Pat O’Connor Predicts Joe Tryon-Shoyinka Breaks Out This Fall
April 28th, 2022
Bucs OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka.
Any year but this year, Joe would join many other Bucs fans hollering for an edge rusher in tonight’s draft. You can never have too many pass rushers.
Why not this year? It’s all about this year and rookie edge rushers not named “Bosa” rarely have impacts with their teams. Joe would prefer a guy likely to do damage this season.
But hold up. Bucs reserve defensive tackle Pat O’Connor, who led the Bucs in special teams snaps with 344 last year despite missing the final four games of the regular season and the playoffs, said on a national forum he’s confident JTS blows up this fall.
O’Connor was on “The End Zone,” co-hosted by Alex Marvez and Zig Fracassi heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio. He told listeners to look out for JTS.
“I think Joe is going to have his breakout year this year,” O’Connor said. “He has been training hard. I’m close with him. So I’m good a good friend of his. Last year was just a little glimpse of what he can do.
“He’s just a beast on the field. If he just tweaks little things, he’s going to be a standout player and one of those special ones that catapults himself into a 10-year career. He’s just an outstanding player. And I’m excited to see what he does this year.”
Joe admits that perhaps fans (and this here Joe included) may have had too high of expectations for JTS as a rookie. All during training camp, his teammates were just raving about him and what a freak he was. Then-Bucs Super Bowl-winning coach Bucco Bruce Arians was hyping up JTS nearly every day, at one point woofing that JTS “kicked” Tristan Wirfs’ arse in practice.
JTS showed flashes, including a ridiculous first step. But he struggled against the run which is a big no-no in Todd Bowles’ defense. Once teams adjusted to JTS’ first step, he quickly vanished.
Perhaps O’Connor is onto something and the Bucs see the same thing, and that’s why Jason Pierre-Paul is still unsigned?
Another thing to remember was that last year was JTS’s first full season of football since 2019, as he sat out 2020 due to The Sickness.
If JTS can ball out, that would be a huge upgrade for the defense.
April 28th, 2022 at 4:21 am
I hope…..we need him.
April 28th, 2022 at 5:21 am
I 100% believe this and I never buy into hype. He was just one step away or took a bad angle on at least 10 plays last year. If he can adjust in only his 2nd full season, he has the potential to be a beast.
April 28th, 2022 at 5:30 am
Or MAYBE JPP is still unsigned because he’s 33 yrs old, has a broken wing that’s still healing up, is expensive, and the Bucs have higher priority needs with little $$$ to fill them.
Every team desperately needs veteran leadership, but leaders who can perform on the field game-after-game. When their performance starts to degrade, they usually become liabilities (making big bucks) who get replaced. And that’s exactly as it should be IMO.
IF JPP can get healthy AND is willing to accept an incentive-laden contract, I’d love to see him end his career as a Buc. Those are 2 big IFs however.
In the meantime, I sure do hope that JTS steps up big-time this season. Same with Antony Nelson. Same with Shaq. But we STILL need another starter-capable DE/OLB in the lineup because we all know that guys get hurt and that spelling them periodically is the key to keeping them fresh. And that’s where drafting a DE/OLB in the Top-3 Rnds today or tomorrow comes into play. Go for it JL …
April 28th, 2022 at 5:32 am
Seems like a nice kid too. He’ll get better at stopping the run, but if he can get double digit sacks do we really care?
April 28th, 2022 at 5:40 am
Yeah, my expectations for a 1st round pick are to step up and play well. I don’t believe that’s asking too much.
The learning curve may have been steep for this kid but we are relying on him to fill a rather large void on this defense. He NEEDS to step up and be that guy.
I’m rooting for him.
April 28th, 2022 at 6:18 am
Draft an interior pass rusher and it will improve the odds he breaks out this year
April 28th, 2022 at 7:09 am
Agree Western–get us some crazy push up the middle & the edge can collapse in.
Oh and get a punter.
April 28th, 2022 at 7:36 am
Hope Plan 9 steps up. Think he played better against the left O tackles than right for some reason.
April 28th, 2022 at 7:44 am
I expect him to take a huge leap forward, it is what most edge rushers drafted in the first round do in year two. Last year was the first year he played in two years.
Hopefully he’s put on a little weight which should help against the run but not enough to affect his first step.
April 28th, 2022 at 8:22 am
When talent and hard work combine, the results can be spectacular. Here’s hoping JTS keeps working and grinding and can really shine when it’s game time!
April 28th, 2022 at 8:28 am
I sure hope it’s true. It wasn’t just tweaks, it was a lack of moves other than a speed rush. Year 2 is when you hope for a significant jump following a somewhat dormant rookie season. It happens quite a bit at the NFL level, not everyone arrives from college with immediate impact capability.
April 28th, 2022 at 8:31 am
The OLB with the torn Achilles would be the same type of pick, first year figuring out the NFL on a limited basis and then booming in years 2-5
April 28th, 2022 at 9:08 am
I think the game will continue to slow down for JTS. No doubts in my mind about his ability to be impactful as a pass rusher, but as mentioned growing into a better run defender and expanding his repertoire will determine how high JTS can take his game.
