Jeremy McNichols Has “A Receivers Coach”
July 11th, 2017
Different focus (Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com)
It’s awfully rare for the 17th running back selected in an NFL Draft to be granted an in-studio sitdown with NFL Network before he takes a game snap.
But that was the case for Tampa Bay rookie Jeremy McNichols.
You can watch McNichols’ televised chat here. Joe found it rather boring, but there was an intriguing nugget at the end. McNichols said he’s working nearly daily this summer with “my receivers coach.”
Now when’s the last time you heard a running back say he has his own receivers coach?
Perhaps this is why McNichols has what general manager Jason Licht described as “rare hands?”
If McNichols is truly a rare receiver, and can run better between the tackles than mambo dancer Charles Sims, then the Bucs will have one wildly unpredictable offense this season.
McNichols sure found the right team for himself. First, head coach Dirk Koetter is the former boss at Boise State, where McNichols starred and Koetter maintains relationships within the football staff. Plus, Doug Martin is suspended for the first three weeks of the season. So McNichols is virtually guaranteed to make the opening day roster and get a shot to be the featured back in Week 1.
July 11th, 2017 at 1:00 pm
Excellent depth at RB, IMO.
July 11th, 2017 at 1:12 pm
The drafting of Simms, and now the drafting of McNichols tells me we really want a Matt Forte type of back, who can really hurt you, catching passes.
Carolina got Christian McCaffery, who is exactly this kind of back.
Perhaps McNichols will be the kind of back Simms wasn’t ?
As far as Koetter’s ties to Boise State, sure. But he hasn’t coached there since the Beatles White Album was for sale. He did not coach Doug Martin, and sure as heck did not coach McNichols.
As far as McNichols having boring interviews, I have to agree. Maybe he is a little shy, but no one would accuse him of being Mr Personality, from the interviews I have seen of him.
I never really heard of him until we drafted him, but I went back and watched some game film on him. Pretty Impressive !
July 11th, 2017 at 1:18 pm
He was ok…what is he going to say? He hasn’t even practiced with the team because of his injury. So, he probably thought is was best to keep it low key. (I would agree.)
July 11th, 2017 at 1:20 pm
it is good to have a few safety valves for JW3, but where Sims excels (when healthy) is the catch and open field running, the ability to make them miss, still recalling his rookie year coming off the ankle injury and Luke Kuechly is still looking for himhttp://imgur.com/yP9WJt3
July 11th, 2017 at 1:41 pm
He might unseat Sims and pass Rodgers/Martin by the time we get to our bye week. He is a combination of Martin/Sims and gives us a great utility back. he just needs reps.
July 11th, 2017 at 1:43 pm
I saw that. I did not take it as his personal coach. I think he was just talking about the receiver coach, he just worded it as my receivers coach
July 11th, 2017 at 1:50 pm
Can’t remember where but I saw this article saying chuck Simms is a long shot to make the roster. Heard any thing like this joe?
July 11th, 2017 at 2:05 pm
The article was sorely mistaken. More likely talking about Blake Simms. We should keep 4 rb and I think it will be Martin Rodgers Sims and McNicholes
July 11th, 2017 at 2:07 pm
The article has since been fixed to read Blake Simms.
July 11th, 2017 at 2:08 pm
I wonder what Buc1987 thinks about this.
Oh wait, never mind….
This is really interesting to me. Heading into the season I felt the odd man out was going to be Doug Martin. It may end up being Charles Sims.
July 11th, 2017 at 2:15 pm
What happen to morning cup of Joe this morning?
July 11th, 2017 at 2:16 pm
No way in hell he’s the featured back week 1. Have you seen Rodgers? I’m sure you have, the guy looks like he has added some significant muscle. No way Rodgers is not the starter week one and possibly takes the job from Martin.
