Player: O.J. Howard

Position: Tight End

College: Alabama 

Draft Review

It's somewhat surprising that Howard fell all the way to the 19th pick to Tampa Bay. It wasn't a secret that the Bucs were targeting a tight end throughout the draft process. But most figured the team would have to add David Njoku from Miami (F). After all, Howard, was pegged as a top-10 pick throughout the entire pre-draft process. 

Once Howard slipped to the teens, most figured one of those teams would pick him up or trade down with another squad looking to add the consensus top tight end in the class. That didn't happen, and Howard fell squarely on to the Buccaneers' laps. 

What the Scouts Say

"Howard has struggled to live up to hype that has come with his play-making ability while at Alabama, but some scouts put the blame on the staff and scheme.

He has elite athletic traits and raw talent, but must add polish to go along with those attributes. Should become substantially more productive as a pro, but the difference between "potential weapon" and "elite tight end" will likely be tied to his desire and overall football character."

NFL Media

At 6-foot-6 and 251 pounds, Howard is a massive target between the hashes. More than that, he provides a huge catch radius, is physically imposing against smaller defensive backs and remains too athletic for linebackers to cover one-on-one. That's all a sign that he should be a dominant receiving threat in the Buccaneers' offense, especially in the red zone. 

Depth Chart Competition 

Cameron Brate was studly for the Buccaneers last season, putting up 57 receptions for 660 yards. He also caught 70 percent of the passes thrown in his direction and tallied a tremendous 14 percent touchdown rate. This lead to Brate finishing as a TE1 optionin 12-team leagues. 

So why go out there and exhaust a first-round pick on this position? It's rather simple, the Buccaneers will be running multiple two tight end sets with Howard and Brate. They also provide a little bit different things with Brate acting as the possession tight end and Howard being able to stretch the field more. 

Sure Brate's presence in Tampa will limit Howard's targets. Heck, having Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson on the outside will do the same. But we don't expect Howard to be handcuffed too much from a usage standpoint here. 

Fantasy Outlook 

In terms of redraft, we would actually go with Evan Engram of the New York Giants as the top rookie tight end off the board. Engram doesn't have the competition with him on the Giants and will likely make a larger impact than Howard. 

Though, if you do decide to run with two tight ends to start the season, Howard is definitely a draftable option. At the very least, he provides much more upside than some of the TE2 options out here on the veteran market. That is what you want in someone on the bench. Upside. 

From a rookie-pool draft perspective, we'd definitely go Howard over Engram or David Njoku. There's little doubt here. Howard fits in extremely well with what the Bucs are looking to build on offense. He also has a borderline elite long-term option at quarterback in Jameis Winston set to toss him the rock. 

Dyno league? Even before taking a snap, we'd value him as a TE1 option in drafts of this sort. That might seem a bit absurd. But the idea here would be to pick up a veteran as your TE1 in the later rounds and groom Howard to take over for him in a year or two.