Most Improved Player
December 26th, 2021
Emerging Cyril Grayson!
OK, which one of you Bill Walshes had this guy as your pick-to-click?
Joe always refers to Bucs reserve receiver Cyril Grayson as the “immortal” Cyril Grayson. That’s both a tip of the cap to the Great GOB, the late great Chris Thomas, as well as to his successor, Ian Beckles.
Two years ago when Mr. Entertainment, America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, was throwing to Grayson, in part due to injuries, Beckles took to his podcast and screamed, “Who the hell is Cyril Grayson? I never heard of this guy in my life!”
Grayson is making a name for himself and in the wake of so many Bucs injuries at receiver, Grayson is making the case for more snaps.
Who had Grayson in their pool for the longest pass play of the season from Tom Brady? But that’s exactly what happened when Grayson, after he was held, still was able to catch a Brady bomb down the right sideline today in the beatdown of the Stinking Panthers.
After the game, Bucs Super Bowl-winning coach Bucco Bruce Arians, wearing his NFC South champions cap, was fired up for Grayson and said he’s the most improved player on the roster the past two seasons.
And like an old school coach, Arians emphasized how damn good of a blocker Grayson is, but he’s also a good receiver too.
For those not aware of Grayson’s background, he didn’t play football at LSU! He ran track and was an All-American sprinter there. So yeah, Grayson has wheels. Grayson began his pro career by trying out with the CFL but didn’t get signed. Then he attended an LSU pro day and the Seahawks took a flyer on him and signed him as an undrafted free agent.
The Bucs are Grayson’s seventh NFL team since he left LSU in 2017.
And the way Arians sounds, Grayson will be around for a while.
You can see Arians’ discussion about Grayson in the Buccaneers.com video below.
“If there were a most improved player in the last two years, he’s worked harder than anybody that we’ve had on our practice squad.”
🗣️: @BruceArians on @cyrilgraysonjr pic.twitter.com/OMaZj6CJ9x
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) December 26, 2021
December 26th, 2021 at 4:59 pm
Good stuff
December 26th, 2021 at 4:59 pm
He has made a believer out of me.
December 26th, 2021 at 5:01 pm
He looked quick on one of the screen passes, like a gadget player, the kind you want in there on screen passes. Based on what I saw today, I’d keep him around since the Bucs really don’t have anyone else like that other than Brown, who ideally, you want out running routes and creating space.
December 26th, 2021 at 5:04 pm
American entretainment Pro bowler JW……
Keep on Joe…… When you started with this nonsense, Made me cry, now it makes me laugh really loud….
What a joke!!
December 26th, 2021 at 5:06 pm
Must be some really bright lights in that room!
December 26th, 2021 at 5:07 pm
Agreed munch. I wouldmt say I’m exactly sold. I don’t think you want him playing a lot of meaningful snaps, but can do just fine as a role player
December 26th, 2021 at 5:09 pm
I was starting to get very frustrated with our backup recievers. Johnson and Miller are not players we can count on.
Grayson enters and changes everything. After his big play Brady was looking for him. Almost looks like he was testing him to see if he can handle more then deep routes. Grayson answered the bell in a big way. After a game like that he should be the frontrunner as our 3rd option after Brown and Evans.
But what happened to Perriman? Did we cut him?
December 26th, 2021 at 5:09 pm
Jason Licht should take a visit to the Ramada Inn Velvet Lounge in Vero beach to sign Freddie Martino. Perhaps track down Bobo Wilson or Ishmael Hyman–the guys Jameis had to work with.
December 26th, 2021 at 5:15 pm
And dor all the people who trash Leftwitch Id like to see one of you give him some deserved credit for today. He had a good gameplan to use Grayson…….and we might of him more then planned since Miller are Johnson are proving to be just above useless.
Really good run game called today. I notice the announcers say how tough it is to get the edge on the Pathers(Ill take their word for it) and we burned them several times on the egde, including a TD run.
Down our bellcow and top 2 recievers and we score 32 on the road to the #2 defense. Very good gameplan today.
December 26th, 2021 at 5:21 pm
That guy has shown me more in one game than OJ Howard has shown me in his whole damn career.
December 26th, 2021 at 5:25 pm
@JJ I’ve been known to bust Lefty’s chops but I gave him credit all throughout the game today and I’ll double down on that now. Absolutely beautiful gameplan by Lefty. The only complaint was not running on 1st and goal and then right after that on the next 1st and goal, Lefty dialed up the ROJO run to the outside that was executed flawlessly. I really give a proud hat tip to Lefty and the entire staff with a great bounceback plan. I don’t want to hear how it’s the Panthers because that team has more offense than the Aints.
December 26th, 2021 at 5:27 pm
Grayson is making a case to be our #3 for the rest of the year.
December 26th, 2021 at 5:31 pm
Play the man.
December 26th, 2021 at 5:41 pm
How did an All American sprinter get caught from behind? JK. He looked pretty damn good.
December 26th, 2021 at 5:44 pm
Wasn’t he the guy who Brady hit in the helmet because the ball went rugby thru his hands last year? Well he made up for it today
December 26th, 2021 at 5:48 pm
Is Scotty still hurt/diminished? Not sure what the deal is with him
December 26th, 2021 at 5:48 pm
JJ: Perriman is on the CV list. I though he had a chance to suit up but looks not.