Also rooting for Anthony Nelson to carve out a bigger role for himself and continue refining his game. Nelson is defends the run a little better than JTS does, but what I’d love to hear his the latter learning to control space setting the edge as well as Nelson, who’s sneaky good at standing OTs up and disrupting running lanes.
Still open to JPP coming back to contribute, if the price is right, but I don’t think we knock on that door before the time between OTAs and mandatory minicamp. Less would be more w/JPP , even splitting time or being a key contributor in our sub packages I think he’s got something left in the tank.
April 28th, 2022 at 9:14 am
Needs to develop an inside move of some kind. Hopefully he has. People say bad angles but i think it was mostly because if he didn’t bear the guy outside they got their hands on him and it was over
April 28th, 2022 at 9:14 am
Passing Thru … Agree with you that ‘It wasn’t just tweaks, it was a lack of moves other than a speed rush’ and also that ‘not everyone arrives from college with immediate impact capability’. The vast majority don’t it seems like.
In JTS’s case, I personally thought he had very good year … for a rookie DE/OLB. Some are in love with just sacks, but ‘Pressures’ can be very effective in many cases (pressures of course being the sum of sacks, knockdowns and hurries). In trying to compare apples-to-apples, I tend to think that comparing ‘Pressures per Defensive Snap’ is worthwhile looking at. Here’s what you see when you look at our OLBs last season’s results using that measurement:
o Gill: Snaps: 100 .. Pressures: 6 .. Snaps/Pressure: 16.7
o Shaq: Snaps: 767 .. Pressures: 39 .. Snaps/Pressure: 19.7
o JTS: Snaps: 560 .. Pressures: 27 .. Snaps/Pressure: 20.7
o O’Connor: Snaps: 45 .. Pressures: 2 .. Snaps/Pressure: 22.5
o Nelson: Snaps: 358 .. Pressures: 14 .. Snaps/Pressure: 25.6
o JPP: Snaps: 601 .. Pressures: 14 .. Snaps/Pressure: 42.9
Based on that, I’d say that our rookie JTS held his own last season. Interestingly, JPP’s numbers look bad in comparison, but his getting 1 pressure every 42.9 def snaps is exactly the same as he did in 2020. Prior to that, he was in the 25-30 range.
April 28th, 2022 at 9:23 am
He’s gotta prove it to me. I don’t see him as being a very good player. We shall see. Big difference in being just an average player and a very good player.
April 28th, 2022 at 9:37 am
Defense Rules,
Are those snaps only the snaps played as a pass rusher or total snaps?
If total snaps, just from memory, I seem to recall that JPP was used in more situations than pure pass rusher than the other players. That could be why his Snap/Pressure is so inflated compared to them. He was the most well-rounded of the edge rushers and used as such. Just a thought.
April 28th, 2022 at 9:40 am
It’s not surprising that a rook hits “the wall” in the last half or third of the season.
In JTS’s case, taking a year off possibly impacted that “wall” even more than most.
I’d be curious how much weight he packed on this offseason, and how much stronger he got.
April 28th, 2022 at 10:38 am
StickinUp4Centers … Those are his total defensive snaps, and yes would include inside as well as coming off the edge. Seems like Todd likes to use him inside more than the other DE/OLBs, most likely because of his size & quickness. My guess is that JPP didn’t get the same results when inside. Plus he seems to fall into coverage on the edges more than our other DE/OLBs. And I’m sure that bum shoulder undoubtedly impacted what he could do on the field. In any event, I’d love to see us keep him IF he can get fully healed up & if he’s willing to work with the Bucs in terms of a win-win contract.
April 28th, 2022 at 10:45 am
You got to remove that silver spoon first
April 28th, 2022 at 11:19 am
B U S T
April 28th, 2022 at 11:25 am
Nice JTS break down Defense Rules.
No choice at this point but to buy into the hype.
Joe is right, Bucs likely won’t getting production out of a rookie pass rusher
I BELIEVE IN YOU, JTS!
April 28th, 2022 at 12:29 pm
The plural of anecdote is not data.
April 28th, 2022 at 12:58 pm
I agree with western on this one. An interior lineman like Jones or Wyatt will clear the way for JTS and Shaq. One of JTS’ best sacks last year was when VV bowled over 2 lineman and made it easy for Joe. I also agree that JTS will have breakout year, dude has been working on his craft all offseason.
April 28th, 2022 at 3:33 pm
IDENTICAL ROOKIE SEASONS
JPP: 30 tackles, 4.5 sacks
JTS: 29 tackles, 4 sacks
JTS was robbed of a sack in his first game by a BS unnecessary roughness call.
JTS will have +10 sacks this year, if he starts.
April 28th, 2022 at 4:23 pm
Joe needs a lot of technique improvement. He was raw when drafted and still is.
April 28th, 2022 at 5:41 pm
I like the honesty of this post
April 28th, 2022 at 5:54 pm
I would love to see JTS and Nelson blow up Nelson has steadily been getting better too
April 28th, 2022 at 6:24 pm
Licht most likely will not draft an edge guy in the first this year. By doing that he would be sending a message that JTS isn’t living up to expectations. And they are moving on from JTS in a starting role. It’s too early to make that decision yet. So I just don’t see him drafting an edge this year unless a top prospect drops into our lap for whatever reason.