Tyler Johnson Unable to Make Impact In Week 4 Despite Scotty Miller’s Absence

After notching season highs in catches, targets, and snaps in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Week 3 road matchup against the Los Angeles Rams, Tyler Johnson found his role and effectiveness reduced greatly in Week 4.

With starting wideout Antonio Brown missing Week 3’s matchup due to a positive COVID test, Johnson took advantage of the opportunity. Overall, he pulled in three catches (six targets) for 63 yards against the Rams’ vaunted defense. That breakout performance seemed as though it was foreshadowing a larger role for him in the Bucs’ offense moving forward. However, this last weekend proved that was not the case.

Not only did Johnson fail to haul in either of his two targets on Sunday Night Football, but he was also on the field for only 17 snaps during Week 4 — equivalent to just 22% of Tampa Bay’s offensive plays on the evening. Compared to the 34 snaps (47% of plays) he saw the previous week, Johnson’s involvement shrunk noticeably, even with WR Scottie Miller and TE Rob Gronkowski sidelined.

So, what does this dip in playing time tell us?

The Buccaneers Are Confident in Their Trio of Star WRs

With Mike Evans, Antonio Brown, and Chris Godwin all healthy, the importance of a fourth receiver within the offense is relatively capped. Over the first few weeks of the season, Johnson and Scotty Miller essentially shared the #4 WR job. Scotty Miller’s shift to the IR in week 4 led Bruce Arians towards a more run-heavy gameplan, however.

Evans (88%), Godwin (94%), and Brown (51%) all saw the field considerably more than Johnson in week 4. Additionally, TEs Cameron Brate (64%) and OJ Howard (65%) had their playing time and roles substantially increased as they attempted to replace Gronk’s contributions.

This snap distribution was almost certainly due to the flow of the game. With an emphasis placed on time-of-possession and converting on third-and-short, Tampa Bay relied less on their passing attack. Leonard Fournette gobbled up a season-high 20 rushes, and the game never really allowed the Buccaneers many opportunities for 4-WR sets or hurry-up offense with rapid-fire WR substitutions.

Johnson Is Going To Have To Take Advantage of His Targets In Order To Earn His Snaps

Tyler Johnson has only corralled 4-of-his-11 targets from Tom Brady over the first four games. That is good for a 36.4% catch percentage, which ranks him second-last on the team. Only Ronald Jones (33.3%) ranks under Johnson. If Johnson wants to see the field more consistently, he is going to have to take advantage of the already-meager target share that he is afforded.

One possible factor for this struggle to pull in targets is a lack of NFL-ready explosiveness. A main knock on Johnson coming out of The University of Minnesota was his lack of off-the-line speed. He was criticized for an inability to create separation consistently against man coverage and more-physical cornerbacks. That means that Johnson will need to improve his route running and timing if he isn’t able to outrun NFL secondaries.

From there, if he can begin to show Tom Brady that he is increasing his separation, the rapport (and targets) will certainly be there.

At This Point, Johnson Represents Much-Needed Playmaking Depth

We are just four weeks into the NFL season and the Buccaneers have already had Rob Gronkowski, Scotty Miller, Gio Bernard, and Antonio Brown miss games, while Chris Godwin was in danger of missing the season opener as he dealt with a lingering quad injury. These absences highlight the importance of pass-catching depth in the Tampa Bay system. With Tom Brady averaging 46 passes per game so far, the likelihood that the Buccaneers find their pass catchers banged up this season remains relatively high. This is where Johnson’s continued ability to stay healthy, stay focused, and stay ready is extremely valuable.

Because, as NFL fans have seen countless times before…

All It Takes Is One Big Play To Force The Coaching Staff’s Hand (But That’s Not All)

Tyler Johnson displayed an undeniable propensity for big plays throughout his college career. His highlight tape shows off a handful of contested, 1-on-1 balls that he was able to manhandle the cornerback on. So, in a system that leads to added attention being paid to the WR trio, Johnson could find himself in quite a few situations with single coverage and a chance to start compiling his NFL highlight tape.

All it takes is one big catch, and there will likely be much more than just one opportunity this season for Johnson to showcase his big-play ability. He just needs to remain prepared.

As a second-year player, the responsibility also lies on him to continue to improve and convince the coaching staff that his attitude is right. On a team with so much talent in the passing attack, Johnson needs to fill the reserve receiver role selflessly. Limiting mental mistakes will be key to that. As will practicing well, filling his role on special teams, and finishing his routes convincingly. Although big touchdown grabs are huge, being an unselfish teammate and knowing your role is just as important a contribution to winning.