Pewter Pulse: Did The Bucs MAKE A MISTAKE Releasing Deven Thompkins?
hello peer people Scott Reynolds here with the New peeter Pulse the bucks made a roster move on Thursday afternoon that was a surprise to some Devin Tomkins who had been Tampa Bay’s primary Punt and kick returner over the past two seasons was waved injured he cleared waivers and is now back on the team’s injured reserve where he’ll rehab that injury until he’s healthy enough to be released but was this move really a surprise and more importantly was it a mistake by the team the answers to those questions are no and no the move should not come as a surprise given the NFL’s new kick return Rule and moving to part ways with Tomkins shouldn’t be viewed as a mistake by the Buccaneers let me explain but first I’ll ask you to hit the thumbs up button and leave a comment on this video that helps us with the YouTube algorithm and gets our videos in front of more awesome Bucks fans like yourself and also helps our pter report tv YouTube channel grow so let’s talk about Devin Tomkins at 5 fo8 155 lbs he was easily the smallest receiver on the team he’s also one of the fastest but that doesn’t mean that he was one of the most elusive because of a small frame Tomkins was rather easy to tackle and often went down on immediate contact now remember that the Buccaneers drafted a smallest running back Bucky Irving out of Oregon but at 5 foot n 195 pounds Irving weighs 40 more pounds than Tomkins weighs and that extra size helps Irving break tackles and often prevents him from going down on First Contact as a wide receiver Tomkins did catch 22 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown in his 22 games that he played for Tampa Bay but he averaged a woful 5.2 yards per catch most of those receptions came on wide receiver screens that went nowhere because Tom is easy to tackle while Tomkins is fast his small stature made it difficult for Baker Mayfield who’s just over six foot himself to spot him downfield so Tomkins was rarely targeted on deep and intermediate throws as a result Tomkins was successful on some end rounds he averaged 8.2 yards per carry on 10 Ender rounds for Tampa Bay for a total of 82 yards with a long of 17 yards but carrying a player on the 53 man roster for Ana occasional gimmick play just isn’t worth it new Buck offensive coordinator Liam Cohen told me that the attribute he looks for most in a wide receiver is catch radius because every throw made by a quarterback is not going to be spoton and although Tomkins has an incredible vertical leap for such a small receiver his short arms won’t help him catch throws that are just behind him or in front of him the way that a long armed receiver like Chris Godwin or Mike Evans can haul those plays in in fact Tomkins short arms made him more likely to Fumble the ball he fumbled four times out of the 32 touches on offense in two years that’s an average of one fumble about eight about every eight touches and that’s that’s actually quite terrible when it comes to kick and punt returns Tomkins was wasn’t really special either he averaged a respectable 9.5 yards per punt return with a long of 51 but only averaged 21.1 yards per kick return with a long of 54 the new NFL kickoff return rules will make kick returns more like an offensive play than the traditional kick returns where Defenders would run 40 to 50 yards downfield trying to make a tackle now there will essentially be a line of scrimmage around the 35 yard line of the kick returning team side of the field because the kick coverage and kick return units will be lined up about 10 yards apart this will put an emphasis on finding returners that can break tackles and slip tackles to get through the line of scrimmage and Break Free the way a running back would so think of running backs like Irving or a bigger tougher receiver in Tampa Bay like rakee Jared who is 6′ 192 LBS or the 6’1 190lb Trey Palmer and I wouldn’t be surprised if rookie receiver Jaylen McMillan who is 6’1 192 pounds also gets a shot to be the team’s kick returner there’s also a new receiver in Tampa Bay in the OTAs that has generated a little bit of Buzz and that’s undrafted free agent Cameron Johnson out of Barton College at 5 fo9 184 pounds he’s now the smallest receiver in Tampa Bay with Tomkins departure but he’s an inch taller and 29 pounds heavier than Tomkins was and like Tomkins Johnson has experience doing Ender rounds punt returns and kick returns in college finding a player who can average nine yards per punt shouldn’t be that difficult for the bucks but finding a kick returner that can really excel in the new NFL kickoff return rules will be Paramount when it comes to Tampa Bay starting field position so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Devin Tomkins was released and I don’t think it was a mistake by the Bucks to do so what would be a mistake is if you don’t subscribe to Peter Report TV our YouTube channel that’s where you can find more Peter pulse videos bucks otaa and mini camp videos as well as our Peter Report podcast and other 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Did the Bucs make a mistake releasing wide receiver and primary return specialist Deven Thompkins? And did the move actually come as a surprise? Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds offers up his opinion on Thompkins’ release in a new Pewter Pulse video and reveals who may return kicks and punts in Tampa Bay as his replacement.
#buccaneers #gobucs #bucs #tampabaybuccaneers #nfl #DevenThompkins
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10 comments
Yes
No, people get way too excited about the backup positions.
Yes
we have to put trey palmer as returner/recivers
First thought was YES. I liked him as a returner. Second thought was trust in Jason
We've not had any luck with short wide receivers. All of them seem to be worried about NFL contact. You can't blame them because they give up a lot of weight. I would have kept him under the past kick off rules. I think this is a opportunity for Thompkins to find a fit somewhere. Good Luck Deven.
I heard that it was a domestic violence issue
Am I the only person that was not impressed with him at all? He didn't have that lightning speed or elusiveness and his returning ability was spotty at best. Palmer and Irving will do better in the role I would tend to think.
HIs getting cut this early was a little bit of a surprise; but . . .
believe it or not, I toying with the idea of going with 5 wrs(and 3 Te's) at cut down day. My reasoning was to keep more D players. Keep four Hbs. I actually had Thompkins getting released. So, when he was released, I was just kind of like "well, that's along the lines of what I was thinking,"
Running game won't work as well, if a WR can't block a CB.