Buccaneers starter has a lot to prove in make or break season
This year has a lot riding on it for a young defender on the Buccaneers.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have built their team identity around getting the most out of their young players. Jason Licht and his team in the front office keep a constant stream of young talent coming to Tampa via the draft and undrafted free agents, and this has played a huge role in ensuring the Bucs remain competitive regardless of their cap space.
However, there does come a time where the team has to be real about what it has. In a game where resources are always tight, smart general managers have to make decisions about when to move on from players before their cost starts to outweigh their value on the field.
One such player that is surely starting to get that evaluation is outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka.
Buccaneers need to determine what they have in Joe Tryon-Shoyinka
JTS came to the Bucs by way of the sweetest pick in football: the untraded 32nd overall pick. The Buccaneers, who had just won the Super Bowl, could basically do no wrong with this pick. The team was stacked. Key starters were coming back on both sides of the ball. Tampa had few needs in the short term, so some early investments on guys that could pan out down the road made sense.
Tryon-Shoyinka had the look of a guy that could become a stud after a few years of experience in a depth role. The athleticism and build screamed Todd Bowles, especially when these complimented what the Bucs already had at pass rush with Shaquil Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul.
However, after three years of watching, it feels like most of us are still waiting for JTS to take those next steps.
Tryon-Shoyinka is athletic and brings the right amount of versatility to a front that asks a ton of its players, but the results have been largely underwhelming. That is why YaYa Diaby took his spot towards the end of last season.
