Offense 

As far as this Buccaneers offense goes it really went unchanged throughout this offseason aside from some additions to the WR room through the draft. 

The additions they made to WR room weren’t exactly expected or even needed in my opinion either but now that they have (my number 1 ranked WR in this past draft) Emeka Egbuka (OSU) here it’s hard to argue that his addition won’t be heavily appreciated in this Buccaneers offense. Egbuka is a do it all guy in my opinion, someone that you can line up anywhere across the formation at any alignment and he’ll find success. He’s incredibly sharp for his age and from all accounts seems to be a “pro’s pro” right out of the gate, has great hands even through contact and contests, not the greatest athlete the WR position has ever seen but is a true technician and plays like a 10 year vet already, and overall just feels like the ultimate puzzle piece guy that can play anywhere you need and when you take into account the talent already here and the health concerns they have for this room I’m not sure there was a better offensive fit in the draft for them. Speaking of the talent already here you have Mike Evans who continues to put up 1,000yd receiving seasons year after year after year and at this point has cemented himself in the HOF, Chris Godwin who has struggled with some major injuries (big reason why I loved the Egbuka pick so much) but continues to be one of the best number two WRs in the league, and a promising rookie last season in Jalen McMillan who flashed quite a bit and stepped up when this group was struggling with injuries last season. You take into account the depth here as well and that’s what separates this group from others in the league in my opinion. Having a solid vet in the room like Sterling Shepherd, a fine deep threat depth type of guy in Trey Palmer, and now adding Tez Johnson (Oregon) a small shifty WR that has some real talent and surprising amount of toughness for his size that was under drafted in my opinion is great depth behind an already really talented “starting” four guys.

The QB room while completely untouched this past offseason is worth mentioning in my opinion because of the lack of appreciation for what Baker Mayfield is doing here. Mayfield has had an up and down career that has landed him on multiple teams throughout his relatively young career so far but with that being said it’s been relatively unfair to him as well. The Browns finally found a guy that embraced their culture and seemed to be building towards something but their owner got greedy and forced a trade for a higher ceiling player in Deshaun Watson who has not worked out for obvious reasons for them, he then got shipped to the Panthers who were in a rough stage of a relatively reluctant rebuild and overall were a dysfunctional organization at the time, and then on to the Rams who needed a QB to step while they got their guy, Matthew Stafford, back healthy before ultimately ending up here in Tampa and finally settling into a organization for the first time since being drafted by Cleveland. It’s been a roller coaster of a career to say the least for Mayfield but it seems he’s finally found somewhere that he can settle into and continue to play his best football moving forward. Behind Mayfield you have Kyle Trask who I think is ultimately a practice squad/bounce around the league on the bottom of the roster type guy and Michael Pratt who I think has a real chance at having a long term backup role somewhere. Neither guy is a high end backup in my opinion so the health of Mayfield is very important, like most QB situations in the league but you may have something in Pratt despite his oddly quick departure from Green Bay. 

This OL just like the rest of this offensive roster is largely unchanged from last season but is still notable in my opinion because of how under appreciated they are when it comes to media coverage and representation. We routinely see the Lions and Eagles OL groups brought up and talked about along with some other groups like the Cowboys or Packers but this group in my opinion matches up with the best of them. From left to right they have big physical guys that own that part of the field play in and play out vs the best of the best on opposing teams front sevens. Tristan Wirfs is arguably the best LT in the league and there’s really only one name that you can bring up to compete for that title in my opinion and that’s Trent Williams, next to Wirfs you have Ben Bredeson who may not be anything special necessarily but fills in the gap at LG for them serviceably, Graham Barton who looked like on of the most stable Cs in the league last season as a rookie, at RG they have Cody Mauch who has his flaws but has really developed into a really solid pass protector and clearly has an attitude and mentality to attack in the run game, and then at RT it’s Luke Goedeke who has improved year after year and has turned himself into a really solid RT in the league. While it’s not the flashiest group and they may not all be superstars they’re seemingly tied together on a string which keeps them as one of the most stable units on tape. While depth could use some improvement Sua Opeta fits at G perfectly with his mentality and physicality, Charlie Heck is serviceable as a swing T, and I liked the UDFA C they brought in with Jake Majors (Texas).

