Is Tampa Bay's Joe Tryon-Shoyinka Poised for a Breakout Season?

The Bucs' former first round pick will have a great chance to realize his potential in 2022.

Coming off his first season in the NFL, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka is not lacking anything in the athletic department. He's big, strong, fast, and all indications are that he's very confident. What Tryon-Shoyinka was lacking in his rookie year though, was an opportunity.

So if he's already got all the physical tools, what looks different for the young edge rusher entering year two? Yep, you guessed it. An opportunity.

Tryon is projected to start off the edge of the defensive line for the Bucs in 2022, opposite Shaquil Barrett. With the team having moved on from veteran defensive end, Jason Pierre-Paul, the responsibility of getting to the quarterback will now fall squarely onto the broad shoulders of the young, talented pass rusher from Washington.

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Although I have already identified Tryon-Shoyinka as a potential breakout player for the Bucs this season, my job is to cover the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It always hits a bit different when someone who covers the sport on a national level identifies a member of the Bucs as someone with star potential. 

During a recent appearance on The Ari Meirov Show, Trevor Sikkema of PFF named ten players he expects to breakout this season. Joe Tryon-Shoyinka was one of them.

.@TampaBayTre’s Breakout Players next season 👀 pic.twitter.com/HMki2oqhyZ

— PFF (@PFF) July 16, 2022

Here's some of what Trevor Sikkema had to say regarding Joe Tryon-Shoyinka as a potential breakout player this season.

"I really do think that this upcoming year could be the biggest for him. I think the biggest catalyst for that is of course Jason Pierre-Paul no longer on the team."

"I think opportunity plays into him having a big breakout year, building off of that four sack season that he had as a rookie. This was a player who did not play much in his freshman season when he was at Washington, had a nice breakout season with double digit tackles for loss, and eight sacks as a sophomore, but then did not play at all the 2020 season because he opted out due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This guy just hasn't even played a ton of football. We're going to see that for the first time here in 2022. I think that means that he's fresh, he's motivated, and he is jonesin' to make the most out of his talent. He's still playing on a good defense. He's still playing for Todd Bowles. He's not going to get double teamed, nothing like that, there's too much talent around the defensive line. So I will say JTS could be in store for a double digit sack season. Perhaps right around that 9-10 mark this year."

You can watch the entire segment here. 

Despite working for a national outlet (PFF), Sikkema will be the first to tell you that he's still a big fan of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He covered the team in Tampa for Pewter Report for a number of years, and is still very much tuned into the team, the construction of it's roster, and certainly all of the Bucs' draft picks.

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That said, Trevor isn't going to include JTS in this list because he's a Buccaneer. Trevor's rapid ascension in the industry can be attributed to his ability to provide objective, detailed insight on NFL players and draft picks – while always doing so with a ton of enthusiasm and personality. 

So don't worry, you can take Sikkema's positive outlook on Tryon-Shoyinka this season without a grain of salt. And if his prediction comes true – with JTS registering double-digit sacks for the Bucs in 2022 – it should go a long way towards ensuring the Bucs' defense will be a force to be reckoned with this season. 

For more on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, make sure to follow Collin Haalboom on Twitter and YouTube.