Tag: jenna laine espn

Is Ndamukong Suh poised for a bounce-back year in 2020?

At 33 years old, Bucs defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh is looking to have a big year in 2020.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers know their offense is able to score on anyone, and the addition of six-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady only solidifies that belief.

Brady and a new-look offense will try to guide the Bucs back to the postseason for the first time since 2007. But it’s the defense that will need to step up in order to help get them there.

Tampa Bay boasted the league’s best rush defense last year, and this offseason they were able to retain both Jason Pierre-Paul and Ndamukong Suh, while also using the franchise tag on reigning sack champion Shaq Barrett.

And despite being 33 years old, Jenna Laine of ESPN believes Suh could be in for a big bounce-back year in 2020.

Per Laine:

“It’s not that Suh necessarily had a bad year in 2019, but the work he did didn’t always show up in the stat sheet. His 193 snaps against double-teams was fifth most in the league, which allowed some of his teammates to get to the quarterback. His four fumble recoveries were also tied for the second most in the league, and he had two defensive touchdowns. Suh’s value now is that he can line up at multiple positions along the defensive line, and him taking on double teams frees things up for Shaq Barrett, who is coming off a 19.5-sack season, and Jason Pierre-Paul. The defense as a whole also looks to benefit with a year of Todd Bowles’ 3-4 defense under their belt.”

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See who the Buccaneers landed in ESPN’s NFL re-draft

ESPN re-drafted the entire NFL. See who the Bucs landed in Jenna Laine’s draft.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a splash this offseason by landing future Hall of Famers Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski. Adding the dynamic duo to an offensive unit that already features Pro Bowl receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin has the Buccaneers looking more like a Madden team than an actual NFL squad.

While Tampa Bay is likely more than content with the team they have heading into the 2020 season, both on offense and defense, ESPN decided to have a little fun by having their NFL Nation crew re-draft the entire NFL, imagining a scenario where there is no salary cap and every player is a free agent. The goal is to have each team build a squad that can win a Super Bowl within five years. Each team was allowed four rounds, and had to select a quarterback, a non-QB offensive player and a defensive player. The fourth pick was a wild card, open to anything.

See who the Bucs landed in Jenna Laine’s draft:

Round 1 (14): Tom Brady, QB
Round 2 (51): Alvin Kamara, RB
Round 3 (78): Chris Jones, DT
Round 4 (115): Kenny Golladay, WR

Here’s part of what Laine had to say about her selections:

“Kamara was the third-best non-QB offensive player on my board, so I was thrilled to land him. He can line up anywhere on the field and can help Brady in the screen game. I like that Jones can move all across the defensive line, and his 69 wins against double-teams over the past four seasons puts him second only to Aaron Donald in the NFL, according to ESPN pass-rush metrics powered by NFL Next Gen Stats. Golladay has back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, so I consider him terrific value in the fourth round.”

Kamara on the Bucs would be the ultimate dream for fans, but let’s not forget there is still a former NFC South running back on the free agent market in Devonta Freeman. Freeman took to Twitter last week telling the Bucs to “reach out to me directly” and Tampa Bay fans appeared more than happy to try and recruit him.

Golladay in round four sounds like a steal, and while he won’t actually be suiting up for Tampa Bay this fall, the Bucs did use a fifth-round pick in April’s draft on Minnesota wide receiver Tyler Johnson, who some feel could be a hidden gem.

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