It’s been a while, but the return of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers means a return to Pick Six! Taking a look at some of the biggest questions surrounding the upcoming season and where the Bucs made some huge improvements.
Without further ado, let’s Pick Six.
1.) The Bucs Made All The Right Moves. In addressing some of the biggest weaknesses of the 2023 team, Jason Licht and Todd Bowles did exactly what needed to be done. Bulking up in the interior of the offensive line with the additions of first round pick Graham Barton as well as the signing of free agent Ben Bredeson will hopefully prevent Baker Mayfield from being sacked 40 times again this season while also helping the Bucs’ last place rush offense. To that point, Tampa added the electric Bucky Irving to take some of the pressure off Rachaad White, who was a one man show last season. The addition of Jalen McMillan gives the offense a legitimate third wide receiver to complement Evans and Godwin, Jordan Whitehead is an exponential upgrade over Ryan Neal, Tykee Smith is the do-it-all slot corner/safety hybrid custom built for Bowles’ defense. With all these players in place to address problems, can they actually step up and improve both sides of the ball? Only time will tell.
2.) Jason Licht Loves Flying Under The Radar. I mean, he even went so far as to say that people should be picking the Atlanta Falcons to win the division, This is a team that was counted out by the NFL Draft last season and are being criminally overlooked this season. All the hype and attention is on the Falcons who are pinning their hopes and dreams on a 36-year old quarterback coming off a ruptured achilles and who no longer has the best receiver in the NFL on his team. Raheem Morris is expected to bring plenty of that Rams flavor to Atlants, but the Bucs are getting some Rams flavor of their own (more on that in a moment) so it’s going to be quite the battle between these two teams for NFC South supremacy. The chip on Baker’s shoulder gets bigger with every doubter and all Jason Licht can do is sit back and grin, knowing the monster that’s being created.
3.) Liam Coen Is Set To Upgrade The Offense. Nothing against Dave Canales. I thought he did a solid job in his first year as a play caller and offensive coordinator - but there’s no question he was overly stubborn at times and it stunted the growth and development of a sometimes explosive offense. Now you have Coen who comes from the Sean McVay tree and he cut his teeth with the University of Kentucky where they put up some all time great numbers. This is a guy that took the job because of Baker, that loves the idea of having Chris Godwin play the role of 2021 Cooper Kupp, that has a first ballot Hall of Fame receiver leading the charge in Mike Evans - then adding in explosive playmakers like Bucky and Jalen? This offense has the tools and leadership to be as explosive as the ones we saw with Tom Brady and Bruce Arians. With the power being placed in the hands of his leaders - guys like Baker, Tristan Wirfs, Evans - it’s all about winning your individual battles and executing the right play. Sure, there will be some growing pains as there always is with new play callers, but do not underestimate Coen’s ability to have this Buccaneers team in the top ten of just about every offensive category there is.
4.) Are The Bucs Dull Around The Edges? This is the question that could make or break the Bucs’ 2024 season. There are a lot of expectations and hopes being placed on the shoulders of second year outside linebacker Yaya Diaby. 7.5 sacks last season, but all of those came in just five total games. He was under 50% of defensive snaps until week 11, and now he’s being thrust into the top edge rusher role. Beyond local media and the fans, even national media are pointing to Diaby as a player to watch for - but the rest of the unit is unproven. Joe Tryon-Shoyinka is in a contract year and coming off a career high in sacks with just 4.5 last season. Chris Braswell is a rookie, Markees Watts and Jose Ramirez are young and untested. Todd Bowles’ scheme puts a massive emphasis on getting after the quarterback and the Bucs don’t have a single, bonafide proven player among the bunch. Yes, Shaquil Barrett expressed his interest in returning to the team, but even he wasn’t overly effective last season. The defense goes as the pass rush goes and there isn’t much in the way of confidence that this group is going to exceed what last year’s group did. As much as everyone loves Antoine Winfield Jr, he can’t be second on the team in sacks again. If he is, it’s going to tell everyone what Tampa’s top off-season priority will be next year.
