How Much Did Joe Tryon-Shoyinka Improve In 2022?
Heading into the 2022 season, the Bucs were looking for a big leap forward from Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. The physically impressive edge rusher totaled four sacks as a rookie in 2021, and with Jason Pierre-Paul leaving via free agency, Tampa Bay needed the former Washington standout to produce like a first-round pick — and a starting-caliber player.
Did the Bucs get the improvement they were looking for? The answer isn’t all that straightforward, even if Pro Football Focus named Tryon-Shoyinka as the Bucs’ most improved player in 2022 in a recent article.
Here’s what PFF’s Gordon McGuinness had to say about Tampa Bay’s No. 9:
“Tryon-Shoyinka, the final pick of the first round in the 2021 NFL Draft, took a nice step forward in his second season in the league. His pressure total moved from 33 as a rookie to 48 this past season, and his tackles resulting in a defensive stop jumped from 13 to 25.”
Those numbers are tangible steps forward for Tryon-Shoyinka. His PFF grade jumped from 50.9 in 2021 to 67.2 in 2022 as well, with the biggest improvement coming with his run defense grade. He graded out with a 47.5 against the run as a rookie, then earned 63.2 in year two.
But is this just a function of playing 283 more snaps in 2022 than he did as a rookie?
While there were improvements in some areas for Tryon-Shoyinka, he still wasn’t the impact player the Bucs’ defense needed him to be. Some of the same problems he had as a rookie bled over into his second NFL season. Too often, he relies on his speed and tries to run around blocks rather than work through them, plus he struggles to finish sacks. And while he played the run much better in 2022, he wasn’t the most consistent when it came to setting the edge.
The midseason injury to Shaquil Barrett, the Bucs’ top pass rusher, didn’t help matters. Tryon-Shoyinka became the de facto No. 1 for Tampa Bay, and it didn’t yield the best results. By the end of the season, Anthony Nelson out-sacked Tryon-Shoyinka 5.5 to four, while fellow reserve Carl Nassib totaled 3.5 sacks to JTS’ four. So, it’s safe to say 2022 was a mixed bag for the No. 32 pick in the 2021 Draft.
And he’ll face a big year in 2023, his third season in the league.
Bucs HC Todd Bowles Wants More From Joe Tryon-Shoyinka
The Bucs face plenty of questions as the 2023 offseason begins, and some of them concern their pass rush. Shaq Barrett will be returning from a torn Achilles at the age of 30, so he’s something of a question mark himself. The other, of course, deals with Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. Can he take a larger step in year three and become the type of pass rusher Tampa Bay needs him to be?
Head coach Todd Bowles said in January that Tryon-Shoyinka has plenty of room to improve.
“I think he can get a lot better. He fell off quite a few sacks, like you said,” Bowles said. “If he finished closing…he might have missed more sacks than he made. If he makes those, he’s fine. We’ve got to work on him finishing at the top of the rush, especially falling off the quarterback – I think he leaves his feet too early.
“We talked about this, he understands that. Going forward, we’ll try to get him better and get him to the next level from that standpoint. He’s still got all the talent in the world and we’re waiting for this guy to break out. When he does – if he does – he’s going to be a heck of a player.”
Those are some big “ifs.” But there’s no doubt that the soon-to-be 24-year-old has the physical traits and speed to blossom into a more effective player. It’s worth remembering, too, that Tryon-Shoyinka only had a couple of seasons to develop at the collegiate level. He redshirted in 2017 and played sparingly in 2018 before becoming a second-team All-Pac 12 selection in 2019.
Then, he opted out of the COVID-shortened 2020 season to prepare for the 2021 Draft. So, the young pass rusher still has plenty of experience to gain, which is something Bowles alluded to last month.
“It’s more experience,” Bowles said. “You start your first year and you see a lot of different block combinations and guys [know] how to bait you and everything else like that. He has some learning games where he understands how he has to rush and how people are starting to attack him, and then chip blocks and everything else like that that he understood this year that he needs to see. Next year, hopefully, the experience of that will help him going forward.”
Improved Joe Tryon-Shoyinka Or Not, Tampa Bay Needs To Upgrade Its Pass Rush
The Bucs would be best served if Shaquil Barrett and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka round into form and provide a reliable 1-2 punch in 2023. But even if the two of them are at the height of their respective games, Tampa Bay still needs to retool its pass rush. Bowles said in January that he needs more sacks from the outside linebacker position going forward, and that’s an understatement.
The team’s leading sacker in 2022 was nose tackle Vita Vea, who notched 6.5. Inside linebacker Devin White had 5.5, as did Nelson from his rotational pass rushing role. It was Nelson leading all outside linebackers in sacks. Tryon-Shoyinka and defensive back Antoine Winfield Jr. both tallied four, while Nassib finished with 3.5. Before his injury, Barrett had just three quarterback takedowns.
The Bucs are in a salary cap crunch, with a ton of work to do in the coming months. But revamping their four-man pass rush has to be a priority. They could go the cheap route – and they may be forced to to an extent – and re-sign Nelson or Nassib. But they’d be wise to spend a draft pick on an edge rusher, perhaps even in the first round.
The next couple of offseasons, in fact, should be spent rebuilding the team’s pass rush. Barrett is on the wrong side of 30 and Tryon-Shoyinka remains unproven, so there’s plenty of work to be done.
