The Buccaneers were one of the more intriguing NFL teams during the 2024 season as they hovered around the Super Bowl Bubble and possessed some of the strongest wins a team has had all season. But they struggled with consistency and perhaps did not have quite as high of a ceiling as other teams and had a quick playoff exit as a result. Going forward into the 2025 season the Buccaneers have some hurdles to overcome that can be described in the following fashion. The NFC South, which has been arguably the weakest division in the NFL for the past two seasons likely becomes much tougher. As Michael Penix Jr is going into his first full season as a starter with the Atlanta Falcons having one of the premier rosters in the NFL. The return of Saints quarterback Derek Carr from injury along with the Saints potentially having upgraded their head coaching position. Dave Canales and Bryce Young are going into their second full season together which could be the year that Bryce Young truly begins to emerge and consistently play like a #1 overall pick. All of this combined with the Buccaneers losing an offensive coordinator to a head coaching position for the second consecutive season. However, there is a ton to be optimistic about from the Tampa Bay perspective as the team as previously stated was a dangerous team over the 2024 campaign. The Buccaneers in the 2024 season were the only team to beat a healthy Detroit Lions team, one of only two teams to beat an Eagles team with Jalen Hurts healthy at quarterback, and they nearly beat the Chiefs on the road despite Tampa not having any of their top 3 wide receivers available. The Lions and the Eagles were the class of the NFL this past season and the Chiefs are still the dynasty of the NFL as well. The Buccaneers were unable to consistently maintain that level of play for the duration of the season as they really struggled in games vs the Ravens, Cowboys, and Broncos. Perhaps I was overrating their performances against the likes of the Lions, Eagles, and Chiefs. As the Lions win was an early season game that Tampa Bay still only narrowly escaped with. The win vs the Eagles occurred when Philadelphia did not have either one of their top two wide receivers available. The win vs Philadelphia was also an early season win at home when the Eagles were not nearly in full stride especially on offense as of yet. Many teams also came very close to beating the Kansas City Chiefs this past season similar to how Tampa Bay did, including the Raiders and Panthers who finished with two of the weakest records in the NFL, and Kansas City ultimately ended up getting eviscerated in the Super Bowl. However, their track record against the top teams in the NFL this past season is still something that should provide optimism heading into the future for the team. As I struggled to find any other team in professional football who possessed such a strong track record in 2024 against premier competition.
On the offensive side of the ball the Buccaneers were led by quarterback Baker Mayfield and now Jaguars head coach Liam Coen as offensive coordinator. The Buccaneers offensive ranks for the 2024 season can be found below.
Points per game – 4th
Yards per game – 3rd
Offense grade according to Pro Football Focus – 5th
As you can see from the above data the Buccaneers were one of the premier offensive attacks in the NFL over the 2024 season ranking top 5 in every major category. Maintaining that level of play will be hard to come by with the departure of Liam Coen as the team’s offensive coordinator. With his departure marking the second straight season a Tampa Bay offensive coordinator who coached Mayfield with the Bucs has departed to become a head coach elsewhere. With Mayfield struggling for the majority of his career before starting for the Buccaneers and him still possessing average physical traits as an NFL QB. Perhaps the NFL community is underrating him and attributing his newfound success with Tampa Bay to offensive coordinators as opposed to him. As Mayfield actually improved upon his level of play from the 2023 season to the 2024 season with the departure of the previous offensive coordinator from the 2023 season in Dave Canales. Although it is concerning that Coen has now departed to be a head coach, the Buccaneers should be optimistic that they can replicate a similar level of play on offense with Mayfield at quarterback. But it remains to be seen how the change at the offensive coordinator position for the third consecutive season now will affect the Buccaneers on the offensive side of the ball. The Buccaneers have promoted passing game coordinator Josh Grizzard to the offensive coordinator role as they felt as if an in-house solution to the position was the best option for the team. Although the success on offense will be contingent more-so on the play of Mayfield and the coaching he gets from the offensive coordinator role along with Todd Bowles as the head coach. The personnel that Tampa Bay has on the offensive side will loom large for them in the 2025 season as is the case for every team. Beginning with the offensive line of the team I can provide a full breakdown of the Buccaneers offensive personnel. In each breakdown of the unit, I have provided the overall offense grade that Pro Football Focus assigned to each player in the unit for the 2024 season. I have also assigned each player in the unit my own personal subjective grade that indicates how strong of players I evaluate them to be in totality outside of just the 2024 campaign. With this evaluation being based upon yearly statistical output and yearly grades that were assigned to them by Pro Football Focus.
