Let me start by saying this; Randy Gregory is NOT being signed to be the starter, this does not change the fact that the Buccaneers will take an edge rusher in the draft, and Gregory is a depth signing. But, he has the ability to be a rotational player that has a bigger impact than Shaquil Barrett had last season.
Snaps
Gregory played in 16 games last season as a rotational player and over the season he started only three games. This resulted in a total of 426 defensive snaps (37.6% of defensive stats). Meanwhile, Barrett played and started 16 total games last season. Resulting in 652 snaps (57.7% of defensive stats). This provided him with 226 more snaps than Gregory.
The Results
Primarily used in pass rushing downs, Gregory notched 3.5 sacks, 10 QB hits, and 3 hurries. Add in 6 tackles for loss, and 20 combined tackles and you can see even when sparingly used Gregory had a decent impact.. In comparison, Barrett had 4 sacks, 9 hits, and 6 hurries. He also totaled 3 tackles for loss, and 52 combined tackles.
One key here is Barrett played in multiple roles, not just as a pass rusher. In coverage his assignment was targeted 18 times and he allowed 14 completions. That’s a 77.8 completion percentage. Gregory was only in for a select amount of coverage situations and had his assignment targeted 5 times with an 80% completion percentage.
Crunching The Numbers
Looking at a per snap basis I like to divide snaps by a focused statistic. This gives an idea of the frequency of the event occurring. It, for me, tells me how disruptive a player can be, the lower the number the better. So dividing the snaps to Gregory (426) by his sacks (3.5) and it comes out to 121.7 snaps per sack. For Barret the math comes out to 163 snaps per sack. So it would seem as though Gregory earns sacks on a more frequent basis. Looking at hits and hurries combined (pressures) and Gregory comes out with 32 snaps per and Barrett hits the 43 snaps per 9 pressure. Again for tackles for a loss Gregory hits a 71 snaps per mark and Barrett hits a whopping 217 snaps per. So, on paper, the numbers would indicate Gregory is more disruptive.
Final Thought
An interesting note here when we talk about usage is the fact that Barrett was brought on the blitz almost four times more than Gregory. Knowing how well Todd Bowles mixes and hides things in his play calling this could very well boost Gregory’s impact. This could be a very sneaky signing.
Also, just to reiterate, Gregory has not been brought in to be the starter and this does not change the likley draft plans to select an edge rusher.
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