Buccaneers Need OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka 'To Be A Stud' This NFL Season

Entering a critical season in his career, the Buccaneers need outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka to be at the top of his game to secure his future with the franchise.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have an important season ahead of them as they resist the urge to sink to the bottom of the NFL standings in hopes of landing a franchise quarterback. 

Rather than spend a talentless season at the bottom of the league the Buccaneers opted to bring back more talent than expected and drafted a class of rookies that brings excitement and energy to the roster. 

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If the Bucs can just get some elevated performances out of guys like quarterback Baker Mayfield - the media-presumed starter of the team - and outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, they could be capable of surprising a lot of people this coming season. 

In fact, according to Pro Football Focus, Tryon-Shoyinka is the team's biggest X-Factor.

"Tryon-Shoyinka has been in the rotation during his first two years," says PFF. "But the Bucs need their 2021 first-rounder to be a stud. He has just nine sacks thus far in his NFL career to go with a 60.7 pass-rush grade. A big improvement from Tryon-Shoyinka and the pass rush would be an important step forward for the team."

While PFF credits the linebacker with nine sacks, NFL.com has Tryon-Shoyinka with just eight through two seasons of play. 

By either measurement, it's not what you want from a former first-round NFL Draft pick. 

In fact, his current production has him about $5 million shy of what his fifth-year option will likely cost Tampa Bay if the franchise was to exercise it next offseason, prior to his fourth year in the league. 

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Of course, if Tryon-Shoyinka can do enough to elevate his play and production to validate a decision to take his option, then it's highly likely he'll have also helped coach Todd Bowles reverse course on some of the 'hot seat' conversations happening around media circles. 

Find David Harrison on Twitter @DHarrison82

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