Breaking down the Buccaneers depth chart after Week 1 of NFL free agency
The first week of NFL free agency is in the books and surprisingly, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in much better shape than most thought they would be. A lot of that comes from the fact the Buccaneers retained homegrown talents like Jamel Dean, and Anthony Nelson. Jason Licht and co. have made solid outside […]
The first week of NFL free agency is in the books and surprisingly, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in much better shape than most thought they would be.
A lot of that comes from the fact the Buccaneers retained homegrown talents like Jamel Dean, and Anthony Nelson. Jason Licht and co. have made solid outside selections with the Baker Mayfield/Chase Edmonds signings, as well.
So, what does the Buccaneers depth chart currently look like? Let's break it down.
Editor's note: Asterisk (*) denotes projected starter
Offense
| Position | Starter | Reserves |
|---|---|---|
Quarterback | Baker Mayfield* | Kyle Trask |
Running back | Rachaad White* | Ke’Shawn Vaughn, Chase Edmonds, Patrick Laird |
Wide receiver (X) | Mike Evans | N/A |
Tight end | Cade Otton* | Ko Kieft, David Wells, Dominique Dafney |
Wide receiver (Z) | Chris Godwin | Deven Thompkins |
Slot receiver | Russell Gage Jr. | Kaylon Geiger |
Left tackle | Brandon Walton* | Justin Skule |
Left guard | Nick Leverett* | Luke Goedeke, John Molchon |
Center | Ryan Jensen | Robert Hainsey |
Right guard | Robert Hainsey* | Aaron Stinnie, Michael Niese |
Right tackle | Tristan Wirfs | Dylan Cook, Grant Hermanns |
The Buccaneers could use help at just about every position on the offensive side of the ball. They have positions like center, right tackle, the top-3 receiver spots and others locked up, but those positions could still use depth pieces to help the team when the aforementioned guys need a breather or whenever an unfortunate injury occurs.
Tampa Bay has to find a legit answer at left tackle (if they don't move Tristan Wirfs there, obviously) and one of the guard positions. It really needs Rachaad White and Cade Otton to step it up in Year 2, or else there will be two more positions that have more questions than answers.
The Buccaneers also need to bring in one more quarterback. Whether it's through free agency or the draft – the team needs to bring in more competition for Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask.
Defense
| Position | Starter(s) | Reserves |
|---|---|---|
Defensive Line | Logan Hall*, Greg Gaines* | Pat O’Connor, Willington Previlon, Mike Greene |
Defensive Line (interior) | Vita Vea | N/A |
ROLB | Shaq Barrett | Anthony Nelson, Hamlicar Rashed |
RILB | Devin White | K.J. Britt, Ulysees Gilbert |
LILB | Lavonte David | J.J. Russell |
LOLB | Joe Tryon-Shoyinka | Charles Snowden |
CB1 | Carlton Davis III | Anthony Chesley, Don Gardner |
CB2 | Jamel Dean | Zyon McCollum, Duron Lowe |
Nickel | Dee Delaney* | N/A |
Safety | Antoine Winfield Jr., Nolan Turner* | N/A |
Let's start on the defensive line: someone really needs to come in and back up Vita Vea! The big man can't do it all on his own, so it'll be surprising if the Buccaneers don't continue to address the defensive line -especially the interior- in the coming days.
The second level of the defense has bodies, but it needs more playmakers. The hope on the edge is Shaq Barrett is good to go when the regular season starts. That's not a guarantee, however. The Buccaneers would be wise to invest on the edges, especially considering Cam Gill's injury history.
The inside linebackers are in trouble if either Lavonte David and/or Devin White go down. With this being a contract year for both players, and then when factoring in David's age and White's potential asking price RE his new deal, it won't be surprising if the Buccaneers invest important resources in the position.
However, that would really ignore the needs in the secondary. The Buccaneers have their top-2 corners locked up and they have their centerfield safety in Antoine Winfield Jr., but they currently don't have an option at nickel. And, if they were to keep Winfield Jr. at nickel in 2023, they'd need to add at least two more safeties to the mix.
Either way, I'd expect the Buccaneers to invest heavily in the secondary. It's clear that Todd Bowles values safeties and corners when it comes to the foundation of defense and right now, the Buccaneers are short in terms of starting-caliber players at key positions.
Special teams
| Position | Starter(s) | Reserve(s) |
|---|---|---|
Long snapper | Zach Triner | N/A |
Punter | Jake Camarda | Jake Verity |
Kicker | Ryan Succop | Jake Verity |
Kick returner | Deven Thompkins* | |
Punt returner | Deven Thompkins* |
The Buccaneers are set at punter and long snapper. It'll be interesting to see if Jake Verity can compete with Ryan Succop during the offseason. The Buccaneers need to find someone with a stronger leg, but Succop's accuracy inside the 40 makes him valuable, ultimately.
The team really needs to bring in competition at the returner positions. I don't know what it is, but this team has always been subpar when it comes to returning kicks and punts. Outside of esteemed Buccaneers legend Michael Spurlock, there hasn't been much production, here.
Final word: There are a lot of holes to fill, still, but that's OK. No team is complete at this point in the offseason.
Honestly, the biggest point of focus moving forward should be the secondary and the trenches – on both sides of the ball. If the Buccaneers can find ways to shore up those three areas, then this team could very well compete for a third-straight NFC South title in 2023.