I will maintain my stance on Martin staying though. It’s about winning not contracts. Hopefully he agrees to restructure but I think Simms or Barber are gone. Martin stays
July 11th, 2017 at 3:02 pm
If I had to guess it’s Rodgers/Sims as 1-2 punch to start unless McNichols really wows the coaching staff in preseason. If Sims struggles in his role then the rook will probably eat into his time while Martin/Rodgers rotate as the primary running backs
Either way I feel a lot more optimistic about the run game than last year. No stacked boxes and more healthy bodies
July 11th, 2017 at 3:02 pm
Who is his receivers coach? Do the Bucs have 2 receiving coaches now? Or will Moken try and ….wait I mean will Joe try to give Monken credit for this guys pass catching ability? He came to the Bucs a prolific pass catche, that part of his game is Pro Ready!!!! Stick to coaching up our 4th, 5th, and 6th receivers!! Go BUCS!!!
July 11th, 2017 at 3:46 pm
Lord C I can see him taking simms spot easily
July 11th, 2017 at 3:52 pm
I like our RBs, I’ve always been more concerned with the O Line that the running backs. Unless you have AP or Barry Sanders the RBs success is directly dependent on the blocking.
July 11th, 2017 at 4:03 pm
would love to see us be able to keep Simms as a hybrid 6th WR / 4th RB option
July 11th, 2017 at 5:02 pm
Seems obvious that Dirk wants to use 2 RBS on Gamedaye. One guys used like a bellcow and one guy that’s a primary pass weapon, taking 8-10 carries to keep the offense honest.
Chuck Simms actually has the perfect skillset for the receiving RB IMO. The problem with Simms is that we can’t rely on him to take over running duty’s if need be. RB position is fragile across the league and that make it a very bad knock against
July 11th, 2017 at 5:02 pm
If Jeremy can do everything stated above it will be huge for this team. I don’t think they hold back on Jeremy either. I think they give him as many carries as they think he can handle. Dirk knows RBs can drop like fly’s and I’d assume he’d like to have an idea on what they can count on from this kid if somebody does get injured, rather then scratching there heads hoping he can handle more.
One thing is certain. Dirk has a great playbook setup to utilize a pass catching RB……just like Simms did in 2015 when he was healthy
July 11th, 2017 at 5:08 pm
.. Just to straighten things up.. Simms (two m’s, Blake) will have a tough time making the team, Sims (one m, Charles) will make the team but better figure out a way to run, it is his contract year after all. McNichols will quickly supplant Sims and Rodgers and the wildcard is Martin. If Peyton Barber figures out how to pass block Sims needs to worry.
But, my new angle on Peyton Barber, he’s already a thick back at 225, but I saw a report that he claims to have added 10 pounds. If he is at 235, could the Bucs be considering him to be a fullback with just a little more weight gain. He seems to have a body type that could grow into that of a Mike Tolbert physique. Plus, in college he acted as a lead blocker a ton in Auburn’s run scheme. Total speculative on my part I know but I have a soft spot for Barber and his personal story. I would love him to carve out a 10 year NFL career somehow.
The other factor, which one goes down in the preseason to week 3 window?
July 11th, 2017 at 5:19 pm
McNichols came to Boise State as a receiver and was later converted to a RB so he has always had great hands.
During his time at BSU He rushed for over 1300yds and had over 450 rec. yds in back to back seasons.
2015 – Rushing – 1337 yds – 5.6 avg. – 20 TDs
– Receiving – 460 yds – 9.0 avg. – 6 TDs
2016 – Rushing – 1709 yds – 5.4 avg. – 23 TDs
– Receiving- 474 yds – 12.8 avg. – 4 TDs
That’s Over 3200 yds rushing and over 1000 yds receiving in only 2 Seasons.
Don’t expect anything less at the next level. McNichols was easily a top 3 Back this past draft. He was without doubt the most underated player in the country last year. The Bucs got the biggest steal in the draft!
I fully expect the two Boise State products to duel it out for the starting role this season. Its a two man race in my opinion – McNichols/Martin
July 11th, 2017 at 5:44 pm
You may be on to something withwith Barber tnew. Personally, I dont think the Bucs are too high on Barber. I mean, they went through their entire RB stable and started using a guy plucked off the streets before they handed the ball to Peyton. They wouldnt even usr him as a committee-type runner after Martin went down. I just dont see the Bucs having any plans of using Barber as a halfback with any role greater then as a backup…….if not last year was the perfect opportunity to give him a lot of carries.
