Bucs Depth Chart Shows There's Still Hope for O.J. Howard

The 2017 NFL Draft showed a lot of hype around the tight end position with three taken off the board in the first round. O.J. Howard from the Alabama Crimson Tide was taken first of these TEs, going 19th overall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Overall, this trio of first-round talents hasn't quite lived up to expectations — Howard especially. And despite the constant rumbles around Cameron Brate and the reappearance of Rob Gronkowski last year, it appears there's still hope for Howard in Tampa Bay.

The Buccaneers recently revealed their first unofficial depth chart, backing up that Howard still has a chance to see his career turn the corner with the Bucs'.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Depth Chart

Howard checks in as the No. 1 tight end on this early version of the depth chart. Notably Gronkowski does not appear on the depth chart at all, and he'll be the No. 1 when he's active, but he's likely not seeing much (if any) action in the preseason.

What's most promising is seeing Howard rank above Brate on the depth chart. Of course, these two are teammates and would tell you that team success matters most, but Brate has been a thorn in Howard's side since the 2017 season. Brate's been in Tampa Bay since 2014 and continues to get consistent targets in the passing game, despite the hype around Howard.

Last year, Howard suffered a tough Achilles injury. Some reports suggested this injury is still nagging him, but the depth chart may prove otherwise.

This is the final year of Howard's rookie contract. With an average of just 485.3 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns in his healthy season, he'll need to improve upon those numbers if he wants to stick around in Tampa Bay.

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Adam Taylor McKillop is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Adam Taylor also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username atmckillop. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.