5.) The Start Of A Youth Movement. The Buccaneers went from one of the oldest teams in the league just a few short years ago to the second youngest in the league this year, just behind the Green Bay Packers. They have three players over the age of thirty - Mike Evans, Lavonte David, and William Gholston. 44 of the 53 players were either drafted or signed as undrafted free agents by Jason Licht and his team. This is a feather in the cap of Licht’s change in draft philosophy and it has ushered in the next generation of Buccaneers football. Think back to the Super Bowl run in 2020 and the comeback bid that fell just short in 2021. Look at how many major contributors over those two seasons were outsiders that were brought in - Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Ndamukong Suh, Leonard Fournette, Antonio Brown, Jason Pierre-Paul, Shaq Barrett. These weren’t homegrown and developed players. These were hired assassins to win a championship. It worked and it was awesome to watch, but now the Bucs have turned the page from building through free agency to building through the draft. Anchors for both sides of the ball that were targeted, scouted, and selected by this staff. Tristan Wirfs and Antoine Winfield Jr are both the best players in the league at their positions. Evans and Godwin form one of the top receiving duos in the NFL. Jamel Dean, Zyon McCollum, Vita Vea, Rachaad White, the ageless wonder Lavonte David. These are all crucial pieces to the Bucs’ success and they were all drafted by the Bucs. Now the focus turns to guys like Graham Barton, Yaya Diaby, Calijah Kancey, Jalen McMillan to be the next crop of stars on the team that will take the Bucs into the next decade and beyond, playing competitive football and becoming a mainstay in the postseason.
6.) Baking It, Again. Baker Mayfield has his share of doubters. In fact, you could go so far as to say that there are people out there casting predictions and prognostications of Baker’s demise simply so they can point to themselves being right when they said he was going to fail last year. Mayfield, of course, feeds off of these kinds of things. That said, they aren’t entirely wrong when you look at Baker over the years. He hasn’t strung back-to-back solid seasons together yet. Some of that is due to injury, some of it due to circumstance. Either way, it’s on him to get the job done this year like he did last year. A career season in terms of passing yards and touchdowns, a rate of turnovers that weren’t great but also weren’t horrific, and an ability to improvise and extend plays when protection broke down. Now, he has anything he could have asked for. The O-Line, another pass catching running back that can hit pay dirt any time he touches the ball, the third receiving threat he was supposed to have last season only to see Russell Gage miss the year with injury, and let’s not forget an offensive coordinator that took this job, in large part, to work with him. Now it’s on Baker to elevate his game to levels we have yet to see from him. When an anonymous defensive coordinator tells a writer that Baker is a “good system quarterback,” but that he doesn’t do anything special to change what they have to do on defense, it should make Mayfield’s blood boil. We should be looking at Baker to top his 4,044 yards and his 28 touchdown passes from last season. All the ingredients he needs are on the table - he just has to get to baking.
11 - Consecutive seasons Mike Evans would have of 1,000 or more receiving yards, which would tie Jerry Rice’s all-time NFL record, if he hits that plateau again this year
5 - Consecutive seasons the Bucs would make the playoffs if they reach the postseason this year. That’s an all-time franchise record for consecutive playoff appearances
1 - Number of coaches in franchise history to reach the playoffs three straight seasons - Tony Dungy
2 - Total number of starters for the Buccaneers this season that are over 30 years old - Mike Evans and Lavonte David
.667 - Bucs’ winning percentage since the arrival of Todd Bowles when facing rookie quarterbacks. They are currently scheduled to face two rookie quarterbacks in the first three weeks of the season.
3 - Straight seasons the Buccaneers have won their opening week game
Usually in this spot, I’ll post the six best tweets reacting to the Bucs’ game. This time around, I’m going to give you tweets that should get you more excited for week one than you probably already are.
