We take a film breakdown look at Russell Shepard and his production as the Buccaneers’ potential second wide receiver.

We know how lucky the Buccaneers are to have Mike Evans on their side. He seems to have cured his drop problems in 2016 and continues his ascent to “elite” status.

It’s also clear that they need production from the opposite side of the field. With Vincent Jackson on IR, we discussed the topic of replacing his production in last week’s roundtable.

Some of you responded by telling us that Jackson hadn’t done very much to begin with in 2016.

Point taken.

But the issue is still an important one. If the Bucs only have Evans producing on the outside, he will eventually stop getting open looks. He will see double teams all day long and the offense will suffer.

Yesterday, James Yarcho talked about Russell Shepard and how he has begun to step up. The “Eye in the Sky” agrees. Join the Eye as we look at the tape from last week, specifically, two of Shepard’s receptions, courtesy of NFL Game Pass (subscription required).

They both come from the second quarter, the first being an important third down conversion.