In Bruce Arians’ first season as Tampa Bay’s head coach, the Buccaneers led the NFL in passing yards and finished third in points.
But tight end O.J. Howard didn’t benefit in the new offense. He caught the same number of passes as he had in 2018 and had 106 fewer receiving yards and four fewer touchdown receptions in 2019.
Arians figures three things have Howard primed for a bigger season in 2020 – his experience in the offense and the additions of tight end Rob Gronkowski and quarterback Tom Brady to the Tampa Bay roster.
“I think the biggest thing for O.J. was just learning what we’re trying to teach,” Arians said after the Buccaneers’ first training-camp practice in pads. “That’s a very difficult position in this scheme, and he’s come in and he’s got a great handle on it right now.
“I think Rob’s helped him confidence-wise – seeing how good he is and telling him how good he is. When you’ve got a Gronkowski and Brady telling you you’re good, you’re probably pretty good. I think that’s helped, but he’s playing really, really well right now.”
A three-time All-State player at Autauga Academy who entered the NFL as a first-round draft choice from Alabama in 2017, Howard agreed that tight end is a demanding position in Arians’ attack.
“It’s always a tough position in a lot of offenses just from the different things they ask you to do in the position,” Howard said during a Monday press conference. “But here, like coach said, it was kind of a different level taken to it with some of the things we had to learn in the offense. Last year, it took some time to get used to. Year 2 has slowed down for everyone in our room. … It’s just different things that they ask of us to do in this offense at the tight end position that you may not have done in the past. But Year 2, like I said, is a lot simpler. It makes a lot more sense.”
Gronkowski ended a one-year retirement to reunite with his quarterback from the New England Patriots when Brady signed with Tampa Bay as a free agent in March. Chosen as a tight end for the NFL 100 All-Time Team last year, Gronkowski is a five-time Pro Bowler and four-time first-team All-Pro.
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With Gronkowski at 6-foot-6 and 268 pounds, Howard, who is 6-6 and 251, said he thought the pair would be hard to handle when playing together.
“We’ve already made a lot of improvements in a lot of areas as far as he’s helping us out a lot in the run game with his footwork and just different things in routes that he used over the years to help him get open,” Howard said. “Just being on the field with him, us together has been a big mismatch. It’s hard to cover a lot of guys like that when we’re on the field together. It’s just hard to stop that. It’s going to open up a lot of things for everyone, and I think it should be real fun.”
Brady spent 20 seasons with the Patriots, earning the NFL MVP Award three times and leading New England to six Super Bowl victories.
Howard said when Brady “speaks, everyone listens.”
“I just think it’s the whole overall intensity of the practice,” Howard said of the effect of Brady’s presence at training camp. “As far as the defense, these guys, they’re pretty amped up going against Tom. They want to make a play on him, so it’s real good competition for everyone across the board. We get the best coverages from our defenders, which allows us to get the best look we’re going to get for the whole season.
“Every day when Tom comes out, he brings intensity. He’s a great leader. We come out to work, and I think we’ve had some solid days of practice so far.”
Howard played on a CFP national championship team at Alabama, but he hasn’t reached the playoffs in three seasons in the NFL. Brady has played in 41 postseason games, and Howard foresees the quarterback adding to that total after the 2020 regular season.
“I think we all play the game for the ultimate reason,” Howard said. “That’s to win the world championship. We definitely have the talent in the room to do it. We all just have to put it together and stay focused for however many weeks of the season it takes to get it done.”
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.
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