6.) Not Even Dave Canales Can Save The Dumpster Fire That Is The Panthers Organization
5.) The Saints Went From A Broken Down Brees To A Broken Down Carr. Been A Long, Laughable Fall
4.) The Falcons Have Four Prime-Time Games, Including Three In The First Five Weeks - And We Know How Well That Typically Goes For Kirk Cousins
3.) Chris Godwin Is Finally All The Way Back From Injury? Y’all Are In Trouble…
2.) After Their Week 11 Bye, The Bucs Have One Opponent That Finished Above .500 Last Season. Poised To Make Another Big Time Push Into The Postseason
1.) Because If You Want To Be The Man, You Gotta Beat The Man - And The Bucs Have Been At The Top Of The South For Three Straight Years (And The One Year They Weren’t, They Won The Super Bowl)
1.) Rachaad White Will Be Top Three Among All Running Backs. After finishing with nearly 1,000 rushing yards and over 1,500 all purpose yards, White is going to eclipse the 2,000 yard mark this season and be among the top running backs in the NFL
2.) Mike Evans Will Have Another Dominant Season. After hauling in 1,255 yards last season, Evans will surpass 1,300 yards in 2024 marking just the third time he’s reached that plateau and the first time since 2018
3.) Antoine Winfield Jr. Will Be Defensive Player Of The Year. To be honest, he should have won it last year, but the DPOY has become like the MVP. MVP always goes to a quarterback, regardless of who actually deserves it and the DPOY always goes to an edge rusher. This year, though - Antoine Winfield Jr will have another record setting season and his impact will be too large to ignore
4.) The Bucs Will Be Above .500 Heading Into Their Bye. In the first nine weeks of the season, the Bucs will face all four teams that played on Championship Weekend as well as the Falcons twice and a trip to New Orleans. So ten games with a tough stretch of three prime-time games in five weeks with two of them on the road. Ideally, the Bucs would be close to .500 with the easy stretch coming late in the season - but this Buccaneers team is going to surprise a lot of people and get a few upsets against teams like the Eagles and Ravens to set the tone for the year.
5.) Tampa’s Defense Finishes Top Five In Takeaways. With not only Winfield Jr., but the addition of Jordan Whitehead, the back end of the Bucs defense is going to be formidable. Zyon McCollum made working on his hands a high priority, Tykee Smith is a ball hawk, and Lavonte David is always lurking in the shadows looking to intercept a pass or punch the ball out of the hands of a ball carrier. Finishing with 26 takeaways last season was good enough to tie for 12th in the NFL. That’s not going to cut it this year. The Bucs reach the 30 takeaway mark thanks in large part to the emergence of McCollum as a certified interception machine.
6.) Baker Solidifies His Place. I mentioned it earlier that Baker had a career year last season. Now, it’s time to show the NFL world what he can really do when he’s playing with a full deck of cards. An array of pass catching weapons, a monster of a center anchoring the line, Baker Mayfield is going to finish with over 4,500 passing yards, over 30 touchdown passes, under a dozen interceptions, and four rushing touchdowns just for good measure. This won’t just get him into the Pro Bowl for the second straight season, but it will earn him some All-Pro recognition as the Bucs make their way into another postseason run.
Are You Ready For Some Football?!?
It’s been a while, but the return of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers means a return to Pick Six! Taking a look at some of the biggest questions surrounding the upcoming season and where the Bucs made some huge improvements.
Without further ado, let’s Pick Six.
1.) The Bucs Made All The Right Moves. In addressing some of the biggest weaknesses of the 2023 team, Jason Licht and Todd Bowles did exactly what needed to be done. Bulking up in the interior of the offensive line with the additions of first round pick Graham Barton as well as the signing of free agent Ben Bredeson will hopefully prevent Baker Mayfield from being sacked 40 times again this season while also helping the Bucs’ last place rush offense. To that point, Tampa added the electric Bucky Irving to take some of the pressure off Rachaad White, who was a one man show last season. The addition of Jalen McMillan gives the offense a legitimate third wide receiver to complement Evans and Godwin, Jordan Whitehead is an exponential upgrade over Ryan Neal, Tykee Smith is the do-it-all slot corner/safety hybrid custom built for Bowles’ defense. With all these players in place to address problems, can they actually step up and improve both sides of the ball? Only time will tell.
2.) Jason Licht Loves Flying Under The Radar. I mean, he even went so far as to say that people should be picking the Atlanta Falcons to win the division, This is a team that was counted out by the NFL Draft last season and are being criminally overlooked this season. All the hype and attention is on the Falcons who are pinning their hopes and dreams on a 36-year old quarterback coming off a ruptured achilles and who no longer has the best receiver in the NFL on his team. Raheem Morris is expected to bring plenty of that Rams flavor to Atlants, but the Bucs are getting some Rams flavor of their own (more on that in a moment) so it’s going to be quite the battle between these two teams for NFC South supremacy. The chip on Baker’s shoulder gets bigger with every doubter and all Jason Licht can do is sit back and grin, knowing the monster that’s being created.
