Just like every other team in the NFL, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be looking for bounce-back performances from multiple players in 2024.
Pro Football Focus recently made their picks for the bounce-back candidate for each of the league’s 32 teams this season, and they tabbed offensive lineman Robert Hainsey for the Bucs.
Where’s what PFF’s Bradley Locker had to say about Hainsey:
Hainsey’s play took a dive in 2023 due to his allowing 13 more pressures and five more sacks than the year before. On top of that, his run-blocking grade dropped a full 10.6 points. Before that, Hainsey was at least solid in his second year, to the tune of a 66.7 overall grade.
The major X-factor for Hainsey is what position Tampa’s first-round pick, Graham Barton, will play. If it’s center, then Hainsey would probably have a limited path to seeing the field. But if Barton gets more reps at center — something very feasible with little depth inside for the Buccaneers — then Hainsey could get another crack at things in the middle.
Hainsey was thrown into the fire two years ago when Ryan Jensen went down with what eventually proved to be a career-ending knee injury. He performed admirably for someone who spent his entire college career at right tackle, but the entire interior of Tampa Bay’s offensive line struggled last year, and Hainsey wasn’t blameless.
It sure seems like Barton has the inside track to win the starting job at center this year, and with a new offensive coordinator in Liam Coen, Hainsey won’t have the advantage of more experience in the offensive system to give him a head start.
If Hainsey does make a bigger impact this year, it would be by winning the left guard spot and playing better there than he has at center over the past two seasons.
[lawrence-related id=86894]