There is one very impressive target that McCoy seems likely to hit in 2020, however. He comes into the season with 14,868 yards from scrimmage, which is the most any NFL player has racked up since 2009. McCoy has been an excellent receiving back throughout his career and it would be easy to see him helping the Buccaneers in that way. He needs only 132 more yards from scrimmage to hit the mark and become the 18th running back in league history to reach 15,000 in that category.
Who do you think will be the third wide receiver?
- @pheaseant_kramer, via Instagram
That is an oft-asked question, but it is also still an excellent question and one that I'm sure we're going to be discussing all throughout training camp, and perhaps a few weeks into the actual season.
As Mr. Kramer here surely knows, the Buccaneers have one of the league's best starting duos at wide receiver, perhaps the best, in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. The entire pass-catching group, including tight ends and running backs, is absolutely loaded and there will be no shortage of explosive targets for Tom Brady no matter who the third receiver proves to be. The Ringer's Danny Heifetz recently ranked all 32 NFL pass-catching groups and put the Bucs second, behind only the defending-champion Chiefs. Sounds like Kansas City's November 29 trip to Raymond James Stadium will be must-see TV.
Heifetz does note that the depth is thin behind Godwin and Evans. I would quibble and say the experienced depth is thin. The nine guys on the roster other than Godwin and Evans have combined for 36 regular-season NFL catches.
Last year's third receiver for most of the campaign was Breshad Perriman, a former first-round pick who had something of a breakout campaign with his third NFL team, particularly after injuries sidelined Evans and Godwin in December. But Perriman only had 59 career receptions coming into 2019, so it's not as if he was an absolute sure thing a year ago at this time.
So that's what the Bucs will hope for, a young player who takes the next step forward. I have already written about this particular topic earlier in the offseason and I started with an answer that might be a bit of a copout: The team might have something of a "third-receiver-by-committee," at least early on. That is, there won't necessarily be one guy who is always a lock to get the majority of the snaps in 11 personnel, as was the case last year with Perriman. Arians and Offensive Coordinator Byron Leftwich could have a package of plays designed for each different trio, whether it be Evans-Godwin-Scotty Miller or Evans-Godwin-Justin Watson or something else. As the season progresses, if one of those groupings proves more productive than the others, then a primary third receiver might arise from the field.
If I'm required to pick one person as the answer, I think I will first narrow it down to four candidates: Miller, Watson, fifth-rounder Tyler Johnson and Bryant Mitchell. I don't think it would offend anyone to call undrafted rookies Josh Pearson and John Hurst serious long shots. Cyril Grayson has track-star speed and John Franklin is an impressive and versatile athlete who could be something of a gadget player, but I wouldn't expect big volume from either in the passing game. Jaydon Mickens was released just before camp before returning last weekend, so he would seem to be near the bottom of the current pecking order.
Of the four candidates, my first pick would be Miller, who I believe can help the offense even without putting up huge reception numbers. His speed on the outside would be useful in pulling a defender or two away from Evans and Godwin and all those great tight ends. And even though Godwin is probably the Bucs' best option in the slot, Miller has the skill set to succeed in there, too.
Miller and Watson were both part of the receiver depth last season, and when Perriman missed a couple games in the first half of the year Miller absorbed 71 snaps while Watson got three. (Bobo Wilson also got 50 snaps in those two games but was then released.) Watson got almost all of his 213 offensive snaps in the final four games of the season after a hamstring injury limited Miller to 11 plays in that span. Watson's production in the last few games was encouraging, but it still seems like Miller is first in line before Watson.
As for Johnson, it's hard to ignore that he's a rookie who didn't have the benefit of an offseason program to learn the offense. He's also currently dealing with a minor injury, and every lost day in this compressed run-up to the season makes things tougher. It's already difficult for rookie receivers to make an impact unless they're drafted very high. Perriman gave the Bucs' 36 catches last year as the main number-three; the only rookie to reach that total who was drafted after the third round in team history was Mike Williams, who had 65 in 2010.
Mitchell's an interesting candidate and could be the dark horse here. After he put together a couple of big seasons in the CFL, Mitchell landed four NFL tryouts in December of 2018. He signed with Arizona to start 2019 but the Cardinals let him go in May and he signed with the Bucs four days later. Mitchell was off to an impressive start in his first NFL training camp last summer until he tore an Achilles tendon in the preseason opener in Pittsburgh. That was a tough break but he worked hard to come back from it and will get another shot now. If he can regain that momentum from last summer, he could force his way into the picture.
But, again, my first guess would be Scotty Miller.
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