3.) Liam Coen Is Set To Upgrade The Offense. Nothing against Dave Canales. I thought he did a solid job in his first year as a play caller and offensive coordinator - but there’s no question he was overly stubborn at times and it stunted the growth and development of a sometimes explosive offense. Now you have Coen who comes from the Sean McVay tree and he cut his teeth with the University of Kentucky where they put up some all time great numbers. This is a guy that took the job because of Baker, that loves the idea of having Chris Godwin play the role of 2021 Cooper Kupp, that has a first ballot Hall of Fame receiver leading the charge in Mike Evans - then adding in explosive playmakers like Bucky and Jalen? This offense has the tools and leadership to be as explosive as the ones we saw with Tom Brady and Bruce Arians. With the power being placed in the hands of his leaders - guys like Baker, Tristan Wirfs, Evans - it’s all about winning your individual battles and executing the right play. Sure, there will be some growing pains as there always is with new play callers, but do not underestimate Coen’s ability to have this Buccaneers team in the top ten of just about every offensive category there is.
4.) Are The Bucs Dull Around The Edges? This is the question that could make or break the Bucs’ 2024 season. There are a lot of expectations and hopes being placed on the shoulders of second year outside linebacker Yaya Diaby. 7.5 sacks last season, but all of those came in just five total games. He was under 50% of defensive snaps until week 11, and now he’s being thrust into the top edge rusher role. Beyond local media and the fans, even national media are pointing to Diaby as a player to watch for - but the rest of the unit is unproven. Joe Tryon-Shoyinka is in a contract year and coming off a career high in sacks with just 4.5 last season. Chris Braswell is a rookie, Markees Watts and Jose Ramirez are young and untested. Todd Bowles’ scheme puts a massive emphasis on getting after the quarterback and the Bucs don’t have a single, bonafide proven player among the bunch. Yes, Shaquil Barrett expressed his interest in returning to the team, but even he wasn’t overly effective last season. The defense goes as the pass rush goes and there isn’t much in the way of confidence that this group is going to exceed what last year’s group did. As much as everyone loves Antoine Winfield Jr, he can’t be second on the team in sacks again. If he is, it’s going to tell everyone what Tampa’s top off-season priority will be next year.
5.) The Start Of A Youth Movement. The Buccaneers went from one of the oldest teams in the league just a few short years ago to the second youngest in the league this year, just behind the Green Bay Packers. They have three players over the age of thirty - Mike Evans, Lavonte David, and William Gholston. 44 of the 53 players were either drafted or signed as undrafted free agents by Jason Licht and his team. This is a feather in the cap of Licht’s change in draft philosophy and it has ushered in the next generation of Buccaneers football. Think back to the Super Bowl run in 2020 and the comeback bid that fell just short in 2021. Look at how many major contributors over those two seasons were outsiders that were brought in - Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Ndamukong Suh, Leonard Fournette, Antonio Brown, Jason Pierre-Paul, Shaq Barrett. These weren’t homegrown and developed players. These were hired assassins to win a championship. It worked and it was awesome to watch, but now the Bucs have turned the page from building through free agency to building through the draft. Anchors for both sides of the ball that were targeted, scouted, and selected by this staff. Tristan Wirfs and Antoine Winfield Jr are both the best players in the league at their positions. Evans and Godwin form one of the top receiving duos in the NFL. Jamel Dean, Zyon McCollum, Vita Vea, Rachaad White, the ageless wonder Lavonte David. These are all crucial pieces to the Bucs’ success and they were all drafted by the Bucs. Now the focus turns to guys like Graham Barton, Yaya Diaby, Calijah Kancey, Jalen McMillan to be the next crop of stars on the team that will take the Bucs into the next decade and beyond, playing competitive football and becoming a mainstay in the postseason.
6.) Baking It, Again. Baker Mayfield has his share of doubters. In fact, you could go so far as to say that there are people out there casting predictions and prognostications of Baker’s demise simply so they can point to themselves being right when they said he was going to fail last year. Mayfield, of course, feeds off of these kinds of things. That said, they aren’t entirely wrong when you look at Baker over the years. He hasn’t strung back-to-back solid seasons together yet. Some of that is due to injury, some of it due to circumstance. Either way, it’s on him to get the job done this year like he did last year. A career season in terms of passing yards and touchdowns, a rate of turnovers that weren’t great but also weren’t horrific, and an ability to improvise and extend plays when protection broke down. Now, he has anything he could have asked for. The O-Line, another pass catching running back that can hit pay dirt any time he touches the ball, the third receiving threat he was supposed to have last season only to see Russell Gage miss the year with injury, and let’s not forget an offensive coordinator that took this job, in large part, to work with him. Now it’s on Baker to elevate his game to levels we have yet to see from him. When an anonymous defensive coordinator tells a writer that Baker is a “good system quarterback,” but that he doesn’t do anything special to change what they have to do on defense, it should make Mayfield’s blood boil. We should be looking at Baker to top his 4,044 yards and his 28 touchdown passes from last season. All the ingredients he needs are on the table - he just has to get to baking.
