The Tampa Bay Buccaneers officially start OTAS on May 23 and this year's round of voluntary workouts is guaranteed to look a lot different and much-less defined, for lack of a better word, than what we've seen over the last few years.

Key position groups like quarterback, the offensive and defensive line, nickel, safety -and others- are in search of guys who can fill the applicable role by providing quality snaps. There are plenty of names that will be vying for these spots, so there will be a lot to keep up with, which is all part of the fun.

Below are the top-3 position groups to keep an eye on when the Bucs start Phase II next week:

Quarterback

Competitors: Baker Mayfield, Kyle Trask, John Wolford

This is easily No. 1, especially when considering the winner will be taking over for, ya know, Tom Brady of all quarterbacks.

No player enters a more important offseason than Baker Mayfield. This is it for him – he's either going to show the Buccaneers and the rest of the NFL world that he is still capable of playing like a starting quarterback. Or, he'll lose out to Kyle Trask and be looked at as a backup. Unless a team is out of a first option for a starting QB, of course.

Trask faces high stakes, as well. But, he could still get one last shot to prove he's a starter in 2024 if he ends up losing out to Mayfield and the latter leaves the team in whatever fashion/for whatever reason next year. The stakes aren't as near as high for the former Gator.

Either way, both Mayfield and Trask are under pressure to be at their very best over the coming weeks.

Wild card: John Wolford

Let's be real – Trask hasn't proven anything, yet. Wolford is familiar with the offense and he's amassed a 2-2 record in four career starts. Yes, QB wins are an inflated stat, but, that's still an advantage over Trask. There's certainly a world where Wolford wins the QB2 job if Trask doesn't impress.

---

Offensive line (specifically guard)

Competitors: T Silas Dsanzi, G Matt Feiler, T Luke Goedeke, OL Luke Haggard, OL Grant Hermanns, G/C Nick Leverett, G Cody Mauch, G John Molchon, C Chris Murray, OL Michael Niese, OL Raiqwon O'Neal, G Aaron Stinnie, G/T Brandon Walton,

Yea, so, there are obviously a lot of names, here. But, while you never want to count anyone out, you're safe to cross these names of the list if you want: O'Neal, Hermanns, Niese, Murray, and Molchon.

Feiler is the bet -and a very good one at that- to win the starting left guard job and Goedeke is the front-runner for the right tackle job. In terms of competition for the starting right guard job, in order of current favorite-down (in my opinion), it's a safe bet to list it as Leverett, Mauch, Stinnie, Walton. 

Assistant head coach Harold Goodwin recently said Dsanzi is getting a shot at the swing tackle gig and said Haggard "has a chance", so keep an eye on their names. If Goedeke ends up at right tackle then it's very plausible we could see Dsanzi at swing, especially considering Goodwin also recently said he thinks Walton's "home is playing inside at one of the guard spots". But, he's also "ok with him playing tackle", so it'll be interesting to see how that shakes out.

A missing name you may be wondering about is Robert Hainsey. In my mind, I don't see him mixing in with the guards because he will get plenty of reps as C2 behind Ryan Jensen. The Bucs have plenty of guys to compete for right guard and plenty of guys to compete for depth behind both guard positions, so, putting Hainsey in the mix doesn't seem like a smart plan.

Wild card: Nick Leverett

It feels a bit strange putting Leverett here after what he did last year. Sure, he didn't blow anyone out of the water and with all due respect, Goedeke set the bar pretty damn low. But, it feels like a lot of people are writing him off. Either way, Leverett wasn't bad last year and Mauch still needs to add some bulk/strength before he's ready to play 100% of offensive snaps on a week-to-week basis. Don't be surprised, at all, if Leverett is with the 1s next week.

---

Nickel

Competition: CB Dee Delaney, DB Josh Hayes, CB Zyon McCollum 

The Bucs have an undrafted free agent and fifth- and sixth-round picks from the last two drafts competing for a starting job at nickel. That's a far cry from what was going on last year when the defense had a deep secondary consisting of Carlton Davis III, Jamel Dean, Antoine Winfield Jr., Logan Ryan, Mike Edwards, Keanu Neal, and Sean Murphy-Bunting.

Right now, the leader is probably Hayes, although there are questions as to whether or not he can fit the role at the NFL level. McCollum has the athleticism to play inside, but he really struggled with missed tackles last year and actually led Bucs DBs with a missed tackle rate of 32%. It was 10% higher than the second-worst rate, which only amplifies the issue. Nickels have to be good tacklers, so that could easily cancel him out of starting with the 1s.

Wild card: Dee Delaney

There's a reason I didn't mention Delaney above. I wanted to save this space for him because I do think he'll eventually take over the job. Hayes may start out with the 1s, but Delaney has playing experience and has been OK when called upon.

---

Quick mentions:

• Running back: Rachaad White is No.1, but who slots in behind him and what order?
• Wide receiver: The top-3 positions appear to be set, but what impact does Trey Palmer have early on and can Rakim Jarrett crack the rotation?
• Tight end: Will Payne Durham move Ko Kieft to more of a fullback role? Who is TE4?
• Defensive line: The reps between Calijah Kancey, Logan Hall, Greg Gaines, almost cracked the top-3 above.
• Linebacker: See the above blurb about the defensive line. It'll be fun to see how reps are split between K.J. Britt, SirVocea Dennis, and Jeremy Banks.
• Safety: The top-2 are set, but what about behind Antoine Winfield Jr. and Ryan Neal? The top-3 candidates have a combined one defensive rep in the NFL and it belongs to Nolan Turner.