Week 1 Snap Count Analysis: Bucs At Falcons

There's a new workhouse in Tampa Bay's offense and his name is Emeka Egbuka. The rookie wide receiver and first-round pick led the way among all skill position players coming in at 93% of the offensive snaps, playing in 54 out of 58 of them. Egbuka had a sensational day making four catches and leading the Bucs with 67 receiving yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner with 59 seconds left.

To no surprise Mike Evans had the next highest snaps amongst wide receivers with 48 of 58 plays (84%) as the Bucs kept him fresh. Typically when he wasn't on the field the Bucs would bring in Ryan Miller, who played nine snaps (16%) to block on running plays.

There wasn't much of a rotation at WR3 with Sterling Shepard getting the bulk of the share with 37 plays at 64% as his chemistry with Baker Mayfield shined through. Tez Johnson was thought to be in the mix, but he was only on for eight plays and 14%. Kameron Johnson was electric as a punt returner, however, he had one offensive snap. It's obvious that the team would like to trust the Johnsons more before giving them opportunities as they are young, inexperienced players. As the season goes on it's likely they get more chances, especially for Tez Johnson, the team's seventh-round pick.

Speaking of workhorses, that was the case for running back Bucky Irving as he took the majority of snaps at the position. He was on the field for 44 plays at 76% while Rachaad White was limited to 14 plays (24%) and Sean Tucker had just two snaps. Irving showed he's a dynamic, all-purpose back with a receiving touchdown that saw him use great athletic ability to dive into the end zone for the score.

Irving's not as good of a pass blocker as White is, but he showed a willingness to take on blitzers and at least collide with them in the backfield. He tends to just throw his body into defenders to buy some extra time, but it keeps him playing.

White was extremely valuable as a pass blocker and has become essentially the third-down back for Tampa Bay. He came close to a big play on a screen pass, and perhaps a touchdown, but a Falcons defender made a shoestring tackle and allowed just a gain of two yards. White was impactful on his two rushes going for 14 yards and an average of 7.0 yards per attempt.

I'm curious if things would have shaken out different for Tucker had he been able to break a big run on his lone rushing attempt on a pitch to the right side. Tucker had a big lane to run through on the outside but he tripped on the back legs of a blocking Cade Otton, making it just a 2-yard run. Each of his offensive snaps came in the first half and he did not register an offensive snap in the second. But he did have a very important kick return at the end of the game to set up the game-winning touchdown drive.

A third workhorse player that we've all come to expect to be playing often was tight end Cade Otton. He was just below Egbuka for the skill position snap count coming in at 50 plays and 86%. This is a slight dip from his 925 average that he was on last season, but it's only one game this year. Payne Durham was the main tight end they used when the Bucs went into 12 personnel (two tight ends) as he played 15 snaps and 26 percent. The Bucs often used 12 personnel on the first play their opening drives. Occasionally Ko Kieft was in that role.

The Bucs did have an interesting setup as well with all three tight ends on one play. It was at the end of the first quarter on a third-and-1 where Tampa Bay actually had Graham Barton move to the right side of the offensive line next Luke Goedeke as a tight end with Durham on the left side next to Michael Jordan as technically the left tackle. Otton was on the right side next to Barton while Kieft was next to Durham. Tampa Bay actually did not gain a yard on the play as Barton missed his block, but the Bucs converted the first down on the next fourth down play.

Bucs Defense

Only one player on the Bucs defense play all 76 snaps for 1005 and it was the ageless wonder Lavonte David. It's incredible to think that the oldest player is playing the more than anyone else, but that just shows how important he is. There were also several other players that were close, including fellow inside linebacker SirVocea Dennis at 72 snaps and 555.

There were thoughts that Dennis was benched for Deion Jones when the Bucs were in goal line in the third quarter. I don't see it that way. He missed four plays overall and it wasn't like Tampa Bay started a new drive with him on the sidelines. It was an up-and-down kind of game for Dennis, who will be monitored closely in their next contest. Reserve linebacker Deion Jones came in for three plays to replace Dennis.

The second-most amount of snaps for the defense was a tie at 74% between cornerbacks Zyon McCollum and Jamel Dean and safeties Antoine Winfield Jr. and Tykee Smith. Considering the injury histories of Dean, Winfield and Smith, it was good to see them make it through the whole game especially the high volume of plays. Tampa Bay's secondary wasn't beat by Atlanta's receivers. There were no big, down the field plays and they kept everything underneath. It was Bijan Robinson that was the biggest threat to the defense as a receiver, as he had a 100-yard day, including a 50-yard catch-and-run touchdown in the first quarter.

Rookie nickelback Jacob Parrish clocked in at 55 snaps and 72%. He looked comfortable out there recording five tackles, including a tackle for loss. He brought his play from the preseason over to the regular season and looks to to a mainstay in the slot. Whenever Christian Izien is able to return, Tampa Bay will have excellent depth with Izien's ability to play in the slot and having the option to put Parrish at outside corner if anything happens to the starters.

The 79% of the snaps that outside linebacker Haason Reddick played was the most he was in for in his career since he averaged 83% in 2021, which was his lone season with the Panthers. Reddick typically averaged around 74% when he was with Eagles two years ago and while last year was an outlier with the Jets. It's good to see that there was no wear and tear on him with more snaps for him in the first game of the year. He recorded Tampa Bay's only sack.

Yaya Diaby played 56 snaps, just behind Reddick. Anthony Nelson was in for 22 snaps at outside linebacker while Chris Braswell Jr. had just 16. It's probably in the best interest of the Bucs for the betterment of the team to play Reddick and Diaby often given the poor production from Braswell in his early career and his lackluster preseason.

The foot injury was an afterthought for nose tackle Vita Vea, as he and defensive lineman Calijah Kancey each played 54 snaps at 71%. Logan Hall was next at 39 snaps with Greg Gaines following 21 snaps and Elijah Roberts got in for nine plays. Tampa Bay relied a lot more on their starters for the opener. We'll see if the rookie Roberts can get more reps as the season goes.