Throughout his career, Buccaneers QB Tom Brady has not always had a lot of weapons, especially in his final season with the Patriots. In 2019, Rob Gronkowski retired, and New England released wide receivers Antonio Brown and Josh Gordon. Even without a lot of weapons, Brady was solid last season. He threw for 4057 yards with 24 touchdowns and only eight interceptions.
Now, in his first season in Tampa Bay, Brady will have a ton of weapons. Both Mike Evans and Chris Godwin had over one-thousand receiving yards in 2019. They have a Hall of Fame-caliber tight end in Gronkowski. Also, they have solid tight ends in O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate. Entering his 21st season in the league, this is probably Brady’s greatest collection of weapons, and according to Evans, Tampa will have even more talent in the wide receiver room this season.
“Every year, it’s our goal to have the best wide receiver room in the league,” Evans said via a Zoom call on Tuesday. “Last year, I thought we definitely had that. This year, we’re going to be even better top to bottom. J-Wat (Justin Watson), he improves every single year – like the quickness at the line of scrimmage, his routes, he’s more physical, he’s running faster [and] he catches the ball better. Scotty [Miller] is improving.
“All of our guys keep improving year-in and year-out, and that’s a testament to coaching and just our work ethic. This year hopefully, we have a great year and can be a catalyst for this team.”
In six NFL seasons, Evans has six one-thousand receiving yard seasons, and with Brady in the mix, Buccaneers wide receivers coach Kevin Garver believes Evans could be even better this season.
“Mike has a lot of respect for Tom, so I think Tom’s going to help him push through things and compete at the highest level,” Garner said. “I think that’s the number one thing that will help Mike. Then, just the little things. That’s really the thing I’ve been stressing with Mike all offseason. Getting in at the right depths, being in the right catch-reception area, using the right technique. I think those are the things Mike is focusing on. Obviously, he’s got to do those things on his own, but playing with a guy like Tom, I think does help just from a motivational standpoint when you’re playing with a quarterback of his caliber.”
Last season, Jameis Winston was able to throw for over 5000 yards with this collection of receivers, so even at 43, Brady should be able to put up comparable numbers with this offense, which will help Evans and the rest of Tampa’s weapons in 2020.
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