Defense 

The defense really is in the same boat as the offense when it comes to keeping the large majority of the roster around and keeping the continuity of the group together. They managed bring back just about everyone and most importantly of they got Lavonte David back who continues to play at a high level in the middle of their defense despite his age. While they lost a couple decent players like Joe Tryon-Shoyinka at edge and Mike Edwards at S they also had and/or added guys to step right into those roles like Haason Reddick, David Walker (Central Arkansas), and giving Tykee Smith a bigger role compared to his rookie season. 

Overall this front seven is right back to where they were last year and aside from Lavonte David and Haason Reddick getting up there in age or in Reddick’s case coming off a year of no football they should be right at the level they were at last season. I think Calijah Kancey is also someone to keep an eye on as he’s continued to get better and better throughout his young career and in my opinion has real chance to be on of the best 3/5 techs in the league moving forward. They also have some young depth that I could see having a bigger impact this season than last with guys like Chris Braswell, Yaya Diaby, and obviously their two rookie David Walker and Elijah Roberts (SMU) now being on the team as well. They’ve done a great job of not only building up a solid group of starters but a really talented group of depth pieces as well and that’s never a negative along your front seven. 

As for the secondary it’s a lot of the same as well but they also made some additions that I absolutely love through the draft as well. Adding Benjamin Morrison (Notre Dame) in the 2nd Round was certainly a gamble due to his injury history/concern moving forward but the guy is just unbelievably talented. I had Morrison graded a Top 15 Pick (Denzel Ward + Kyle Fuller comps) when you take out the medical concern and if they’re able to get him healthy and on the field at 100% this secondary could be scary moving forward, the problem being there’s a real chance that never happens due to the hip injuries and surgeries he’s already dealt with. Along with Morrison though they also added Jacob Parrish (Kansas State) in the 3rd Round and that’s never was another great pick in my opinion. Parrish has his flaws and needs to develop a bit because he still looks to be counting on his athleticism to make up for mental and technique mistakes at times but he’s really great athlete (4.35 40yd – 1.54 10yd – 37.5’ vert – 10’9’ BJ) that has great footwork, plays physical despite the lack of size, and my favorite part is the fact he’s already has experience playing on the outside and in the slot making him a very pliable player for this defense. When you add Morrison and Ward to a secondary with Jamel Dean who’s overlooked in the media and doesn’t get enough credit for how steady he is on the outside, Zyon McCollum who is freak athlete and really started to come on by the end of last season, Christian Izien plays really solid ball for them in the slot, the versatile piece of Tykee Smith who can play S and/or in the slot for you, and last but certainly not least Antoine Winfield Jr flying around on the back end of your defense as well. This secondary could use some depth at S especially but overall it’s a really solid group that has a chance to be a really special depending on if they can get Morrison out there and healthy. 

Overview 

• This Buccaneers team is incredibly well rounded and while I may have some concerns of depth in room here and there it’s hard to be that upset or “up in arms” when the rest of the roster is that well rounded and put together. There’s also some questions I have as far as what the offensive play calling looks like and if it can be at the level they’ve been at the past two seasons under Dave Canales (Panthers) and Liam Coen (Jaguars), ultimately I’m not that concerned and I think they got the hire right with Josh Grizzard but that’s still an unknown to be fair. This Buccaneers team may be one or two pieces away I truly believe this team has just about everything they need to make a legitimate push for the NFC this upcoming year. If they can get something more consistent out of their pass rush whether that be from Kancey taking another step, Reddick getting back to his old form, or one of these young guys stepping up I think that would go a long way to making this team a true contender with those top NFC teams. Ultimately I think this team will have control of the NFC South once again even if the opposing teams have gotten better and if a few things break the right way or they get something more out of a guy here and there I think they’ll be right there with the best of the best chasing that NFC Title.