Nov 8th 2008 9:13AM by Ryan Wilson (author feed)
Filed under: Buccaneers, NFC SouthA lot of people were surprised when the Buccaneers used the 15th overall pick of the 2004 draft to take wideout Michael Clayton.

While he was a big target, he was considered slow and not much of a deep threat. All Clayton did was haul in 80 passes for 1,193 yards and 7 TDs, and a 14.9 yards-per-catch average. So much for that, right?

Um, not quite. He stumbled through the next three seasons, managing just 87 receptions for 1,029 yards and a single touchdown. Things got so bad that there were some concerns he might not even make the team last summer.

He did, obviously, but it took nearly 12 months for Clayton to return to the form that made him one of the league’s best rookies four years ago.

Things are going so well, in fact, that head coach Jon Gruden hasn’t threatened to cut him. Not even once.Continue Reading