Buccaneers 2024 Offensive Line Starters
LT – Tristan Wirfs – (9/87) offense grade in 1014 snaps in 2024, A to A-
LG – Ben Bredeson – (63/83) offense grade in 1126 snaps in 2024, C to C+, free agent
C – Graham Barton – (37/43) offense grade in 1064 snaps in 2024, C+, 2024 first round pick
RG – Cody Mauch – (15/83) offense grade in 1131 snaps in 2024, B+ to A-
RT – Luke Goedeke – (30/87) offense grade in 905 snaps in 2024, B to B+
Key 2024 Buccaneers Offensive Line Reserves
C – Robert Hainsey – (9/64) offense grade in 94 snaps in 2024, C+ to B-, free agent
T – Justin Skule – (42/87) offense grade in 361 snaps in 2024, C to C+, free agent
The Buccaneers key offensive line rankings from the 2024 season can be found below as well.
Key 2024 Buccaneers Offensive Line Rankings
Pass Blocking Grade – 2nd
Run Blocking Grade – 16th
Pass Blocking Efficiency – 2nd
Sacks Allowed – 15th
As you can see from the above data the offensive line of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was one of the better if not one of the best units in the NFL during the 2024 season. Heading into the 2024 campaign the team can expect improvement from the unit. As the only starter who is slated to be a free agent is left guard Ben Bredeson who was arguably the weakest link on the line this past season. In addition to him being the only starter who is a free agent, the Buccaneers can expect to see a large improvement from rookie center Graham Barton who was a first-round pick in 2024 but who struggled as a rookie but did show some promise in his first season. Although Barton was graded (37/43) in terms of an offense grade among qualified centers he did finish being ranked (20/44) in terms of pass blocking efficiency, above average as a pass protector in year 1. Players take the biggest leap from year 1 to year 2 and from an optimistic standpoint Tampa Bay can expect to see a large improvement from Barton going into his second season in the NFL. In the division the Atlanta Falcons possess one of the strongest offensive lines in the league. So, if Tampa Bay wants to keep pace with them in the division, they will need to see a noticeable and substantial improvement from Barton at center and the Buccaneers will need to improve their left guard position in addition to it. Doing so will be difficult given that Tampa Bay currently only ranks 24th in the NFL in available cap space entering the offseason possessing just over 5 million in available room. Tampa Bay had one of the better offensive lines in the NFL in 2024 but not one of the best as they were too weak at left guard and center for that to be the case. If Tampa Bay can see that improvement from Barton at center and upgrade their left guard spot in addition to it, they can certainly make the leap from one of the better lines to one of the best lines. Which will likely need to occur given that the top two teams in the NFC if not the NFL this past season in the Eagles and Lions had two of the best offensive lines and the Atlanta Falcons in the division also have one of the best offensive lines as well. If the Buccaneers want to keep pace in the division and in the conference, they will need to see an improvement from their offensive front although they were highly productive in that unit this past season.
The skill position players for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were also a bright spot for the team this past season and will likely be one for the team heading into 2025 as well. I conducted a similar analysis of the team’s key skill position players similar to what I did for the offensive line which can be found below.
