Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said Darden has enjoyed a "great" offseason and is aiming to carve out a much bigger role on offense in his second season, Greg McKenna of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
The speedy wideout saw the overwhelming majority of his touches on special teams as a rookie, logging 501 return yards to only six receptions. With players with comparable speed and more experience such as Breshad Perriman and Cyril Grayson serving as competition, Darden will first and foremost have to compete for a roster spot outright in training camp. However, in addition to Bowles' praise, cornerback Carlton Davis has also noted how far along Darden has come while often working against him this offseason, and the young wideout was also a frequent target of Tom Brady during minicamp drills in June.