Many draft experts projected O.J. Howard to be a top-10 pick, but instead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers used its first round pick, No.19 overall on the former Alabama Crimson Tide tight end.
The Buccaneers are in rebuilding mode, and their star quarterback, Jameis Winston who’s been shining bright like a diamond in his two seasons as the Bucs quarterback is definitely more than a happy man. He’s a thankful one.
Winston already has two big bodied wide receivers in Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson to throw to on the outside. When the team added DeSean Jackson in NFL free agency and drafted O.J. Howard, that alone just made the Buccaneers one of the most scariest offense in the league on paper.
Howard’s athleticism, speed, hands, blocking skill and size makes him such a multi-dimensional threat.
Moreover, having Howard gives Winston another great safety valve to throw to across the middle, deep down field and in the end zone.
Tight ends are not as popular nowadays due to how athletic the athletes are in all major sports, but having Howard will not only help Winston in the passing game, but having him will provide extra protection on down’s he’s not throwing to him and if the offensive coordinator draws up a play to where Winston has to run the football on short yardage situations on the goal line.
Howard wasn’t used much in college in the passing game, but you can bet after the eye-popping results he had at the NFL Combine, Crimson Tide fans are so eager to see what he’s truly capable of doing this year on the next level.
As high as O.J. Howard was drafted, many fans can bet that he will definitely be seeing the field in 2017 with this high powered offense that Buccaneers head coach, Dirk Koetter is putting together.
Michael Cannady is an intern for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter at: @mike_can21