Key Buccaneers Skill Position Players
WR1 – Mike Evans – (14/110) offense grade in 2024 in 14 games, A to A-
WR2 – Chris Godwin – (10/110) offense grade in 2024 in 7 games, A to A-, free agent
WR3 – Jalen McMillan – (90/110) offense grade in 2024 in 13 games, C so far as 2024 3rd round pick
WR4 – Sterling Shepard – (106/110) offense grade in 2024 in 14 games, C to C+, free agent
TE1 – Cade Otton – (29/45) offense grade in 2024 in 14 games, C to C+
TE2 – Devin Culp – (5/45) offense grade in 2024 in 3 games, 7th round 2024, too small of a sample size to assign a grade
TE3 – Payne Durham – (32/45) offense grade in 2024 in 16 games, C
HB1 – Bucky Irving – (4/57) offense grade in 2024 in 17 games, A to A- thus far, 2024 fourth round pick
HB2 – Rachaad White – (20/57) offense grade in 2024 in 16 games, C+
HB3 – Sean Tucker – (14/57) offense grade in 2024 in 10 games, B+ in limited snaps
As you can see from the above data, the Buccaneers are characterized by high level skill position play that is however lacking at the tight end position. The combination of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin have been one of the premier wide out duos in the NFL for the past several years. Godwin, however, suffered a season ending injury when he was playing in a blowout loss at home to the Ravens which unfortunately caused him to miss the rest of the year. Chris Godwin is also a free agent entering this offseason and it remains to be seen whether or not he will remain with the team. 2024 4th round pick Bucky Irving had a phenomenal season for Tampa Bay as a rookie amounting over 1100 yards on a remarkable 5.4 yards per attempt as well. The numbers he put up were even more impressive when you consider he was a rookie and Tampa Bay was graded only 16th in terms of a run blocking line in 2024. The Buccaneers got strong production from their #2 and #3 halfback positions as well in the form of Rachaad White and Sean Tucker. White amassed over 600 yards however on a meager 4.3 yards per attempt and Tucker was able to account for over 300 yards on a highly impressive 6.2 yards per attempt in addition to it. Both running backs were also graded in the above average range in terms of an overall offense grade according to Pro Football Focus as well. The tight end position is a concern for the Buccaneers as their primary tight end Cade Otton has produced at a below average clip for most of his career ranking below average in terms of an offense grade in every season he has played thus far in the NFL. 2024 7th round pick Devin Culp has only appeared in 3 NFL games thus far with a total of five receptions but Pro Football Focus in the very limited time he spent on the field graded him (5/45) in terms of an offense grade. The remaining wide outs that complement Mike Evans and Chris Godwin (if he returns to the team) are also concerning as well. 2024 third round pick Jalen McMillan struggled as a rookie in totality but did show some bright spots accounting for over 400 yards in 13 games but he was only graded (90/110) in terms of an offense grade among qualified wide receivers. Tampa has no other wide outs on the team capable of giving the team effective production either. McMillan’s underdevelopment and the remaining lack of capable wide outs was a cause for concern this past season especially when Godwin went down with the season ending injury. The points of emphasis this offseason for Tampa Bay on the offensive side of the ball should be to re-sign star wide out Chris Godwin, add depth at the wide receiver position to complement the duo of him and Evans, and to bolster the tight end and left guard positions in addition to it.
Overall, on the offensive side of the ball the Buccaneers were a top 5 offensive team in every regard this past season. Losing offensive coordinator Liam Coen is a blow but certainly one they can recover from given how they actually improved on the offensive side in 2024 after losing offensive coordinator Dave Canales the previous season. The Buccaneers have a clear path to going from having one of the best offenses as they did this past season to having the premier offense in the NFL. And that would be to re-sign Godwin and to address the left guard and/or the tight end position in the offseason likely via the draft as the team lacks sufficient cap space. As they had among the premier offensive attacks in the NFL from a statistical standpoint despite being among the weaker if not among the weakest teams in the league at left guard, tight end, and eventually at the #2 wide out spot after Godwin went down for the season.
