Arians: Buccaneers' Joe Tryon 'Whipping a Lot of Guys' Asses'
Joe Tryon doesn't look like he's been off the gridiron since the 2019 season in the eyes of his new head coach Bruce Arians.
Tryon, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' first-round selection out of Washington in this year's NFL Draft, earned as much praise from Arians as anyone one week into Bucs' training camp on Sunday.
Tryon opted out of the 2020 season in preparation for the draft following an eight-sack, 12.5-tackles-for-loss campaign as a sophomore, but doesn't appear to have missed a beat.
"Joe had a real good day," Arians said after Sunday's practice, acknowledging he has exceeded expectations thus far.
"He hasn't been in pads in, what, two years? He's whipping a lot of guys' asses," Arians continued. "That says a lot about him. He's carving out a real, real nice role for himself."
As things stand, Tryon is expected to take on the Bucs' third edge rusher role, the primary depth piece behind starters Shaquil Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul at outside linebacker. The idea is that Tryon will emerge as a long-term starter opposite from Barrett, but for now, he only makes a deep Buccaneers' edge rush unit even deeper.
Considering the performance he's put on in training camp, paired with the production Barrett and Pierre-Paul have accumulated (17.5 sacks in 2020), that formula could turn into opposing quarterbacks' worst fear.
Arians acknowledged that the Buccaneers' starting offensive tackles, Donovan Smith and 2020 All-Rookie team member Tristan Wirfs, have had their hands full attempting to block Tryon in practice when asked about Tryon's arsenal of pass rush moves, suggesting that Tryon has broken into first-team reps.
"You should probably ask Tristan and Donovan because he's kicking their ass pretty good sometimes," Arians said. "I don't think he needs any more moves, that's for sure. Maybe a little more strength, but he's got plenty of that, too."
Time will tell how good Tryon can be for the Buccaneers once the pads are strapped up this season, but so far, all signs are encouraging that he can become the next disruptor along Tampa Bay's defensive front.
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