Every Wednesday morning I’ll cowl 4 areas as they apply to Tampa Bay: 1. a brief movie breakdown, 2. a finance angle, 3. a glance ahead at what’s to return, and 4. a little bit of enjoyable.
Movie – Benjamin Morrison’s Rookie Yr and Yr Two Outlook
Benjamin Morrison’s first NFL season goes to be remembered for the improper causes. Three explosive performs accounted for 149 of the 344 yards he allowed. Strip these three reps out, and his yards per protection snap drops from 1.43 to 0.82, which is high-end starter territory. The Kyle Williams 72-yard landing in New England and the 43-yard landing scramble drill lapse in Buffalo will stay within the spotlight reels. The 238 different protection snaps inform a unique story.
The high-water mark got here in Week 4 towards the Eagles. Morrison confirmed that he may compete with elite-level competitors in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. In that recreation he was driving on curls and hitches and forcing incompletions at a excessive fee. 21 protection reps, 5 targets, just one catch for 9 yards allowed. Morrison allowed only a 39.6 passer score on passes the place he was focused and a -3.7 protection EPA per Subsequent Gen Stats (detrimental is nice for defenders).
Some excessive profile losses late within the season are what most individuals bear in mind however man I want folks would bear in mind BMo vs PHI. He was an absolute DUDE that day. pic.twitter.com/4rhcB4iyga
That recreation confirmed him when he’s at his greatest. Press protection the place his plus footwork helps him carry deep verticals in part and off zone protection towards static routes the place he can click-and-close to disrupt the ball on the catch level.
I imply SERIOUSLY! https://t.co/NuQ8B9AnuH pic.twitter.com/TbeiTm3L6I
However the Eagles tape comes with an asterisk. The Eagles attacked him in a really particular and restricted method. And the way in which during which they attacked him performed to all of his strengths. Different groups discovered from Philadelphia’s errors.
By Week 10, the struggles turned an issue. The Patriots schemed a slant-cross towards him in press alignment with no assist excessive. Kyle Williams received the within launch, broke horizontally into the void, and ran 72 yards untouched for the rating. The Payments adopted every week later with a fringe display the place Morrison acquired totally sealed on the level of assault which aided within the Bucs giving up a 52 yard landing. Carolina discovered him once more in Week 16, with a 34-yard chunk on a deep dig from off protection the place he gave up an excessive amount of room on the stem.
Bucs CB Benjamin Morrison – Picture by: Cliff Welch/PR
The sample throughout the three chunk performs is similar. Every one uncovered the identical root limitation, a stiffness within the hips and a delay in change-of-direction that surfaces particularly when he has to redirect towards his personal momentum. The slant-cross from press required a flip on the break. The perimeter display required a pointy angle adjustment in area. The deep dig required a pedal-to-redirect transition. Three completely different routes, three completely different alignments, similar trait failure, and three explosive performs that got here to outline the season’s narrative.
The pedal transition situation is the headline weak point on the tape. When Morrison has to return out of a backpedal and redirect laterally towards a horizontal-breaking route, his hips don’t flip cleanly. He loses stability towards double strikes. He offers up floor on slant-and-go mixtures. He defaults to an inside half-turn in off protection that places him within the improper leverage when the route breaks outdoors.
In run protection, the hip limitations contribute to a tackling situation. Morrison performs with effort and finishes performs cleanly when his angle is about and the ball provider is asserted. A fringe display sort out for loss towards the Jets is a clear instance, he identified the play, closed downhill, and made contact behind the road.
However when he has to redirect in area towards an elite mover, the identical hip limitation reveals up. He missed Saquon Barkley within the flat towards the Eagles. He missed Amon-Ra St. Brown on a pace reduce when the Bucs performed the Lions. He took too sharp an angle on a Carolina outdoors run in Week 18 and would have given up one other lengthy landing if Lavonte David hadn’t cleaned the play up. The 21.2% missed sort out fee is actual and backed up by the tape. He takes poor angles and struggles to redirect.