The defensive side of the ball was more of a concern for Tampa Bay this past season than the offense. The defensive ranks of the Buccaneers during the 2024 season can be found below.
Key Buccaneers Defensive Rankings 2024 Season
Points Per Game Allowed – 16th
Yards Per Game Allowed – 18th
Defense Grade According to Pro Football Focus – 21st
As you can see from the above metrics the Buccaneers were pretty mediocre across the board on the defensive side of the ball. This trend unfortunately becomes more concerning when you consider head coach Todd Bowles’ defensive background. However, there are some bright spots specifically the teams run defense which was top 5 in the NFL this past season. In addition to the team’s stout run defense, the Buccaneers performed exceptionally on defense against the likes of the Eagles and Lions early in the season holding both teams to 16 points each. However, the team’s overall defensive performance over the course of the 2024 season was indeed concerning. In a league that is transitioning to becoming a more offensive oriented league favoring offensive minded head coaches. The future of Todd Bowles as the head coach of Tampa Bay has been brought into question as he is a defensive minded coach whose defense really underperformed this past season. General manager Jason Licht has stated that Bowles will be retained heading into the 2025 campaign. But given the trend of the league and the performance of his defenses, he will unequivocally be on the hot seat going into 2025 onwards. The schematics of the defense primarily formulated by head coach Bowles were a large part of the team and their undoing in 2025. But as is the case with every team on both sides of the ball, the personnel that the team has also contributes to the success or lack thereof of the unit. The Buccaneer’s defensive personnel can be described as such beginning with the defensive line of the team. I have conducted an evaluation of the team’s key defensive line personnel similar to what I did for the offense of the team and that can be found below.
Key Buccaneers Defensive Line Personnel
DL1 – Vita Vea – (17/146) defense grade over 705 snaps in 2024, B+ to A-
DL2 – Calijah Kancey – (108/146) defense grade over 541 snaps in 2024, C, 2023 first rounder
DL3 – Logan Hall – (70/146) defense grade over 538 snaps in 2024, C, 2022 second rounder
DL4 – William Gholston – (37/146) defense grade over 201 snaps in 2024, C to C+, free agent
DL5 – Greg Gaines – (106/146) defense grade over 395 snaps in 2024, C+
DL6 – Mike Greene – (132/142) defense grade over 58 snaps in 2024, C
DL7 – C.J Brewer – (131/142) defense grade over 159 snaps in 2024, D+
ED1 – Yaya Diaby – (22/135) defense grade over 785 snaps in 2024, B to B+
ED2 – Anthony Nelson – (104/135) defense grade over 573 snaps in 2024, C+ to B-, free agent
ED3 – Joe Tyron-Shoyinka – (124/135) defense grade over 539 snaps in 2024, C+, free agent
ED4 – Chris Braswell – (79/135) defense grade over 328 snaps in 2024, C so far as 2024 second round pick
ED5 – Markees Watts – (40/135) defense grade over 11 snaps in 2024, B- in very limited snaps
ED6 – Jose Ramirez – (133/135) defense grade over 30 snaps in 2024, D
ED7 – Shaquil Barrett – 2 snaps in 2024, B+ to A-, free agent
As you can see from the above data, the Buccaneers had some talent on the defensive front, in particular Vita Vea who is among the best interior defensive lineman in the NFL specializing in stopping the run. 2023 third round pick Yaya Diaby was also highly effective for the team in the 2024 season where he ranked among the better edge rushers in professional football. Outside of that the Buccaneers defensive front was comprised of many average caliber players and former high draft picks who have unfortunately underwhelmed thus far in the league. Defensive lineman Calijah Kancey as a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft has logged below average to well below average defense grades in each of his first two NFL seasons. Similarly, Logan Hall on the interior of the defensive line as a second-round pick in 2022 has also underwhelmed thus far in the league. As he was average in the 2024 season, and in the previous two seasons he was below average to well below average in terms of a defense grade. Edge rusher Chris Braswell as a 2024 second round pick underwhelmed in year 1 although he did show that he was capable. The development of these young players on the defensive front will be a key point for the Buccaneers on the defensive side of the ball if the Buccaneers want to field a defense that can win them the NFC/Super Bowl. Star defensive lineman Shaquil Barrett missed essentially all of the 2024 season due to injury and is also a free agent. If he can get healthy and if the Buccaneers can re-sign him he should provide a boost to a Tampa Bay front seven that needs it.
