Tim Wright Expecting Bigger, Better Results
April 23rd, 2014
This just in: Tim Wright finished 12th in receiving yards for tight ends in 2013, most for any rookie.
Just about as long as Joe has had this corner of the Interwebs up and running, Bucs fans have been absolutely obsessed with the tight end position. Joe is confident many Bucs fans would rather have a decent tight end than a decent quarterback.
Joe is constantly peppered with questions on Twitter about who the Bucs will draft/sign to upgrade the tight end spot. The sad thing of it is, these same fans don’t want to hear the truth: that the team currently has a budding star tight end already on the roster.
Joe assumes these fans want to wash their hands of tight end Tim Wright because he is a Rutgers man, and we all know a Rutgers man means one thing: Greg Schiano. Well, if the former Bucs commander got one thing right in the season from hell last year, it was converting Wright from a wide receiver to a tight end.
Last season, Wright started but eight games yet nearly finished in the top third of all tight ends for yards receiving with 571 yards, tops for all rookie tight ends. That was more than Vernon Davis. More than Coby Fleener. More than Zach Miller. More than Brandon Pettigrew. More than Tyler Eifert. More than Dallas Clark, who more than a few fans were outraged that the Bucs couldn’t keep.
Joe got a chance to talk to Wright yesterday at One Buc Palace to discuss his amazing season.
“Coming here, when I heard about the move to tight end, I knew what my assets are,” Wright said. “I am a player that can stretch the field. I can get in and out of my breaks and create mismatches against defenses. So I use that to my advantage.
“Coaches did a good job of putting me in those positions where I could have that success. I am not a big guy as far as stats and all that type of stuff, but at the end of the year, I did take a look at it and it was pretty impressive. I was proud of myself for it. I thank my coaches and all the people who made that possible, Mike Glennon the quarterback, for that success.”
Joe spoke with Bucs general manager Jason Licht at the NFL Combine in February and specifically asked Licht about Wright. Licht’s face lit and up and he really believes the Bucs may have a gem. Licht raved about how a guy who never played tight end before nearly finished among the top-10 in receiving yards at his position.
Wright believes that with offensive wizard Jeff Tedford running the show, his numbers can only get better.
“For sure, they know what I can do now so I am sure they will put me in the best position to succeed.”
So Bucs fans, relax. If seems you may already have your coveted tight end. Just try to purge from your mind he played for Rutgers.
April 23rd, 2014 at 7:17 am
@Joe
He isn’t a go up and get it type of TE and neither is Brandon Myers(They are essentially the same type of TE).. That is why we want a Ebron Graham Gronk type of TE… Or atleast I want one because of that reason.
April 23rd, 2014 at 7:18 am
We have other needs that are greater than TE like WR & Oline….I would be surprised if we chose a TE in this draft but if a great value falls to us….OK…
April 23rd, 2014 at 7:19 am
Not saying Ebron is as good as Gronk or Graham just he compares to them in the draft this year(as the type of TE) and so does ASJ…
April 23rd, 2014 at 7:20 am
I like this kid good hands descent speed plus he has that positive vibe for sure
April 23rd, 2014 at 7:25 am
Tim Wright has an outstanding asset that makes him special. He can catch the damn ball!
April 23rd, 2014 at 7:26 am
He’ll improve with a more balanced offense too.
April 23rd, 2014 at 7:31 am
Joe mentioned Stocker had a nice grab yesterday. (gasp!) Any word on Crabtree? Our run game was a hell of a lot better in the few games he did play.
April 23rd, 2014 at 9:37 am
I just read an ‘analysis’ yesterday by PFF and another quality Tim Wright possesses is his great hands. He had, if I remember wright (pun intended), the second best adjusted target vs catch rating. The kid is impressive.
Unfortunately, in the same article was VJs name, under the not so great hands. He wasn’t the worst, but he was on that list. No surprise really. Especially last year. VJ had a hard time hanging onto the ball.
April 23rd, 2014 at 9:38 am
@Biff,
I think Stocker was injured on that play… lol
April 23rd, 2014 at 10:35 am
I watched the video on the team site. Tim was a little emotional when asked about Schiano. He must have known him since high school recruiting. He thanked Schiano for making him the player he is today.
April 23rd, 2014 at 10:55 am
We have many other needs and TE is not high on the list. CB/OL/DE
top the list and the need is multiple of each. Notice Joe, that QB was not mentioned.
April 23rd, 2014 at 11:12 am
Joe, I’m shocked that you failed to play the Glennon angle here. You never seem to waste an opportunity to do so. You must be off your game today. I was certain I would read something to the effect of, “Last season, Wright started but eight games yet nearly finished in the top third of all tight ends for yards receiving with 571 yards, tops for all rookie tight ends. And this, after all, while playing alongside the 32nd ranked horrendous rookie QB we call Mike Glennon. Imagine what he could do with a real quarterback? Joe can only dream.”
April 23rd, 2014 at 11:35 am
Move him to receiver and draft Ebron to pair with Meyers. Graham lined up as receiver on over 65 percent of his snaps. Put wright in the a lot against a Nicole corner
April 23rd, 2014 at 11:42 am
That would be just dumb. Wright is nothing more than a scrub as a receiver. He just finds his niche and proves to be a solid tight end and you want to move him back to receiver where he sucks???
April 23rd, 2014 at 11:43 am
Saw him catch a ball yesterday. Didn’t think it was significant enough to mention.
April 23rd, 2014 at 1:44 pm
Tim Wright has great hands and is a mismatch for most LBs, he’s good where he’s at and he’s sort of in his own class when you compare him to every other TE in the league. Not saying he’s better but you don’t often see TEs of his build doing much of anything.
April 25th, 2014 at 5:59 pm
The only reason I can imagine drafting a TE early in this year’s draft is if you’re also going to move Wright back to WR AND draft another wideout.