Film Room: Buccaneers WR Cyril Grayson in Prime Spot To Replace Antonio Brown
After a roller-coaster ride of a tenure highlighted by a world championship and devastated by a third quarter, uh—retirement, Antonio Brown is no longer a Tampa Bay Buccaneer.
Brown’s antics made his departure a no-brainer, but there’s a reason (agree or disagree) why head coach Bruce Arians was willing to tolerate Brown despite the receiver being suspended in early December for lying about his COVID-19 vaccination status.
Brown’s explosiveness and athleticism are special, but his toughness, concentration, and intelligence on the field are what truly set him apart. There is no replacing Antonio Brown.
Despite playing only 15 games in two seasons (excluding playoffs), Brown’s 1,028 yards and eight touchdowns since 2020 both ranked fourth on the Bucs behind the Big Three of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Rob Gronkowski. Tom Brady showed immediate chemistry with the former All-Pro, and this season seemed like an opportunity for two brilliant players to take off.
Brown wasn’t targeted on many vertical routes in his final games as a Buccaneer but generated several downfield plays early in 2021. His savvy salesmanship as a route-runner, physicality through contact, ball tracking, and dominance at the catch point gave Brady a reliable deep target regardless of coverage.
In his final two games with Tampa, Brown found most of his success on curls and outs to various depths. These routes capitalized on Brown’s straight-line speed and leverage manipulation to get corners thinking fade/go before breaking underneath for easy first downs.
The Buccaneers also did a great job getting Brown involved in the quick game with slants, crossers and underneath concepts where he could use his elusiveness to move the chains.
Though the headlines associated with Brown won’t be missed, his rare skill set will be within an offense that’s uncharacteristically short on playmakers.
Luckily for Tampa Bay, its desperation may have created an opportunity for another, under-the-radar playmaker to shine.
Cyril Grayson Jr. spent his college career as a four-time NCAA track & field national champion and seven-time All-American for LSU. He also didn’t play a snap of football for the school’s storied program.
Instead, Grayson took his chances and tried to wow scouts at LSU’s Pro Day. Grayson’s plan worked as the Seahawks signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2017, but the newcomer would bounce around several practice squads before being signed by Tampa Bay's from the Dallas Cowboys late in 2019.
Grayson first blipped on the radar this season after slipping behind the Saints’ secondary for a 50-yard score in Week 8. Grayson slipped back out of the public eye as quickly as he entered it, but that changed once began piling up for the Bucs offense.
An increased snap count showed that Grayson’s track background has directly translated to football. His explosiveness and short-area quickness immediately jump off the tape, showing impressive straight-line speed and twitch.
That said, the NFL has seen countless athletes flame out because they weren’t football players. There are subtleties and nuances to the professional game that can make or break one’s career. So, is Grayson a former track star, or a blossoming young football player?
The honest answer is we still don’t have a large enough sample size to know for sure, but there’s enough to be intrigued by.
Grayson has three receptions of 50+ yards this season, including one in each of his last two games. His out-n-up he ran against the Panthers included a nice head-fake, violent turn upfield, and the concentration to run through contact and track the ball downfield.
Grayson’s game-winning score against the Jets was one of the multiple receptions on the drive that showed Brady has a surprising amount of trust in the relative newcomer, and the moment didn’t appear too big for him. Corners clearly have to respect his speed, which should afford Grayson opportunities to take advantage of soft coverage with a route tree similar to Brown’s.
There were moments of inexperience, like a pass breakup on a curl route where Grayson should’ve come back to the ball, but his hands are softer than you’d expect for someone who didn’t play football in college.
Time will tell if Grayson has the chops to carve out a consistent role for the Buccaneers, but his flashes provide plenty of reason for excitement and optimism. Besides, who doesn’t love an underdog?
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