I have conducted a similar evaluation of Tampa Bay’s linebacking core which can be found below as well.
Buccaneers Key Linebackers
LB1 – Lavonte David – (31/92) defense grade over 1077 snaps in 2024, A-, free agent
LB2 – K.J Britt – (88/92) defense grade over 613 snaps in 2024, C, free agent
LB3 – J.J Russell – (39/92) defense grade over 249 snaps in 2024, B, free agent
LB4 – SirVocea Dennis – (38/92) defense grade over 105 snaps in 2024, C+
The Tampa Bay linebacking unit is led by standout Lavonte David who consistently ranks among the best linebackers in the sport. David is a free agent entering the 2025 offseason and retaining him should be a big point of emphasis for general manager Jason Licht entering the 2025 league year. K.J Britt unfortunately underwhelmed as the teams #2 linebacker behind David. J.J Russell and SirVocea Dennis played very well in limited snaps as the team’s #3 and #4 linebackers, however. 3 of the team’s 4 primary linebackers are free agents entering this offseason including star linebacker Lavonte David as well. The team should look to retain David and perhaps allow Britt to depart in free agency and re-sign J.J Russell to allow him to flourish as the team’s #2 linebacker or pursue a #2 linebacker via the draft/free agency/trade market. I conducted a similar analysis of the team’s secondary which can be found below.
Buccaneers Key Secondary Players
CB1 – Zyon McCollum – (39/128) defense grade over 1055 snaps in 2024, B
CB2 – Jamel Dean – (16/128) defense grade over 697 snaps in 2024, A-
CB3 – Tykee Smith – (32/128) defense grade over 612 snaps in 2024, B to B+ as 2024 third round rookie
CB4 -Josh Hayes – (59/128) defense grade over 264 snaps in 2024, C+ to B-
CB5 – Tyrek Funderburk – (108/128) defense grade over 163 snaps, C to C-
CB6 – Bryce Hall – (123/128) defense grade over 17 snaps in 2024, B-, free agent
S1 – Jordan Whitehead – (78/104) defense grade over 731 snaps in 2024, B-
S2 – Antoine Winfield – (83/104) defense grade over 528 snaps in 2024, B+ to A-
S3 – Christian Izien – (80/104) defense grade over 697 snaps in 2024, C
S4 – Kaevon Merriweather – (44/104) defense grade over 260 snaps in 2024, B in limited snaps, free agent
S5 – Ryan Neal – (25/104) defense grade over 17 snaps in 2024, B to B-, very inconsistent, free agent
S6 – Mike Edwards – (26/104) defense grade over 191 snaps in 2024, B-, free agent
S7 – Tavierre Thomas – (102/104) defense grade over 46 snaps in 2024, B+, free agent
As you can see from the above data the Buccaneers secondary had a good amount of talent present in it. Beginning with the cornerback unit, Zyon McCollum as a former 2022 5th rounder had a breakout season during the 2024 campaign. McCollum graded as well below average among qualified corners in his first two NFL seasons but ranked among the better corners in the NFL during the 2024 season. The Buccaneers’ number two cornerback Jamel Dean consistently ranks among the better if not the best overall corners in the NFL on a year in year out basis including in the 2024 campaign as well. Tykee Smith as a third-round pick in 2024 had a very strong rookie season finishing being ranked among the better overall cornerbacks in professional football despite being a rookie. The team’s two primary safeties in Jordan Whitehead and Antoine Winfield typically are very strong players in the NFL but both had really down years in the 2024 campaign. Whitehead has, however, been marked by inconsistency in his career as in 7 seasons he has been graded as above average on 3 occasions while being graded as below average on 4 occasions. That inconsistency came back to bite him in the 2024 campaign where he finished being graded as below average once again despite having the ability to perform at an above average clip. Winfield Jr who was drafted in the 2020 season has graded as above average to well above average in terms of a defense grade every single season before the 2024 campaign. In his 2020 rookie season he graded (26/64) in terms of a defense grade among qualified safeties. In the 2021, 2022, and 2023 seasons Winfield Jr graded in the top 10 among all qualified safeties including a top 2 ranking on two occasions with one of those being a #1 overall ranking. Winfield Jr struggled with injuries in the 2024 season as he had the lowest snap count and defense grade of his career thus far and the injuries he dealt with led to poor play by his standards. However, Tampa Bay should be optimistic that he can regain his level of play going forward as this past season was certainly an aberration thus far in his NFL career.
