The Bucs added Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka with their first-round pick (No. 19) of the 2025 NFL Draft, while second-year pro Jalen McMillan is trending upward after a phenomenal end to his rookie campaign.
Over McMillan’s final five regular season games, he had 24 receptions, 316 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, which over a 17-game season would translate to 82 receptions, 1,074 yards and 24 touchdowns.
Bucky Irving might be the most underrated back in the league. He was brilliant as a rookie, ending 2024 with 1,514 yards from scrimmage, including 1,122 rushing yards on 207 carries (5.4 yards per attempt).
Irving is also a plus in the pass game, catching 47 of his 52 targets (90.4 percent) for 392 yards.
Unless he’s a one-year wonder, the Bucs will once again have one of the league’s top rushing offenses after ranking fourth a season ago.
Turnovers are the one thing that could stymie the unit. For as good as Mayfield was last year, he led the NFL in interceptions (16) and fumbles (13), both lost and recovered.
The Bucs don’t have a good enough defense to cancel out those offensive misfires. Tampa was No. 29 against the pass last year and allowed 4.3 yards per carry.
With games against multiple potentially dangerous offenses, including road games at the Houston Texans, Detroit Lions, Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Rams and Miami Dolphins and home games against the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers, the Bucs must protect the ball better than they did last year.
Tampa has Pro Bowl-caliber players on all three levels of its defense — lineman Vita Vea, linebacker Lavonte David and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. — but the unit was less than the sum of its parts in 2024.
The Bucs added edge Haason Reddick, who missed the start of the team’s organized team activities (OTAs), and linebacker Anthony Walker in free agency, two players past their prime. Tampa can’t expect either to be responsible for a defensive improvement.
If the unit levels up this fall, younger pros, including lineman Calijah Kancey, edge Yaya Diaby and rookie corners Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish, will likely play more pivotal roles.
Our take: The Buccaneers have enough talent to win the NFC South for a fifth consecutive season, but a difficult early-season schedule will make things dicey early and keep them from reaching their projected win total. However, Tampa will rally late to extend its reign.
Predicted win total: 9
This content was brought to you by: Yardbarker: NFL
