheb]

I was in that camp and I stand by what I said.
TJ had a possibility of replacing Godwin, given some overlap in skillsets. But as we've seen, Tyler Johnson has yet to ascend to such lofty heights, and Godwin has only gotten better with time.

But I wouldn't count out Tyler Johnson just yet. He's about to enter year three, which is the traditional benchmark to see whether a player has It. Who knows, he may surprise us with more consistent play. For one, he needs to stop pussyfooting around when he gets the ball and work himself upfield.

Godwin & TJ do not compare. It was always a very strange comparison to me. Their games do not mirror each other at all. It was about as weird as the Scotty Miller/Adam Humphries comparison people tried to make a few years back. Once you get past the obvious physical "resemblance", on the field it's night and day.

Both Godwin and Johnson are 6'1"and 205lb. Both were renowned as collegians at making contested catches, both showed great ball skills, both able to wall off defenders, both physical after the catch. Both had questions about their long speed prior to the draft; Godwin answered them with a great 40 time, Johnson did not with a horrible one.

The comparisons were there to be made my dude.

[King Bootz]

Godwin & TJ do not compare. It was always a very strange comparison to me. Their games do not mirror each other at all. It was about as weird as the Scotty Miller/Adam Humphries comparison people tried to make a few years back. Once you get past the obvious physical "resemblance", on the field it's night and day.

How can anyone compare Scotty Miller to Adam Humphries????

They don't but I've seen the comparisons made in the past.

[_MB_]

Godwin was the upgrade over Humphries. For those difficult across the middle and seam catches.

AB was the upgrade over Scotty and now Gage will fill that role in the offense.

[Defense5599]

How can anyone compare Scotty Miller to Adam Humphries????

They don't but I've seen the comparisons made in the past.

It's pretty obvious why they try to make comparisons but you're talking about two different styles of play at the receiver position. Hump was your ultimate slot guy. He'd catch those underneath passes no one else wanted. Miller is a burner with over the top speed.

I'm happy for Hump. He signed as a UDFA in 2015 and put on quite a show in the preseason. As a result, he earned a roster spot. He managed to parlay that into a pretty sizeable contract with Tennessee after spending four years in Tampa and getting better every year. Hopefully he's enjoying the fruits of his labor.

[MJW]

Godwin & TJ do not compare. It was always a very strange comparison to me. Their games do not mirror each other at all. It was about as weird as the Scotty Miller/Adam Humphries comparison people tried to make a few years back. Once you get past the obvious physical "resemblance", on the field it's night and day.

Both Godwin and Johnson are 6'1"and 205lb. Both were renowned as collegians at making contested catches, both showed great ball skills, both able to wall off defenders, both physical after the catch. Both had questions about their long speed prior to the draft; Godwin answered them with a great 40 time, Johnson did not with a horrible one.

The comparisons were there to be made my dude.

The Hump/Miller comps were ridiculous. I'd go so far as to say "racist." The two of them did completely different things on the football field. It would be like comping, I dunno, Daunte Culpepper and Michael Vick because they were both black quarterbacks. Total nonsense.

The Godwin/TJ comps were completely reasonable.

Coming into the league:

Godwin: 6'1 209
Johnson: 6'1 206

Both noted for being physical at the point of catch and after the catch. Neither one considered to have elite deep speed, but both were effective on those routes because of their contested catch ability. Both were considered good intermediate receivers. Both excelled on the post route. There were questions about the explosiveness of each guy, but Godwin's 40 time helped him move up into Day Two (Tyler Johnson didn't run an official 40.)

Are they two different dudes? Yeah, absolutely. Godwin is an All Pro talent. Johnson is looking to rebound after a disappointing second season. Godwin is the all around better player, obviously. Is Bootz being performative in his "confusion" about why they're comped, or why TJ is considered a reasonable stand-in for Godwin on certain routes and playcalls in this offense? Obviously.

[Doctor]

FIFY

So if Brady says "I love that Olave guy. He will bring a new dimension to this offense. I would love him on our team" to Licht. He falls to 27, do you think Licht won't draft him? Go for 3-4 DE/DT in the second round instead? All but one top DLine has been graded 2nd or 3rd rounds for this draft. The one exception won't be around at 27 and I would hope we wouldn't reach for someone with a much lower gfrade.

Depends on how Licht's board looks. Licht is fantastic at taking in the opinions of everyone around him. I'm sure he'll weigh anything Brady has to say accordingly.

But Licht didn't get here by foregoing his own judgment for someone else's. And as much as we say silly things like "Brady brought in Lenny and AB", let's not act like signing a former top 5 pick and elite WR for cheap was not a freaking obvious move. Twice.

[MJW]

FIFY

So if Brady says "I love that Olave guy. He will bring a new dimension to this offense. I would love him on our team" to Licht. He falls to 27, do you think Licht won't draft him? Go for 3-4 DE/DT in the second round instead? All but one top DLine has been graded 2nd or 3rd rounds for this draft. The one exception won't be around at 27 and I would hope we wouldn't reach for someone with a much lower gfrade.

I don't advocate drafting for need. If Olave is clearly the highest rated player on the board, you take him and let time and reps sort the situation out.

At the same time, our top three receivers are all under contract for the next three years. So if it's close, I go somewhere else with the pick.

Also keep in mind that if we love Olave there, someone else likely does too. We only have 4 picks in the first 6 rounds. If someone wants to jump up and give us an extra 2nd or 3rd to take him, I hope we do it.

[Doctor]

Lions thought they were pretty set at WR for years after drafting Charles Rogers (2nd overall), Roy Williams (7th overall), and Mike Williams (10th overall) too.

They still drafted Calvin Johnson. And it was the right call.

[MJW]

Lions thought they were pretty set at WR for years after drafting Charles Rogers (2nd overall), Roy Williams (7th overall), and Mike Williams (10th overall) too.

They still drafted Calvin Johnson. And it was the right call.

I don't have a problem with it. I wouldn't be upset. Especially if we are talking about Olave specifically - that dude is going to be really, really, really good. Good health, good luck, good situation - he could be one of the very best in the league. He reminds me a ton of Marvin Harrison at Syracuse.

There are definitely a few players I'm not a huge fan of, but in terms of "direction," there's very little we can do here I'll be upset about. One of the perks of picking so late.

[_MB_]

You always draft for need.

Starting with the need for some rookies.

[Dread]

I think Darden really needs to step up in year 2. He played scared as a rookie and the quickness/elusiveness never really showed other than one decent punt return last season. Kid needs to play with more confidence.

Scotty needs to stay healthy. That's always the knock on speedy guys like Miller and Grayson, if they are susceptible to injury and since their effectiveness is so reliant on top end speed they really need to be fully healthy to be effective. They can't guy it out and be productive at 80% like Evans or Godwin can with minor injuries.

The re-signing of Perriman was a very bad sign and message to Tyler Johnson that he better not be buying a house in the area.