Buccaneers need to appreciate improbable rookie stat

It was hard to follow the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the preseason and not fall in love with rookie wide receiver Trey Palmer.

Palmer was often the star of every game he showed up in. With the offense being much shakier during the tumultuous time that is the preseason, Palmer was a source of stability for a group that desperately needed it, and the belief was that the Bucs found a steal of a receiver in one of the later rounds of the draft.

That belief has mostly been proven true through four games, but Palmers strange stat line for the year was far from what anyone predicted. Still, what is there to hate with catching a touchdown on 33% of your receptions? (For reference, Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter, a player that based his career on catching touchdown passes at one of the highest rates in league history, had a touchdown catch rate of 12%).

While we are just four games into the season, Palmer is on pace to have some very strange numbers come the end of the year.

Based on current projections, Palmer should finish the year with 26 receptions for 179 yards and nine touchdowns.

That is a lopsided line if one ever existed.

It would be fair to say that was not what most people expected Palmer's role to be when he started balling out for the Buccaneers during the preseason, but it certainly isn't a bad role to have.

The Bucs have the guys to move the ball down the field with in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Palmer getting so many of those chunk catches during the preseason made sense due to the WR1 and WR2 being on the bench.

Now, Evans and Godwin can get the team into the red zone at will, but getting as open there with less space isn't always a breeze.

That is where Palmer comes in and that is where he is able to make his difference.

While DBs focus on shutting down Evans and Godwin, most teams have to use their third or fourth guy to stop Palmer. That is a mistake.

Palmer already showed during the preseason what he can do against guys like that, and he has been doing that and then some against his competition this year.

The rookie receiver is making some incredible catches for touchdowns in key moments, and while the total catches number may not be where most people want to see it, the touchdowns count far more for the Bucs than anything else.

While the rate of usage is sure to fall off, it is still fun to see where guys like Palmer start and where they end. In truth, a touchdown catch rate of 33% is essentially impossible to maintain in the NFL, but there is a chance that Palmer can finish his rookie season above where Cris Carter finished his career if the Bucs keep using him in this way.

The touchdowns will keep coming. You can count on that. And, if Palmer is even able to maintain a rate even half as good as this one, Cris Carter may want to watch his legacy as a guy that only caught touchdown passes.

Trey Palmer just might steal that title.