11 - Consecutive seasons Mike Evans would have of 1,000 or more receiving yards, which would tie Jerry Rice’s all-time NFL record, if he hits that plateau again this year
5 - Consecutive seasons the Bucs would make the playoffs if they reach the postseason this year. That’s an all-time franchise record for consecutive playoff appearances
1 - Number of coaches in franchise history to reach the playoffs three straight seasons - Tony Dungy
2 - Total number of starters for the Buccaneers this season that are over 30 years old - Mike Evans and Lavonte David
.667 - Bucs’ winning percentage since the arrival of Todd Bowles when facing rookie quarterbacks. They are currently scheduled to face two rookie quarterbacks in the first three weeks of the season.
3 - Straight seasons the Buccaneers have won their opening week game
Usually in this spot, I’ll post the six best tweets reacting to the Bucs’ game. This time around, I’m going to give you tweets that should get you more excited for week one than you probably already are.
6.) Not Even Dave Canales Can Save The Dumpster Fire That Is The Panthers Organization
5.) The Saints Went From A Broken Down Brees To A Broken Down Carr. Been A Long, Laughable Fall
4.) The Falcons Have Four Prime-Time Games, Including Three In The First Five Weeks - And We Know How Well That Typically Goes For Kirk Cousins
3.) Chris Godwin Is Finally All The Way Back From Injury? Y’all Are In Trouble…
2.) After Their Week 11 Bye, The Bucs Have One Opponent That Finished Above .500 Last Season. Poised To Make Another Big Time Push Into The Postseason
1.) Because If You Want To Be The Man, You Gotta Beat The Man - And The Bucs Have Been At The Top Of The South For Three Straight Years (And The One Year They Weren’t, They Won The Super Bowl)
1.) Rachaad White Will Be Top Three Among All Running Backs. After finishing with nearly 1,000 rushing yards and over 1,500 all purpose yards, White is going to eclipse the 2,000 yard mark this season and be among the top running backs in the NFL
2.) Mike Evans Will Have Another Dominant Season. After hauling in 1,255 yards last season, Evans will surpass 1,300 yards in 2024 marking just the third time he’s reached that plateau and the first time since 2018
3.) Antoine Winfield Jr. Will Be Defensive Player Of The Year. To be honest, he should have won it last year, but the DPOY has become like the MVP. MVP always goes to a quarterback, regardless of who actually deserves it and the DPOY always goes to an edge rusher. This year, though - Antoine Winfield Jr will have another record setting season and his impact will be too large to ignore
4.) The Bucs Will Be Above .500 Heading Into Their Bye. In the first nine weeks of the season, the Bucs will face all four teams that played on Championship Weekend as well as the Falcons twice and a trip to New Orleans. So ten games with a tough stretch of three prime-time games in five weeks with two of them on the road. Ideally, the Bucs would be close to .500 with the easy stretch coming late in the season - but this Buccaneers team is going to surprise a lot of people and get a few upsets against teams like the Eagles and Ravens to set the tone for the year.
5.) Tampa’s Defense Finishes Top Five In Takeaways. With not only Winfield Jr., but the addition of Jordan Whitehead, the back end of the Bucs defense is going to be formidable. Zyon McCollum made working on his hands a high priority, Tykee Smith is a ball hawk, and Lavonte David is always lurking in the shadows looking to intercept a pass or punch the ball out of the hands of a ball carrier. Finishing with 26 takeaways last season was good enough to tie for 12th in the NFL. That’s not going to cut it this year. The Bucs reach the 30 takeaway mark thanks in large part to the emergence of McCollum as a certified interception machine.
6.) Baker Solidifies His Place. I mentioned it earlier that Baker had a career year last season. Now, it’s time to show the NFL world what he can really do when he’s playing with a full deck of cards. An array of pass catching weapons, a monster of a center anchoring the line, Baker Mayfield is going to finish with over 4,500 passing yards, over 30 touchdown passes, under a dozen interceptions, and four rushing touchdowns just for good measure. This won’t just get him into the Pro Bowl for the second straight season, but it will earn him some All-Pro recognition as the Bucs make their way into another postseason run.
Are You Ready For Some Football?!?
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