Best Pick
April 30th, 2020
Underrated?
Either this will age terribly or Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht got an absolute steal.
Josh Edwards of CBS Sports decided to look at the best draft pick of each NFL team. Generally, you would think this would be a first-round pick. For example, it’s hard to imagine Tristan Wirfs won’t be the best player the Bucs drafted because he is scheduled to start immediately.
But Edwards believes another rookie will have a long career with the Bucs. Even longer than Wirfs. And this guy wasn’t picked until the third day of the draft.
That would be wide receiver Tyler Johnson.
Tampa Bay Bucs
Round 5, No. 161 overall – Minnesota wide receiver Tyler JohnsonJohnson was one of the most polarizing wide receiver prospects in this draft class. His film was fantastic but several were underwhelmed with his testing. Johnson finds a nice fit in Tampa Bay with Chris Godwin, Mike Evans and Tom Brady. He could be a good contributor out of the slot.
Joe understands a lot of folks think Johnson is automatically the slot receiver. But man, last year Chris Godwin logged well over half his snaps at the slot, the first time he played there primarily, and he totally blew up.
Why are people so eager to fix something that is not broken?
Keep Godwin at slot until or unless he shows he is be better playing full-time out wide.
April 30th, 2020 at 7:11 am
Could it be because Josh Edwards had Tyler Johnson number 78 on his big board?
He also had Prince Tega Wanogho as his 50th best player who the Eagles took in the 6th round. I am sure he has Prince starting for the Eagles before the end of the year.
April 30th, 2020 at 7:12 am
A fraction of a second slower, or arms an inch, and a half shorter then most can make any good player slide in the draft. People think Wirfs arms are a little to short for tackle so he’d be a better guard. Yet there’s three years of tape where he dominated at RT. Johnson might not put up great combine numbers, but the tape shows a good football player. I remember a long time ago the Giants had the fastest receiver in the NFL. He ran strictly go routes, and would beat defenders like Bolt in a track meet. His name was Homer Jones. Problem was he couldn’t catch. If he caught 1 out of 9 deep shots he’d be lucky. His hands were bricks. So much for being fast. He didn’t last long in the league.
April 30th, 2020 at 7:15 am
I think Johnson, Godwin, Evans, Gronk, Brate and whomever at RB will be absolutely unstoppable in the red zone. There will be just too many to cover
April 30th, 2020 at 7:17 am
Getting caught up in semantics. When reporters or whomever say “slot,” I’m pretty sure what they really mean is working at 3rd receiver. Either way, I feel more comfortable with him as a “next man up” than little Scotty Miller. The idea of Scotty Miller and Watson on outside if God forbid Evans and Godwin get hurt again is downright scary
April 30th, 2020 at 7:26 am
Nice problem to have.
April 30th, 2020 at 7:35 am
If Godwin is our 2nd best outside receiver than he should line up there on occasion and Johnson would take the slot……nothing wrong with that……Move Chris around…..we’ll see a lot of 2 TE sets this year.
Nice to hear a 5th round pick is our best pick…..you just can’t have too many WRs.
April 30th, 2020 at 7:37 am
Some projected he would be taken in second round. We got in 5th
What a steal
What he lacks in speed he makes up for in his route running
Bucs needed a #3 receiver .
Hope he starts the season as that guy
Bucs have some serious weapons here
With brady And receivers and tightends ….teams cAnt stack the box…and make bucs one dimensional…i think the running game will open up. …rojo will look good
April 30th, 2020 at 7:54 am
They need to get someone with speed the ball at the second level. Miller, johnson SOMEONE!!!
April 30th, 2020 at 8:15 am
Like gofortheface said. It’s more people equate 3rd receiver and slot as same thing. Thx madden
April 30th, 2020 at 8:21 am
Licht has had his shortcomings over the years when it comes to drafting players…
That said, he seems to have a good eye for receivers…Tyler Johnson sliding to the 5th round shows you how much teams put into the measurables not to mention, this was a very deep receiver class…
Screw the measurables the tape doesn’t lie…When you look at the tape Johnson is 1 of the best receivers in this class…kudos to us, the rich just got richer…
April 30th, 2020 at 8:34 am
I’ve been saying this…Johnson where the Bucs picked him is fantastic value and could end up being the best bang for the buck steal of this year’s Bucs draft. Of course this is all on paper at this point. Bucs have won many a championship on paper after the draft and/or off season. 🙂
April 30th, 2020 at 9:00 am
Measurables are misleading. Same thing with Winfield being too short. So Tyler Johnson is too slow is laughable. These guys are very good football players who have excelled at their current competition level.
