The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are up against it in 2023.

Not only has the team gotten worse from the loss of key players like Tom Brady, but the expectation aren't changing much for a coaching staff that needs to win now.

The NFC South is wide open. Todd Bowles needs to be in contention to keep his job.

Bowles is on the hot seat after his offense failed to do much of anything in 2022. Byron Leftwich is gone now, and the focus will turn to remolding that side of the ball as the HC likes it, but that prospect becomes even more difficult if the team fails to address the lack of depth at wide receiver.

Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Russell Gage are a great trio. Don't let anyone tell you different.

However, these guys did miss eight games between the three last year, and none have really been able to shake some of the injury concerns surrounding their careers. 

Some combination of this three is going to miss games in 2023. The Bucs have done little to prepare for this contingency as it stands.

Right now, the only depth receivers on this roster are Deven Thompkins and Kaylon Geiger. That's it.

Gone are the days of the Bucs having one of the best wide receiver rooms in the league in part to having a group of depth players that could spot start and come up big.

Thompkins and Geiger are largely untested, and they sit behind guys that are going to create situations where quality depth is a necessity.

The good news for the Bucs is that the team still has time to address these needs, but it will have to be very deliberate in the 2023 NFL Draft.

The free agent market is mostly dry at this point, and finding a way to get a rookie that can play at a high level will go a long way to finding the right talent-to-cost ratio for a team that is up against it with the salary cap.

It doesn't matter how the Buccaneers do it, it just matters that Tampa Bay finds a way to bring in around four more guys to join Thompkins and Geiger in a competition for one of three or four depth roles.

Want a good offense in the modern NFL? Make sure you have a good wide receiver room. The Buccaneers have been able to address half of this equation, but there is still more work to do before this unit is ready for the start of the regular season.