The place Can Morrison Enhance in Yr 2
The Yr 2 path ahead is approach and scheme. Two particular teaching factors leap off the tape. The primary is utilizing his fingers extra in press. Morrison’s mirror-over-punch MO works on vertical-staying routes however leaves him uncovered when receivers can launch cleanly into horizontal breaks. A jam that disrupts the timing on slants and outs would purchase him the half-second his hips have to get better. The second is trusting his managed backpedal in off protection as a substitute of defaulting to an inside half-turn. The lone Eagles rep the place he stayed sq. and clicked-and-closed on a fast hitch was his cleanest off-coverage rep of the season, and it got here and not using a half-turn at any level.
Scheme can do the remaining. Bowles’ protection already leans into the disguise and rotation ideas that masks Morrison’s weaknesses. Extra Cowl 2 reps particularly would put him in a flat defender position the place his processing and click-and-close abilities can play, with security assist eliminating the deep stress that uncovered him on the Kyle Williams landing.
And the unifying teaching level throughout all of it’s self-discipline on the chunk-play danger, taking higher angles and higher positioning so the worst-case reps cease displaying up within the field rating. The identical repair that reduces the explosive protection performs additionally improves his tackling profile. Identical root trait, similar teaching reply.
There’s a whole lot of room for progress for Benjamin Morrison in 12 months 2 if he simply begins to grasp his personal athleticism because it pertains to the NFL vs. School. Higher angles assist clear up so much for him. pic.twitter.com/Q8RsjQJwmu
It’s clear he’s now in a battle with Jacob Parrish for the boundary nook job reverse Zyon McCollum. Parrish had the extra encouraging rookie marketing campaign and the sensation I get is he’s the entrance runner for the job. No matter who wins the job, there will probably be loads of snaps to go round over the course of a 17-game season.
The sincere projection is that this. Morrison is rarely going to be the nook you lock onto Tyreek Hill on an island. The Bucs already lived that film with Carlton Davis III. However with the fitting approach refinement and the fitting scheme safety, he is usually a high quality starter on the boundary for a very long time. Will that occur this 12 months? That depends upon his offseason work to enhance his angles and hand utilization. The Eagles tape says the ceiling is actual. The chunk play tape says how he’ll get there.
Finance – Select You Fighter: OL Version
The Bucs have two high-priced offensive linemen in All-World left sort out Tristan Wirfs and bookend proper sort out Luke Goedeke. Each of these gamers are making over $20 million per 12 months. Left guard Ben Bredeson is on a modest, however not insignificant, veteran contract for $7.33 million per 12 months.
The Bucs are on the precipice of getting to make a giant choice over which different offensive lineman will get paid. Jason Licht stated lately on the Pewter Report podcast that the offensive line is extraordinarily essential, and he would like to hold the unit collectively if in any respect attainable. And there’s precedent for it.
Licht spent 23% of the 2020 wage cap in money for his offensive line that 12 months, with massive veteran contracts in place for left sort out Donovan Smith, left guard Ali Marpet and heart Ryan Jensen. 2026 received’t match that 23% high-water mark; the road is at the moment at 20%. However Licht is trending again towards it. Cody Mauch is getting into a contract 12 months, and if he and heart Graham Barton each play effectively this 12 months, Licht might want to decide. As a result of he in all probability can’t hold each.
Mauch was trending to a $16 million valuation earlier than his season-ending knee harm final 12 months. If he recaptures that kind and Graham Barton takes a step ahead, Licht will doubtless have to decide on between the 2 subsequent offseason.
Bucs C Graham Barton and RG Cody Mauch – Picture by: Cliff Welch/PR
Licht will assuredly decline Barton’s fifth-year possibility irrespective of how good he performs. Apart from the obscene contract handed out to Tyler Linderbaum this offseason, facilities simply don’t make as a lot as tackles, however his possibility value is managed by the sort out market. Meaning Barton is barreling in direction of 2028 free company.
If the Bucs decide to re-sign Mauch in 2027 they are going to push their money spending on the offensive line proper to that 23% mark they hit in 2020. And even with Ben Bredeson’s contract up in 2028, they received’t have a lot left for Barton.
And Barton doesn’t even have to interrupt out by so much for this to turn out to be the truth the Bucs face. Middle is such a shortage within the league proper now, his present degree of play may fetch him round $8 million per 12 months. That’s greater than Tampa Bay pays Bredeson. Even a average elevation in his consistency would push him into the eight-figure realm.
