Bucs OLB Tryon-Shoyinka’s Developmental Path

Lost in the disappointment of the Bucs’ 34-23 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday was the fact the defense played much better than the score would indicate. The unit was continually put in terrible positions, as it was backed up in its own zone five times after a turnover on downs and four straight turnovers by the offense.

But in the first half, when starting from more typical spots the defense balled out holding the Bengals to just three points over five drives which spanned just 28 plays and 69 yards. The Bucs defense tacked on a seldom-seen turnover for good measure in the first half. The Bucs held a formidable Bengals offense to very little production.

And while the Bengals put up 31 points in the second half, due in large part to the aforementioned turnovers, it didn’t stop the defense from still performing admirably under poor circumstances. One of the players who really excelled during the game was Bucs outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka.

Tryon-Shoyinka, who has faced more than his fair share of criticism since fellow outside linebacker Shaq Barrett was lost to a torn Achilles tendon for the year against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 8. Over the course of those first eight weeks Tryon-Shoyinka posted 18 pressures over 193 pass rush snaps. Three of those pressures turned into sacks while he added two quarterback hits and 13 hurries.

But what many not realize is that Tryon-Shoyinka’s snap-to-snap productivity stayed pretty consistent after Barrett’s injury. He registered 14 pressures over 115 pass rush snaps including 12 hurries.

But two things did change over that time period. First, JTS has failed to “get home” to the quarterback quite as much over that time period. Tryon-Shoyinka was able to convert 16.7% of his pressures to sacks prior to Barrett’s injury. But since week eight that sack-to-pressure rate had fallen to just 7.1%. The former first-round pick wasn’t providing the “splash plays” that people come to expect with elite pass rushers.

And that brings me to the second change since the Baltimore game. The expectations for Tryon-Shoyinka have risen for a myriad of reasons.

The floor for those expectations was already fairly high with him being the 32nd overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft. Given that draft status, the fact the Bucs neglected to re-sign Jason Pierre-Paul. Then after the absence of Barrett, Bucs fans employed the age-old “next man up” mentality to the Bucs outside linebacker room, and voila! JTS was now expected to be a league average or better No. 1 edge rusher.

Tryon-Shoyinka’s Development IS Right Where It Should Be

The problem is Tryon-Shoyinka just isn’t that. He wasn’t meant to be this season. It’s why Barrett was re-signed to a large contract prior to last season.

The hope for Tryon-Shoyinka’s development path was to be a rotational piece in his first year. Then over years two and three he would move into a starting role as an athletic, but raw complement to Barrett’s consistent production as the team’s No. 1 edge. By year four (and possibly year five) Tryon-Shoyinka would have the potential to ascend into Barrett’s role as Barrett would most likely decline as he hit his age 31 and 32 seasons. He wasn’t meant to be and isn’t ready to be a dominant edge in year two after missing his final college season due to an opt-out followed by a rookie season that featured him rushing from the inside or dropping into coverage around 25% of his snaps.

By almost any objective measure Tryon-Shoyinka has actually ascended into a quality No. 2 edge. Playing around with Pro Football Focus’ database I looked at the 82 edge rushers with at least 200 pass rush snaps. JTS ranks tied for 32nd in pass rush wins (49) and tied for 37th in pressures (35). And his 10.1% pressure to pass rush rate is right where I predicted him to be prior to the season.

Add on to that Tryon-Shoyinka has developed into one of the premier coverage edge rusher in the entire NFL. His 80.4 PFF grade ranks third in the league behind just Micah Parsons and Trayvon Walker. All this is to say, while the narrative is Tryon-Shoyinka may be a “bust” after an absurdly small sample size of 32 games (including the 2021 playoffs), based on the project that he was always going to be, he has developed quite well.

Bucs OLB Had A Great Game Against Bengals

Given that backdrop, Tryon-Shoyinka sure could have used a “breakout game.” With the rest of the defensive front struggling to generate pressure of any kind in the absence of Barret and the fellow-injured Vita Vea, JTS provided the team’s best hope of making opposing quarterback Joe Burrow uncomfortable. This was made even more possible by the fact he was facing struggling offensive tackles Jonah Williams and La’el Collins.

And have a game Tryon-Shoyinka did. Over the course of 37 pass rush snaps he had three pressures, a hurry, a quarterback hit and that ever so crucial sack. JTS terrorized Collins and Williams snap after snap after snap.

It started with the second drive of the game. On third-and-4 JTS had his most impactful rep of the game.

Tryon-Shoyinka is able to slap away Collins’ two-handed stab while beating Collins to his outside shoulder. Following this he gives a small shoulder dip as he turns the corner. This gives him a clear line to Burrow from his backside allowing JTS to bring down Burrow with the help of Anthony Nelson and end the drive.

Tryon-Shoyinka Helped Create Additional Sack For Bucs LB David

On the first play of the following drive, JTS got the party started by creating a sack for Lavonte David.

With head coach Todd Bowles dialing up a blitz bringing David looping in from the outside, Tryon-Shoyinka is tasked with crashing down the line in the hopes of keeping Collins occupied. This would allow David to get home untouched. And he completes his assignment with aplomb.

Attacking Collins’ inside shoulder and landing a wicked punch to Collins’ chest, Collins not only keeps him busy, he downright drives Collins backwards. This gives David the opportunity to get in clean, with an easy angle straight to Burrow. On his own JTS was working on generating pressure himself when his assignment was simply to occupy a blocker to let someone else get home.

Tryon-Shoyinka Kept Whipping Up On Collins

On the very next snap Tryon-Shoyinka went from beating Collins inside to once again gaining the outside edge.

One play after the David sack Tryon-Shoyinka was able to pin his ears back and get after Burrow. Knowing Collins just saw him with a strong arm to the inside, the Bucs outside linebacker decided to win to Collins’ outside this time. Rushing from a wide five alignment allowed JTS to keep enough room between him and Collins to allow him to get parallel with the Bengals tackle. From there JTS is able to use an impressive display of bend to dip under Collins’ arms and get to Burrow just after he releases the ball. This went on throughout most of the game.

Tryon-Shoyinka’s Most Likely Career Path

Projecting young players is such a crapshoot. If it wasn’t teams would have much more consistent success in the draft. But with just over two seasons worth of games under his belt JTS has given us enough data we can make a likely projection of what the next few years might look like.

This year he has added a couple of inside moves to his repertoire that have allowed him to show counters. This has improved his pass rush arsenal and allowed him to create more consistent pressure. When you add in his high motor and the fantastic coverage abilities you have the makings of a great No. 2 edge for years to come.

And Tryon-Shoyinka has the upside to still become the Bucs’ No. 1 guy as Barrett falls off with age and injuries. I doubt he reaches that ceiling, but his floor is so high it virtually guarantees he won’t “bust” by reasonable expectations for the context of his draft position.

But if he can add a more consistent element of speed-to-power, which Tryon-Shoyinka physically has the capabilities to do, it isn’t out of the question for him. For now, Bucs fans should measure their expectations and enjoy the considerable development of this high-upside young man.