Getty Bruce Arians compared Buccaneers draft pick Joe Tryon to two-time All-Pro Chandler Jones recently.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians sees similarities between first-round draft pick Joe Tryon and three-time Pro Bowler Chandler Jones. Tryon does, too.
Tryon talked about modeling his game after Arizona Cardinals linebacker Chandler Jones in his initial press conference shortly after being drafted 32nd by the Bucs. Arians coached the two-time All-Pro before taking the coaching job in Tampa.
“I see the length. I see the high energy that Chandler plays with when I watch Joe play,” Arians told the media on April 30.
Arians added that he likes the way Tryon “closes in on the ball” on defense.
“He’s got power,” Arians said. “Power is something you can’t teach. You either have it or you don’t. A lot of edge rushers are speed guys. Tackles in this league are knocking those guys down. If you can’t basically bull rush them and have the power and turn it into speed, or speed to power, you’re going to struggle. And Joe showed that he has that ability.”
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No Concerns on Missing 2020 Season
Tryon opted out of playing the 2020 season with the University of Washington amid COVID-19.
His workout film, interviews, and 2019 performance nonetheless impressed the Bucs enough to take him with the 32nd pick in the NFL Draft on April 29.
“It’s one thing to run and do drills. It’s another thing to run and have an assignment and play that fast,” Arians said on April 30.
Arians looks forward to seeing Tryon develop at organized team activities and rookie camp get started. He clarified that OTA will occur virtually as the Bucs players opted out of in-person OTAs this year per the NFL Players Association.
“I expect Joe to be out there,” Arians said on the video call.
“The pass rush stuff, we’ll have to wait until we put the pads on but we still get after it in OTAs,” Arians said.
Tryon, also on the video call, nodded in agreement.
The newest Buccaneer admitted it was hard to sit out last season, but he worked on the “overall consistency” of his game and watched a lot of game film. He added that he encouraged his Washington teammates from afar.
Where Tryon Fits In
Tryon won’t need to jump into starting right away as the Bucs return all 22 starters from their Super Bowl team. For 2021, Arians anticipates using Tryon on special teams.
“So many things you can do with a player who has position flexibility like Joe does,” Arians said on April 30. “All those things add up on special teams.”
“Joe is going to fit right in,” Arians added.
Joining a Defensive Clinic
Tryon said he watched the Bucs before the draft, and the defense impressed him — especially in the Super Bowl. He looks forward to “great coaching” from Bucs defensive staff.
In his first press conference after being drafted, Tryon expressed high interest in learning from the likes of Bucs linebackers Shaquil Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul.
“I’m going to be a sponge dude,” Tryon said. “Those dudes are big-time players, playing at a high level for the past decade, so I can’t wait to soak all that in and just learn from them. That’s a big-time opportunity.”