Each week after a Buccaneers game, we’ll take a closer look at Tampa Bay’s offensive and defensive snap count distribution and evaluate what we can learn from the players who played the most and least in the game.
Here’s a closer look at who played the most and least snaps in the Buccaneers’ 37-20 win over the Commanders in Sunday’s season opener.
Buccaneers’ attack
With Liam Cohen taking over as offensive coordinator, it was expected that Tampa Bay’s offense would primarily feature three wide receivers. This was the first time that Mike Evans had been in the running. Chris Godwin Jalen McMillan was also on the field at the same time, and in a twist of fate, all three receivers scored touchdowns in the game, with Evans scoring two.
Buccaneers WR Mike Evans – Photo courtesy of USA Today
In the end, McMillan, a rookie, played the most snaps of the three, playing 53 of 64 snaps for 83 percent of the snaps, followed by Godwin at 78 percent and Evans at 70 percent.
There’s a slight caveat to this: the Buccaneers had a big lead going into the fourth quarter, so they didn’t need to risk having Godwin and Evans involved on every play. The Buccaneers will play a lot more close games this season, and I’d be willing to bet these numbers will change when it’s all decided.
Still, it’s encouraging to see the Buccaneers rotate their wide receivers well and produce results without tiring out their top players. Trey Palmer played 31% of the snaps and Kameron Johnson played 17% of the replays with plays designed for him. Every snap counted for each player, which is important going forward.
Buccaneers RB Bucky Irving – Photo: Cliff Welch/PR
Running backs Ratchad White and Bucky Irving were on the field together quite a bit, with White dominating the passing game and Irving leading the ground game. Considering White is a third-year veteran and Irving was making his NFL debut, it’s no surprise White outshot Irving, 45-20.
Irving also took a lot of snaps in the second half as the Buccaneers tried to close out games, which is when they had the most success with running football and it feels like Irving has already earned more opportunities.
It’s clear that White and Irving will each have an impact on this offensive line and both are getting ample opportunities, so hopefully Cohen and the Buccaneers can find more ways to put them on the field together and cause problems for opposing teams.
At tight end, Cade Otton played nearly every snap last season and was known as the Iron Man. He also played the most snaps of any skill position player for the Buccaneers in the first game of the year, at 86%. Payne Durham also played 17%. Overall, these are good numbers, as tight ends are not the focal point of this talented group.
Buccaneers Defense
While it’s certainly possible to infer patterns from offensive snap counts, the same may not be true. Tampa Bay’s Defense. Unfortunately, the Buccaneers suffered numerous injuries throughout the game and were already missing two starters before the weekend even began. Starting cornerback Zion McCollum suffered a concussion after just 11 snaps and missed the remainder of the game. His replacement, Bryce Hall, was carried off on a stretcher early in the third quarter and only played 17 snaps.
Buccaneers DB Christian Izien – Photo: Cliff Welch/PR
This led to backup safety Christian Izien playing cornerback, a position he hadn’t played since high school. Izien did a commendable job, recording a pass breakup on third down while playing a new position. His snap share ended up being 53%, but it’s unclear if that will be used during the season or if this was just an emergency situation. What’s interesting is that the Buccaneers chose not to use Tavier Thomas on defense with all this going on.
Besides taking care of all the injuries, the Buccaneers also maximized everyone’s efforts and rotated players constantly. Jamel Dean, Jordan Whitehead and Antoine Winfield Jr. all played 100% of the time, while Lavonte David played 98% of the time, but there was a big difference in playing time compared to the rest of the team. Rookie nickel cornerback Tykee Smith played the next highest percentage, at 68%.
Buccaneers ILB Servoshia Dennis and Commanders QB Jayden Daniels – Photo: Cliff Welch/PR
A big reason for this is that the Bucs rotated around the inside linebacker positions aside from David. KJ Britt played a lot of first and second downs, playing 66% of the time. Servosia Dennis played 36% of the snaps on third down. Both players played 20-22 on the inside linebacker positions. It was a brilliant performance. Britt had five tackles and Dennis had seven tackles, second on the team, and also recorded a sack. Todd Bowles is looking to use each player’s strengths to get the best results for the team.
Defensive tackle was always in danger with Kalijah Kansey and Logan Hall out. Vita Via and Greg Gaines got the majority of the snaps, but it was practice squad recruits Mike Green and C.J. Brewer who played more snaps than veteran defensive tackle Will Gholston. Newcomer Ben Still played six snaps, which is to be expected considering he’s just joining the team.
Yaya Diaby got the most snaps at outside linebacker, but only played 54% of the time, likely as he was slowly working his way back into action after recovering from an ankle injury. The Buccaneers maintained a solid rotation with the rest of the lineup, with Joe Tryon Soyinka and Anthony Nelson each playing 47% of the time and rookie Chris Braswell playing 42% of the time. With Diaby starting on the opposite side, it was essentially even play for all three. Only Marquise Watts wasn’t really used at all, playing just 8% of the game’s snaps.
