It is Tuesday before the NFL season kicks off and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have released their official depth chart leading up to week one. With many familiar faces from 2023, it is exciting to expect a team with a solid foundation of chemistry going into the season.

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Offense:

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WR 13 Mike Evans       10 Trey Palmer

WR 14 Chris Godwin    19 Kameron Johnson

LT 78 Tristan Wirfs       77 Justin Skule

LG 68 Ben Bredeson   64 Royce Newman

C   62 Graham Barton  70 Robert Hainsey

RG 69 Cody Mauch      79 Elijah Klein 

RT 67 Luke Goedeke

WR 15 Jalen McMillan

TE 88 Cade Otton       87 Payne Durham   41 Ko Kieft   82 Devin Culp

QB 6 Baker Mayfield   2 Kyle Trask

RB 1 Rachaad White   7 Bucky Irving   44 Sean Tucker

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Defense:

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DL 94 Calijah Kancey   97 Earnest Brown IV

NT 50 Vita Vea              96 Greg Gaines

DL 90 Logan Hall          92 William Gholston   

OLB 0 Yaya Diaby        98 Anthony Nelson     58 Markees Watts

ILB  52 K.J. Britt            51 J.J. Russell

ILB  52 Lavonte David   8 SirVocea Dennis

OLB 9 Joe Tryon-Shoyinka   43 Chris Braswell Jr.   33 Jose Ramirez

CB  35 Jamel Dean        34 Bryce Hall   

CB  27 Zyon McCollum   32 Josh Hayes   24 Tyrek Funderburk

S    31 Antoine Winfield Jr.   29 Christian Izien   37 Tavierre Thomas

S   3 Jordan Whitehead    23 Tykee Smith   26 Kaevon Merriweather

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Specialists:

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P     5 Jake Camarda

PK  4 Chase McLaughlin

KO  5 Jake Camarda

H     5 Jake Camarda

LS   86 Evan Deckers

PR   10 Trey Palmer      19 Kameron Johnson   15 Jalen McMillan

KR   7 Bucky Irving       19 Kameron Johnson

KR   44 Sean Tucker     15 Jalen McMillan

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*Rookies are Underlined*

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Rookies Continue To Play A Role For Buccaneer Depth

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Rookies such as Graham Barton and Jalen McMillan will get an opportunity to showcase their talents to the league very early, as Barton is the team’s starting center, while McMillan will be the team’s WR3.

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There are gleaming chances for rookies on the defensive side of the ball as well. With none of them being day-one starters, OLB Chris Braswell Jr. and DB Tykee Smith should be key depth pieces to this Buccaneer defense.

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A Top Heavy Roster

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This Buccaneers’ front office spent a fortune in retaining their own stars this off-season. It should pay off for the defending NFC South champions, as Lavonte David and Antoine Winfield will lead this defense from where they left off last season. Struggling early in 2023, the Tampa Bay defense found their way going into the playoffs and have the chance to hit the ground running this year, with a lot of returning playmakers.

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A year removed from almost not having a QB job in the league, Baker Mayfield got his security. Signing a 3-year deal, nearing $100M overall, Mayfield should improve last season based on his long-term deal and the Bucs keeping star-WR Mike Evans. Expect a jump in Mayfield’s play, due to the all-around receiving core, and reuniting with OC Liam Coen.

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This initial Bucs’ roster lacks the depth they desire going into the season. With cap restrictions and having to build through the draft, Tampa Bay doesn’t have alarming concerns going in regarding their back-ups, it’s more-so a situation where these players haven’t had experience on the NFL-level. The only way to fix that is to get these guys reps in a live game.

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Another exciting part about the depth chart would have to be second-year WR Trey Palmer back returning punts. He is one of the fastest players on the team and has a great opportunity to score on a punt return this season. Another second-year player, Sean Tucker, and rookie Bucky Irving will return the kickoffs to begin the season under new NFL ruling. Historically, Tampa Bay hasn’t had too much luck in the special teams department, but it could be an exciting area for this 2024 Bucs’ team.

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