Bucs WR Trey Palmer’s Potential Role

Palmer is similar to Goodwin in more ways than just speed score. Both have trouble with press coverage and profile as more successful from a slot alignment.

How Trey Palmer Can Be The Bucs’ Version Of Marquise Goodwin

You can see glimpses of how Trey Palmer can be used in similar ways to Marquise Goodwin already. Working from the slot, each player can stress deep safeties. The threat of their home-run speed allows them to create easy separation on deep digs and crosses. Watch how Palmer was able to execute this at Nebraska.

Palmer, working from the field-side slot runs right at the deep safety. He forces the safety to open his hips to Palmer in order to prepare to run deep on seam route. As soon as Palmer gets that hip commitment, he stems for a deep dig, creating miles of separation. Compare that to a similar situation Seattle employed last year with Goodwin.

Goodwin similarly commands respect for his vertical speed with the safety on his side. As the routes develop the safety gives Goodwin tons of space to hedge for the vertical route. This gives Goodwin space galore to bend his crossing route and create room for days.

These deep crossers and dig routes will be a staple of the new-look Bucs offense. Many of these routes will be run off of play-action. And while almost every Bucs receiver will be asked to run these routes, Palmer’s speed (like Goodwin’s) will give him a specific advantage in causing opposing safeties to have to hedge for the vertical route. This should give him plenty of room to work underneath and eat.

Now keep in mind that these safeties are hedging not just because of what Palmer can run on a track. His speed is legitimate on the field as well. Take a look at some of his highlights as he blows past safety after safety.

Trey Palmer Can Be Used Out Wide And From The Slot

The Bucs could also choose to take a page from the college ranks and emulate what Tennessee did with Jalin Hyatt in an effort to get Trey Palmer off the line of scrimmage with little obstructions. An example is this stacked alignment that Hyatt was able to score from long range on.

Now don’t expect Palmer to have the snap share that Goodwin enjoyed last season. Marquise Goodwin logged 420 snaps over 13 games for the Seahawks as their WR3.

Palmer is going to be fighting Devin Thompkins, and a host of undrafted free agents for the right to be WR4 after Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Russell Gage. But there is a good chance with his skillset as a speed threat with plus ball tracking skills he can carve out a role getting 5-10 snaps per game with 2-3 shots where he has a chance to break a game wide open.