These Guys Are Going To Try To Fill The Jackson Void

by Douglas O'Connor
follow on Twitter @Ren_Daxt

     The Buccaneers announced that 12 year veteran, Vincent Jackson, has been moved to injured reserve with an ACL injury. Tampa has very little experienced depth at wide receiver but someone has to step up and try to fill Jackson's shoes. Below is a little background on the top 3 candidates that are going to give it a try.

The Vet
     Cecil Shorts III played in Jacksonville during his first 4 years in the league. After spending a year in Houston, Tampa signed Shorts to the 53 man roster on September 6th. Cecil was active for 2 games and had 1 catch before he pulled his hamstring and was inactive for the next 3 weeks. Shorts returned to practice couldn't come at a better time. He returned to practice the same day Jackson was placed on IR. Cecil has 219 rec for 2,839 yds and 14 tds for his career and has the most experience by far of any of the other receivers. See what he said about his progress HERE.

The Specialist
     Russell Shepard has been with the Bucs since 2013. A jack of all trades while at LSU, Shepard lined up at QB, RB, and WR. Unable to find a role thus far in the Buccaneers offense, 10 catches in 4 years. Shepard has made his mark as being a standout special teams player. Wide Receivers Coach Todd Monken told the media that filling Jackson role will be done by committee. Suggesting that Russell will get to see the field more. Watch Monken's press conference HERE.

The Speedster 
     Donteea Dye has bounced between the Buccaneers practice squad and the 53 man roster since the start of last season. Dye did manage to be active for 10 games last year and see enough of the field to record 11 catches. Dye's big contribution may come on kickoff returns. Where he can use his 4.3 speed most effectively.

    Give the staffers a follow @realbucstalk and as always thanks for reading. Go Bucs!

Big Game for Mr.Dye

Last season, small school receiver Donteea Dye showed flashes of being that downfield speed threat that has been missing from the Bucs offense. Dye only had 11 receptions for 132 yds and 1 Td with a long of 44 yds, but not bad for being an undrafted rookie and is only 23 years old. Dye this off-season has worked really hard on his consistency and has been better with his hands and route running. Dye, who is a former track guy, has the physical tools with good speed and size at 6'0 195lbs just needs to learn the mental game.

Tomorrow's game against the Jaguars is a big game for Dye as he will be the main return guy and will have a chance to put a lock on that job. Plus he will get more opportunities to show what he can do on offense and compete for the 4th and 5th receiver spots. If Dye can show something in the return game and perhaps break one or two for a big gain, that will only help his chances of making this team and hopefully be that return man this team needs. The battle at receiver has been a good one and I suspect we will see multiple guys have their best games tomorrow as many of them are on the bubble. Big opportunity for Mr. Dye tomorrow, hopefully he takes advantage of it. Here is an interview that Dye did back in April, I'm cheering for him.

Will Young Receivers Show Improvement?

The bucs seem to have competition across the board this year but one position that doesn't seem as deep is the wide receiver position. Jason Licht skipped addressing the position in the draft and free agency as well. Is that because he is confident in the young receivers on the current roster?

The bucs have 3 second year players that still have room to grow and could potentially be a difference maker in Donteea Dye 22, Adam Humphries 23, and Kenny Bell 24. Dye was more of a deep threat last year and didn't manage much else as he totaled only 11 catches for 132 yards and one score. Humphries on the other hand seemed to be a sure handed slot guy that could make strides this year as he totaled 27 catches for 260 yards and one score as well. Kenny Bell had a redshirt season due to injury last year but was the only one of the 3 to actually be drafted last year and has the most all around game.

The bucs truly need a slot receiver and difference maker at the wide receiver position and they are hoping that guy is currently on the roster. 2nd year receivers can make big strides in development so I'm not going to say theres no chance these guys aren't it. Training camp and preseason will tell all and push the best guy to the top. This should be an interesting competition to keep and eye on.

Prospect Analysis: Sterling Shepard

The Bucs have weaknesses all over the defensive side of the ball but you can forget the fall in production in the passing game when Vincent Jackson went down due to injury. You could blame it on Jameis being a rookie or you could look at it as there aren't enough receiving weapons for Winston to get the ball to. Step in Sterling Shepard as a target in the draft to help Winston find another option.

Sterling Shepard exploded in his senior year with Oklahoma putting up 1,288 receiving yards with 11 touchdowns. Shepard is a fluid athlete that doesn't slow down in his routes and can plant his foot in the ground and change direction with ease. His hands are more than capable but many of his catches can be attributed to shorter routes. Although a small frame 5'10 194, Shepard possess enough strength and effort to get his nose dirty in run support. Shepard was a workout warrior during combine workouts posting a 4.48 forty yard dash, 20 reps on the bench press and a 41 inch vertical leap. All those numbers prove Shepard is an above average athlete and well worth a high draft pick but how high?

Most projections have him as a 2nd round pick, so would the Bucs pick a wide receiver that high considering the Defensive needs. In my honest opinion I feel Licht views this as an extremely talented D-line draft and he will attack that accordingly, but if Shepard happens to fall to our pick, I wouldn't be surprised to see him taken.

Shepard could bring an option to Tampa that hasn't been here in quite some time. The Bucs receivers are Tall and long, making them take time to get open. Shepard would be a perfect slot receiver and a mismatch for any defender in the middle of the field as he has that make you miss ability no receiver on the Bucs possess. Tampa has high hopes for Donteea Dye and Adam Humphries, but a player with the abilities of Shepard is hard to come by and would immediately come in and be a contributor on the offense as well as be another weapon for Winston to utilize.