July 11th, 2017 at 8:55 pm
What about his rb coach? U know the one position we are interested in. The DM. The guy. Like most of the content on here as of late is all about DM. Last time I checked Sims was a elite pass catchers at that position. This overrated rated. I know for a fact all rbs catch most balls throw their anyway because what I see is what I get.
To win now, We need a guy that can scare defenses. Who can make defense stack boxes. The only back on our roster who was that ability right now is DM no matter how boosted these unknowns are thru media
July 11th, 2017 at 9:06 pm
Fans seem to write Sims off too easily….after all, he ran for almost 5 yards per carry in 15 & his receiving led the league.
He never was drafted or expected to be anything but a 3rd down back and he’s pretty damn good at that.
July 11th, 2017 at 9:36 pm
Based on his time in Jax & Atlanta, Koetter likes to run and he seems to like ‘bell cows’. The RB who comes closest to that right now is Doug Martin, IF he stays healthy & IF our OLine improves its run blocking. McNichols might surprise me early-on, but I’m doubtful that Koetter will give him a chance to prove himself early in the season unless he just lights it up in preseason. I love Sims in play-action but he’s kinda like a one-trick pony … you know what’s coming when he steps on the field.
I’m as intrigued with Barber as tnew is. He might have been a little slow picking things up last year (he was an undrafted rookie after all) but I thought he improved a bunch during the latter part of the season. But Koetter still wanted that bell cow I think, and with Jaquizz & Martin on the roster, Barber was relegated to 3rd or 4th place in terms of carries. Things should really be interesting this year with McNichols added to the stable of backs.
July 11th, 2017 at 10:26 pm
The bucs passed on 10 quality RBs if the joes are right and the bucs have soured on martin, licht should have followed the titans GM lead and his stud RBs that run downhill and get you the 1st down by drafting a Perrine
July 12th, 2017 at 9:02 am
Tambabaybucfan
Simms is a one trick pony – he can receive.
He is a horrible runner – his feet move a mile a minute but he gets nowhere in traffic in between the tackles.
Rogers and McNichols – if they can run blocking catch then Sam’s maybe getting pushed out by Peyton barber.
His only other chance to last is if Martin comes back and is absolutely awful, otherwise – injuries
July 13th, 2017 at 1:43 pm
As far as I’m concerned, Jaquizz Rodgers is the man to beat as things stand today. Martin is either feast or famine when it comes to YPC. Rodgers is nearly as good as Martin’s best and he’s far more consistent.
That puts Martin at #2. He still (presumably) has the talent to be a league leader, so I hesitate to drop him any farther than that.
Then you have the real question marks: Sims, Barber, McNichols, and Simms.
Sims is almost unbeatable at what he does. Unfortunately, as many of you have said, his skillset is so limited to catching passes that defenses can key on that as soon as he hits the field. That really diminishes his usefulness.
Peyton Barber is a guy that I’d love to see take a huge leap forward this year. I agree that he has the physical tools to be a standout as a situational fullback. We know that Koetter loves to utilize two-back sets when he has the personnel for it, and if Barber develops as a lead blocker I could see him getting on the field a lot more often.
McNichols will get every chance in the world to prove he belongs on the roster. Draft picks, particularly picks that are considered steals, get lots of chances to prove that their GMs were right. We may not have much of a chance to really see what Jeremy has for a while, but whether he pans out as a feature back, a specialist, or a reliable backup, I’m sure he’ll be worth every bit of his draft position and then some.
Of all our backs, Simms is the one I know least about, so I’ll just wish him the best. He’s a Buccaneer, so that me a fan, but at the end of the day he has to prove he deserves to wear pewter and red.
Overall, I love the backs we have. Worst-case scenario: we are in far better shape than most teams, including some playoff teams. In the words of Bob Marley, “Baby, don’ worry… ’bout a thing. Every little thing gonna be alright!”