Overall, on the defensive side of the ball the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are led by defensive minded head coach Todd Bowles along with a very talented secondary. The Buccaneers need to bolster their front seven as outside of star linebacker Lavonte David, star defensive lineman Vita Vea, and standout Yaya Diaby, the front seven is comprised of mostly just average to mediocre caliber players. However as stated previously the defensive line has multiple high draft picks in recent years who although they have underwhelmed thus far in the NFL have certainly not been busts and are potentially in line to improve going forward. Tampa Bay was 16th in points allowed, 18th in yards allowed, with Pro Football Focus grading them as the 21st best defense in the NFL over the course of the 2024 season. Indicating that by any stretch the Buccaneers fielded a mediocre caliber defense over the course of 2024. The two top teams in the conference, if not in the NFL, are the Eagles and Lions, and if Tampa Bay wants to reach the level of those two teams they will need to upgrade the defense. As over the course of the regular season the Eagles finished 2nd in points allowed and Pro Football Focus graded them as the best overall defense in the NFL. The Lions before they suffered devastating and catastrophic injuries on the defensive side of the ball were graded as either the #1 or #2 defense in the NFL. Even after suffering all the injuries that they did indeed suffer the Lions still finished top 5 in terms of a defense grade and finished ranked as the #7 scoring defense. Todd Bowles and Jason Licht have their work cut out for them on the defensive end this offseason. In order to reach the level of Philadelphia and Detroit on the defensive end next season they will need the following to occur. They will need to see improvement from young defensive lineman who were once high draft picks. They will also need to see more consistent play from their top two safeties, as Jordan Whitehead can be very effective but is inconsistent and had a down year in 2024. Number two safety Antoine Winfield had easily the worst season of his career in 2024 where he ranked among the weaker safeties in the NFL despite typically ranking among the best safeties in professional football. Tampa Bay will also need to perhaps make some key additions this offseason in order to bolster their personnel on the defensive side of the ball.
In totality the Buccaneers with Baker Mayfield and Todd Bowles have been a very fun team to watch the past two seasons and have been a dangerous team but not a team who has proven to be a legitimate Super Bowl threat. If Tampa Bay wants to take the next step and become a legitimate Super Bowl threat, they will need to upgrade their left guard spot and/or their tight end spot on offense. They will need to re-sign star-wide receiver Chris Godwin and they will need their new offensive coordinator to fill the shoes of Liam Coen to an adequate level. They will need to see an improvement from young defensive line players and will also need to see more consistent safety play as well. Tampa Bay should also look into adding key defensive pieces in the offseason cycle in order to have their defense be upgraded as well. The Buccaneers beat both Detroit and Philadelphia in 2024 and nearly beat Kansas City as well. They will need to become more consistent and upgrade the weaknesses of their team if they want to consistently be on the level of those three teams as opposed to just being a dangerous team who is capable of giving teams such as the Lions, Eagles, and Chiefs trouble from time to time.
