Michael Clayton

Clayton has been a disappointment since his impressive rookie season in 2004, but evidently the Bucs' new brass thinks he can rebound after a somehat promising 2008 season, that saw him record 38 catches for 484 yards and one touchdown. After a house cleaning that included the release of Joey Galloway, Clayton is clearly being counted on heavily along with last year's bounce-back guy, Antonio Bryant.

Clayton posted almost 1,200 yards receiving as a rookie in 2004, and just over 1,000 over the next three seasons, as injuries and poor form have kept him from moving Ike Hilliard out of the starting lineup. Clayton did finish strong last year (16 catches for 192 yards over the Bucs' last four games); however, he'll face strong competition from Dexter Jackson, Antonio Bryant and Paris Warren in camp, and there's no guarantee he'll even make the roster.

After a big rookie year in 2004, Clayton has been bothered by injuries, catching just 65 passes (one touchdown) over the past two seasons. Maurice Stovall will be pushing him hard for a starting job in camp.

After an outstanding rookie year when he became just the fifth rookie receiver since 1995 to top 1,000 yards, Clayton was a shocking no-show last season, catching just 32 passes and averaging less than 12 yards per catch. But Clayton missed two games outright with a bruised knee and he never seemed entirely healthy after undergoing offseason knee surgery in February of 2005. At 6-3, 197, Clayton has good size and soft hands, and while he’s not a burner, he runs crisp routes and knows how to get open. During spring mini-camps, quarterback Chris Simms raved about Clayton, praising his offseason work and telling reporters that Clayton never reported how badly his knee was hampering him last season. Clayton was working without limitation in April and should be 100 percent healthy for the start of training camp.

Clayton became just the fifth receiver since 1995 (Joey Galloway, Terry Glenn, Randy Moss, Anquan Boldin) to top 1,000 yards during his rookie season, thanks in large part to injuries (Galloway, Joe Jurevicius) and a holdout (Keenan McCardell) that caused the Bucs to call Clayton’s number 128 times. Clayton caught an impressive 63 percent of those balls, displaying soft hands and the ability to get open. At 6-3, 197 pounds, and with great leaping ability, Clayton can go over the top of defensive backs, and catches passes in traffic. Clayton also is an excellent route runner, but lacks ideal deep speed. Still, he had 19 catches of 20 yards or more and four from 40-plus. Clayton saw just 13 red-zone targets last season, converting three, but the Bucs tried to take advantage of his height and vertical leap, throwing him the ball six times from inside the five. Clayton converted just one into a score, though we wouldn’t be surprised to see Tampa Bay go back to the well a few more times in 2005, given the potential for mismatches against smaller corners. Clayton had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in February, but he’s expected to be completely healthy for the start of training camp.

Clayton will get a chance to compete for at least the third receiver job with the Bucs in 2004, if not a starting role.