December 26th, 2021 at 5:50 pm
dam he looked good out there today…
no helmet doinks and blunders…
maybe he’s getting in the groove of how this offense works – even if it took him a few years
December 26th, 2021 at 5:55 pm
Cmurda. That would make you fair. You are one of the few.
As a Byron supporter I will also say that last week was a disapointment. My problem was not playcalling it was protection. For the 1st time all year our OL was dominated. I expected to see an adjustment at halftime and it was nowhere near good enough.
Today was a good test for our OL up against a very good defense. Great to see them bounce back today and hopefully last weeks game is the only outliner. If we get beat that badly up front in the playoffs we wont survive.
December 26th, 2021 at 5:59 pm
Cobra thanks. I thought they ended that nonsense but whatever.
Beej i think the problem with Miller is he is not a everdown reciever. Probably never will be.
Hopefully Grayson can pushing Scotty into a limited role where he is better suited.
December 26th, 2021 at 6:29 pm
Best thing about Grayson is a willingness to learn and no bad habits to try and wash out.
It looks like he is on Brady’s good side, and there is no better place to be in football.
He had a long TD in N.O., but it got called back.
December 26th, 2021 at 6:29 pm
He had a decent block on Ke’Shawn Vaughn’s TD too.
December 26th, 2021 at 6:35 pm
If Brady is throwing to him there must be something there.
December 26th, 2021 at 6:45 pm
Grayson needs to be used more and so does Vaughn
December 26th, 2021 at 6:49 pm
Why wasn’t Grayson a return guy if he has a track background?
December 26th, 2021 at 7:28 pm
@Listnfrmafar
Good thought but there is so much more involved with that… You have to have reliable hands, of course know how the blocking scheme is routing your path and you have to be fearless. Not many can execute all those. Many have have the the speed but not the intangibles
December 26th, 2021 at 7:57 pm
Dude came in CLUTCH. With him Him and BP and AB, we can rest big Mike till the playoffs..
OJ! GET IT TOGETHER AND GET OPEN! This is your last chance bro, we need to rest gronk. It’s on you. Brate is already certified, you need to blow up
December 26th, 2021 at 7:58 pm
Really hoping this guy blows up
December 26th, 2021 at 8:02 pm
against the panthers mind you
December 26th, 2021 at 8:06 pm
My friend was at the game and thought it was Levon Bell!!! I said Hell No it was Cyril Grayson!!! I asked him why & he said that was Bell’s style of running & allowing the blockers to block!!!
December 26th, 2021 at 8:49 pm
đź‘Ť Graysonđź‘Ť
December 26th, 2021 at 9:46 pm
He had one big catch, another one or two and a couple good runs. Still need to see a lot more, but it’s a step in the right direction. If he drops the big catch no one cares about him
December 26th, 2021 at 9:52 pm
I watched today and felt like this is the team that won the super bowl last year. Defense is getting its legs (finally). It was so nice to see a running game. Start w Brady under center much more. Lately we’ve been all shotgun. No play action. But today was the game plan we should be running regularly. Maybe it’s because ROJO is carrying the rock. If we keep running the ball and the defense is back, we are a very tough team to beat.
December 26th, 2021 at 11:09 pm
Scotty Miller is listed as 5′ 9”and 174 pounds with a best of 4.36 for the 40-yard dash. Cyril Grayson is listed as 5′ 9″ and 183 pounds with a 4.38 for a 40-yard time. With Arians’ comments about how well Grayson blocks and how he has progressed in two years it does not bode well for Scotty’s tenure with the Bucs.
By the way, can anyone tell me where I might find the CURRENT PLAYING WEIGHTS, etc., of NFL players or of just the Buccaneers roster in particular? There was a time when this kind of information was readily available and of interest to fans in general. The above data goes back to the first year out of college for them.
December 26th, 2021 at 11:53 pm
You can definitely see the improvement he has with route running and catching the ball over the years.
Makes me wonder if he’d be an option for kick off returns.
December 27th, 2021 at 12:42 am
JimbobBucsFan – The 40-times might be similar, and Scotty might even be a bit faster, but Grayson is much quicker. People think because Miller is fast, he should be quick, but the guy looks like he’s in mud when he’s going side to side, its why everytime they run a screen to him it goes for -2 yards. The issue I have isn’t with Miller, if you know a guy is fast, but not quick, then use him where being fast is important, like running deep routes where he can build up speed. But if Grayson is going to be active because of all the injuries, then use him in the screen game, he seems to have a ton of short area quickness, and also has some long speed (although he did get chased down from behind pretty easily on that long play- not that I care when you’re getting 60+ yards). Scotty excelled when he just runs deep, he has great timing with Brady, but this year that seems completely off – which I assume is due to Miller being injured.
As for run blocking… that is so insanely overrated. If you want your WRs to be offensive lineman, then just bring in extra offensive lineman. Yes, you want your WRs to get in the way of tacklers when they’re going for the RB, but I’m not playing AB any less because he doesn’t run block.
December 27th, 2021 at 6:52 am
Grayson is up against Darden for a roster spot. The Bucs already let Mickens go to keep Darden. Darden doesn’t bring anything to the table as a W R and as a punt returner he catches the ball and avoids hits maybe by design to prevent him from fumbling. If Barner proves to be able to handle the returner jobs I think Darden should go to the practice squad if we lose him on the waiver wire oh well.