If I was 6’2″ and lost 5 inches of stature and became 5’9″ then yeah, it woyld be a problen but these guys get the jib done well because their measurable are part of who they are.
April 30th, 2020 at 9:01 am
Thats right. A lot of players look good on paper or film or shorts but how they look on a NFL team tells it all. Its all about wait & see. I hoping a lot of the Bucs picks surprise us in a good way.
April 30th, 2020 at 9:11 am
Yeah they are!
April 30th, 2020 at 9:16 am
I think Johnson can be the Edleman for Brady. Edleman was always considered the “slot” guy for NE, but he lined up outside a majority of the time.
April 30th, 2020 at 9:48 am
He looks like he could be interchangeable with Godwin playing slot and outside…he can do both. Of course there will be some Scotty Miller involved.
April 30th, 2020 at 10:43 am
PFF rated Tyler Johnson the #1 WR in college football last year. Super productive. He was 3rd in catches of 15+ yards just behind Jeudy and Lamb. High football IQ and route running. Crazy good body control and he attacks the football in the air. He’ll he the 3WR wherever he lines up. Great pick!
April 30th, 2020 at 10:44 am
He is a clone of Godwin who went third round where this guy was expected to go. Plays with heart and effort. Can’t coach that into someone
April 30th, 2020 at 10:44 am
Carl Nicks
Yeah secondary’s will sh1t a brick every time we come out of the huttle.
As for Johnson over Wirfs for a best pick, that’s too funny. Number two is Weinfield. None of these guys have played in the NFL but we received an All-America ball hawk that can play all over for a mastermind secondary DC. We have plenty of fire power at WR. But I do like Johnson very much.
Why do people talk about Scotty Miller? Is he suppose to be good or dominant or Hump? I have a bad memory can someone let me know?
April 30th, 2020 at 10:56 am
I think Calais will have a bigger initial impact. Johnson will probably show up down the final stretch, but I don’t see initial impact.
Brady will work with Evans, Godwin, and the TEs to start the season. Calais will show as an outlet and probably a highly effective one.
It will still take a bit to develop, but we have a QB who can support the team and not fumble it.
April 30th, 2020 at 11:56 am
It’s called versatility. Godwin and him can both line up in the slot at different times. Evans can too.
Hell, so could Gronk or OJ
April 30th, 2020 at 12:09 pm
Once Howard and Brate keep dropping passes it will be a one tight end set with three wideouts and running back.
April 30th, 2020 at 12:17 pm
So real question-If we’d have taken Johnson with our 3rd round pick and Vaughn with our 5th round pick…..would some folks be less harsh on this draft and the pick of Vaughn?
At the end of the day….it’s not about rounds. It’s about building a better football team. And count me in the camp that says from a draft perspective (never know what happens when they make it to the big leagues, get money, etc)….this was a home run draft.
April 30th, 2020 at 12:30 pm
@Rob. Spot on observation. I’m right there with you.
April 30th, 2020 at 1:35 pm
I would have preferred KJ Hill out of Ohio State, but Johnson has a similar skill set and similar numbers coming out of Minnesota…so all things considered…not a bad pick.
April 30th, 2020 at 1:38 pm
The draft is basically a crap shoot. Media builds them up, and a lot of 1st & 2nd rounders fail, while the later rounders turn out to be special. We’ve had more than our share of failing 1st & 2nds.
April 30th, 2020 at 3:02 pm
Beware of Mel Kiper Jr. Most of his picks don’t pan out as he says. Most players he says stay away from become all pros.
April 30th, 2020 at 6:55 pm
We didn’t need a slot or Z WR, a true #2 outside WR at X position. The x in Arian’s offense is a fast reciever that can take the top of a defense. If they drafted a slot reciever in the 5th round I can only see that as a back up role to Godwin and maybe to spell Evans after long play. Although, Godwin played the X position when Humphrey played for us but I would still think TB12 would rather have a slot reciever with experience.
April 30th, 2020 at 9:39 pm
Rob- not even being sarcastic here, your comment just put my mind at ease. I hated the Vaughn pick, but loved the Johnson pick, so I will just flip them in my mind and now we have great value from both positions in the draft, LOL. KUDOS
May 1st, 2020 at 12:10 am
Edelman was an ex-QB too.
Edelman started off in the NFL as a skinny dude.
He evolved.
Tyler Johnson will evolve too. Smd get faster.