It might be a guess on the middle’s trajectory over the guard’s, and a nod to each the significance Licht locations on the place and the shortage of high quality heart play throughout the NFL proper now. He has persistently used premium sources at heart, twice making Ryan Jensen one of many best-paid facilities within the league and spending a first-round choose on Barton.
Licht and assistant common supervisor Mike Greenberg are developing on a crossroads. Will they take Graham Barton Approach or Cody Mauch Lane? We are going to know quickly sufficient.
Forecast – Ted Hurst’s Snap Share
Bucs offensive coordinator Zac Robinson stated one thing at rookie minicamp that ought to change how followers take into consideration the 2026 receiver room.
“Having a true X is a weapon as an offense. Knowing if that, if that guy is a real threat on the backside and you can dictate some certain coverages in certain ways. That is an absolute threat. The closest guy we kind of had in LA was Odell. When we got Odell in that ’21 season, and he changed the math with the defense, and there’s one-on-one opportunities when they don’t. Having a true X is a luxury.”
He went on to speak about how he adapts if he’s working with a unit that doesn’t have a real X, noting the flexibility of Jalen McMillan, Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin Jr. However he made it fairly clear that an X is a distinction maker.
The Bucs spent the 84th total choose on a 6-foot-4, 4.42 extensive receiver out of Georgia State as a result of they consider Ted Hurst will be that luxurious. The measurables match the archetype. The Senior Bowl efficiency towards legit competitors confirmed the traits weren’t simply small-school inflation. He can translate the traits that had him main Georgia State in first-down receptions whereas pulling a 28.3% goal share.
That final level issues most for what 2026 appears like.
Bucs WR Ted Hurst – Picture by: Cliff Welch/PR
Hurst isn’t going to stroll into Week 1 as a full-time starter. There’s a studying curve from Solar Belt boundary work to Bowles-level NFL pacing, and the Bucs are loaded sufficient at receiver to let him develop into the position. Count on his early-season utilization to be situational. Third downs, the place his contested catch capability (59.3% in 2025) offers Baker Mayfield a margin-for-error goal. Pink zone, the place his peak and ball-tracking translate instantly to the again pylon and 50-50 throws contained in the 20. The sorts of packages the place the employees can isolate what Hurst does effectively with out exposing him to the complete route tree. These had been traits I profiled within the movie part of my first Cowl-4 three weeks in the past.
However watch how the position grows. What appears like 15-20 snaps within the first quarter of the season might double by the final.
If Hurst reveals in October that he can dictate protection the way in which Robinson is describing, the cascading impact on the remainder of the room is important. Defenses that must honor a real X on the bottom open up cleaner one-on-one matchups for Chris Godwin, Emeka Egbuka, and Jalen McMillan inside. An actual X additionally offers Robinson the pliability to rotate his three core receivers extra typically, which retains Godwin particularly brisker throughout a full season. Godwin is 30 and has handled a slew of main accidents. The Bucs don’t want him taking 90% of the snaps in Week 15 if Hurst can credibly take up 30 of them. And that may guarantee Godwin is each out there and recent for postseason soccer.
The trail is there. The traits are actual. The position goes to start out small. Don’t be stunned when it isn’t small by December.
Enjoyable Fourth Down – Bucs BINGO!
Whereas the precise NFL season is a grind for gamers and coaches alike, it’s the offseason that seems like endlessly for followers and media. That’s why I believed I might assist you by making a recreation for the February to August lull. Welcome to “Bucs BINGO” – Offseason Version.
Twenty-four squares will get you to the promised land of significant soccer video games beginning in Cincinnati, Ohio. By the way in which, Cincinnati spells their identify stupidly and you’ll ask another Pewter Reporter why I put that into this text and they’re going to snigger and let you know I’m the silly one. However I digress. Again to the board.
Six squares are already checked off earlier than you even begin, plus the free area leaves seventeen squares to chase.
The most effective row to fill is the second. Followers get mad. Quite a bit. And it may be enjoyable to trace their grievances by way of this recreation. I’ve acquired you lined with regards to somebody claiming Cade Otton is due for a breakout season. We will mark off that sq. collectively in early July.
A private favourite is Todd Bowles begins his reply with “I wouldn’t say…” He can’t assist himself however reflexively push again on any premise a reporter frames of their query.
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