Buccaneers Stock Report Following Victory Over Jets
Another not-so-pretty win for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers leaves certain contributors trending in opposite directions. It took a two-touchdown comeback effort to defeat the New York Jets on Sunday, with some contributors — primarily reserve players — making a name for themselves with the Bucs while a few starters and regular rotational players took a step backwards.
We've assessed both sides of the equation in the AllBucs Week 17 stock report below.
Stock up
Cyril Grayson: An emerging star within the Buccaneers' offense, Grayson has filled in at wide receiver perfectly as the team has dealt with injuries at the position. Appearing in just four games offensively this year, Grayson has pulled in ten receptions for 212 yards, equating to an outstanding 21.2 yards per catch, and two touchdowns, including the game-winner against New York this past Sunday.
That game-winning score would not have been possible if Grayson had not caught a 3rd and 20 pass on a beautiful comeback route two drives earlier, which set up a touchdown to Cameron Brate which narrowed the Jets' lead to one possession.
When the Buccaneers have needed members of their receiver depth to step up the most, Grayson has answered the call. With Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown no longer in the picture this season, Grayson has quickly become an important contributor within the Buccaneers' offense who will be relied upon down the stretch.
Le'Veon Bell: A few weeks ago, Bell was considering retiring from the NFL as a free agent. Now, he's in a position to be Tampa Bay's lead running back in the final week of the regular season as the position is hampered by injuries. The statuses of Ronald Jones II (ankle) and Ke'Shawn Vaughn (ribs) are currently up in the air, while Leonard Fournette (hamstring) and Giovani Bernard (hip) are currently on the injured reserve, although Bernard is eligible to be activated this week.
Bell didn't exactly shine vs. New York as his role was limited, but he did catch all three of his targets for a total of 30 yards while taking three carries for five yards. At a minimum, Bell could serve as Tampa Bay's third-down back in Week 17 and into the playoffs if need be, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see Bell in a large role against Carolina on Sunday to ensure the running back room is at or near full health come the first round of the playoffs.
Anthony Nelson: Without Jason Pierre-Paul or Shaquil Barrett available, the Buccaneers have relied upon reserve edge rushers in Nelson and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka over the last two weeks. Tryon-Shoyinka, Tampa Bay's first-round pick this year, had a lot of hype as he took on a starting role but has underperformed while Nelson has shined. Nelson has posted a sack in each of the Bucs' last two games, adding four tackles and three tackles for loss in that stretch.
Ideally, Pierre-Paul and Barrett will be healthy when the playoffs begin, and Tampa Bay surely hopes that Tryon-Shoyinka will start to produce again as he has throughout the year. However, as it stands, Nelson has been the Bucs' best and most consistent edge rusher with JPP and Barrett unavailable, and his stock is rising as such.
Stock down
Wide receiver depth: One can argue that the Bucs do not need Antonio Brown to win games, that much has been evident throughout the season when he was injured and suspended and was proven again when he quit on the team while down two scores on Sunday before Tampa Bay pulled off a comeback victory.
But with that being said, losing Brown undoubtedly hurts the Buccaneers' receiver depth, especially when you factor in Chris Godwin's absence due to his torn ACL. Suddenly, the Buccaneers are without 30 percent of their receiving production (140 of the Bucs' 463 receptions this year) as they approach the playoffs, making Cyril Grayson and fellow backups such as Tyler Johnson and Breshad Perriman extremely important members of the team's offense.
Joe Tryon-Shoyinka: While Anthony Nelson has made an impact as of late, his counterpart in Tryon-Shoyinka has not. There was a lot of excitement around Tryon-Shoyinka entering the starting lineup for Jason Pierre-Paul in Week 16, yet, Tryon-Shoyinka has compiled zero sacks and just as many tackles for loss in the Bucs' last two games. His stock is going in the wrong direction as a result.
Ronald Jones II: His injury aside, Jones has not played all that well in place of Leonard Fournette over the last two weeks, rushing for only 91 yards and one touchdown on 30 attempts. Ke'Shawn Vaughn outperformed Jones against both Carolina and New York, averaging 6.7 yards per attempt compared to Jones' 3.03. Not to mention, Jones' measly production has come against the NFL's No. 20 (Carolina) and No. 29 (New York) run defenses.
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