NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JANUARY 05: Janoris Jenkins #20 of the New Orleans Saints (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
New Orleans Saints cornerback Janoris Jenkins called out Tom Brady.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers went from mediocre to marvelous in just one offseason, as swapping out Jameis Winston for Tom Brady while adding Rob Gronkowski has them as one of the favorites in the NFC. New Orleans Saints cornerback Janoris Jenkins, however, remains unconvinced of Tampa’s ability to contend until he sees improvement between the white lines.
Jenkins, who played in just three games with the Saints following his unceremonious release from the New York Giants, acknowledged that Tampa Bay has noticeably improved over the course of the offseason, but he still needs to see Brady do it on the field before he is totally won over.
Tom Brady is coming off a somewhat disappointing season in New England.
While the lack of wide receiver help in New England in 2019 was a killer, Brady had the fewest touchdown passes (24), passer rating (88.0), and yards per attempt (6.6) since 2006. While he had defied Father Time so far, a 43-year-old quarterback arriving in a competitive division like this could be a massive challenge.
What could help Brady hit the ground running in Tampa is the abundance of weapons he has to throw to. Trading for Gronkowski helps, but Mike Evans and Chris Godwin might be the best 1-2 punch at wide receiver in the entire league. Throw in an improving running game led by Ronald Jones II and Jenkins’ Saints will have their hands full. If Tampa races out to a lead in the NFC South, these words will come back to haunt Jenkins.
Brady is coming off one of the worst seasons of his career in nearly every statistical category, but Tampa’s improving defense and vertical offense masterminded by Bruce Arians should be enough to get the Bucs back into the playoffs. If Brady starts playing like he always has in New England, Jenkins might need to eat his words sooner rather than later.