Quarterback

The Buccaneers’ record in 2024 and their record in 2025 weren’t that different, as they went 10-7 in 2024 and 8-9 in 2025, but there was a drastic difference between their performance in the two seasons, as they ranked 4th in schedule adjusted efficiency in 2024 and 24th in 2025. The big difference was on offense, where they went from 3rd in schedule adjusted efficiency in 2024 to 23rd in 2025. In 2024, they averaged 6.21 yards per play and a 35.02% first down rate and, in 2025, those dropped to 5.10 yards per play and a 29.88% first down rate.

A big part of the reason for their offensive decline was the loss of offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who took over the Jaguars’ head coaching job and instantly improved their offense. Coen was only the Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator for one year and, the year before in 2023, the Buccaneers averaged 5.08 yards per play and a had a 27.78% first down rate with largely the same personnel as 2024, so it isn’t a surprise that the Buccaneers’ offense dropped off significantly in 2025 without Coen. The Buccaneers fired Josh Grizzard, their 2025 offensive coordinator, but their replacement Zac Robinson is still not nearly as good as Coen, so it seems unlikely the Buccaneers will reach their 2024 levels of offensive performance again in 2026.

That being said, another big part of the reason for their offensive decline was injuries, which should be better in 2026. Left tackle Tristan Wirfs, right tackle Luke Goedeke, and right guard Cody Mauch were their three best offensive linemen in 2024 and they were limited to 12 games, 11 games, and 2 games respectively in 2025. Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Bucky Irving were their three best skill position players in 2024 and they were limited to 8 games, 9 games, and 10 games respectively in 2025 and were not the same as they were in 2024 even when on the field. Quarterback Baker Mayfield and wide receiver Emeka Egbuka did not miss any time, but suffered injuries midway through the season and did not seem like themselves the rest of the season. Mike Evans is gone, but the rest of those players remain on the roster and should be healthier in 2026.

Baker Mayfield looked like an MVP candidate through the first six games of the season in 2025, completing 66.2% of his passes for an average of 7.89 YPA, 12 touchdowns, and 1 interception, but in his final eleven games he completed 61.5% of his passes for an average of 6.19 YPA, 14 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Injuries were likely somewhat to blame, but Mayfield has been inconsistent throughout his career. His best year was 2024, when he completed 71.4% of his passes for an average of 7.89 YPA, 41 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions, but he will probably never be that good again for a full season without Liam Coen. He figures to be better in 2026 than he was in 2025, but he will probably be closer to his 2023 season, when he completed 64.3% of his passes for an average of 7.14 YPA, 28 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, than his 2024 season.

Mayfield has played through injuries on multiple occasions in his career, but he hasn’t missed a start due to injury since 2021. If he does miss time in 2026, the Buccaneers would turn to Jake Browning, an underwhelming backup who the Bengals let go of this off-season. Browning’s statistics don’t look bad, as he has completed 68.5% of his passes for an average of 7.36 YPA, 18 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions in 10 career starts, but his numbers look better than he has played because he played with a strong offensive supporting cast. The Buccaneers would be in trouble if he had to start for an extended period of time.

Grade: B

Receiving Corps

As I mentioned, the Buccaneers’ receiving corps had a lot of injuries last season. Mike Evans, who had a 74/1004/11 slash line with 2.41 yards per route run on 110 targets in 14 games in 2024, was limited to a 30/368/3 slash line with 1.62 yards per route run on 61 targets in 8 games in 2025. Chris Godwin actually played more games in 2025 than he did in 2024, but he was not nearly as effective due to complications from the broken ankle that ended his 2024 season and, as a result, he had significant less production even though he played more games, going from a 50/576/5 slash line on 62 targets with 2.36 yards per route run in 7 games in 2024 to a 33/360/2 slash line on 51 targets with 1.36 yards per route run in 9 games in 2025. 

A 3rd round pick in 2024, Jalen McMillan wasn’t as good of a player as Evans and Godwin were in 2024, but he was limited to just a 12/178/0 slash line in 4 games in 2025, after a 37/461/8 slash line in 13 games as a rookie. With all of these players missing significant time with injury, first round rookie Emeka Egbuka led the team with a 63/938/6 slash line and 1.75 yards per route run, but even he had an injury that seemed to limit him in the second half of the season, as he went from a 40/677/6 slash line in his first 9 games, a 76/1279/11 pace extrapolated over 17 games, to a 23/261/0 slash line in his final 8 games.

Evans wasn’t retained this off-season, but Egbuka has the upside to be a legitimate #1 wide receiver in his second season in the league if he can find his early 2025 form and play at that level for the whole season, while Chris Godwin has significant bounce back potential, another year removed from his injury. Godwin is going into his age 30 season and might never be the same as he was before his injury, but he has a career 1.93 yards per route run average and an average 87/1080/6 slash line per 17 games in his career, so if he can even come close to being his old self, he should be at least a useful #2 wide receiver behind Egbuka and, at the very least, he should be better than he was a year ago.

McMillan only has averaged 1.35 yards per route run in two seasons in the league, but he went from 1.18 yards per route run as a rookie to 2.14 last season and, while that was a very small sample size, he at least has the upside to be a good #3 wide receiver. The Buccaneers also have good depth in case their top-3 receivers get hurt again or don’t live up to expectations. Tez Johnson was only a 7th round rookie last season, but he flashed potential with a 28/322/5 slash line and 1.08 yards per route run, while Ted Hurst was selected in the 3rd round of this year’s draft to give them even more depth. The Buccaneers have a lot of uncertainty at the wide receiver position, but this group is deep and has a lot of upside.

Things are not as good as tight end, where Cade Otton was retained as a free agent on a 3-year, 30 million dollar deal this off-season, despite only managing slash lines of 59/600/4 on 1.30 yards per route run and 59/572/1 on 1.08 yards per route run over the past two seasons, even with all of the Buccaneers’ wide receiver injuries giving him an opportunity to produce more. He will be backed up by Payne Durham, a 2023 5th round pick and blocking specialist who has only averaged 0.68 yards per route run as a receiver in his career. The Buccaneers’ tight end group is below average and their wide receiver room has a lot of uncertainty, but they at least have upside at wide receiver.

Grade: B-

Offensive Line

The Buccaneers’ offensive line was equally injury plagued last season, with their top-3 offensive linemen from 2024 all missing significant time with injury in 2025. The Buccaneers bring back the same starting five offensive linemen in 2026 as they had in 2025 and 2024 and they should be healthier, like they were in 2024. Left tackle Tristan Wirfs, who missed 5 games last season, is the best of the bunch, playing at an All-Pro level throughout his career, since being drafted in the first round in the 2020 NFL Draft. Prior to last season, he had only missed four games in five seasons due to injury in his career, so he isn’t an injury prone player. Having him on the field for more games in 2026 should be a big boost for this offensive line.

Luke Goedeke, a 2022 2nd round pick, has developed into an above average starter at right tackle over the past two seasons. Durability is a bit of a continued concern for him, as he also missed four games in 2024, in addition to the six he missed last season, but there is still a good chance he is on the field for more games in 2026 than he was in 2025. Right guard Cody Mauch is the biggest concern because, not only did he miss the most time last season, going down for the year in week 2, but his above average 2024 season is the only such season of his 3-year career at this point, between last year’s injury shortened campaign and a rookie season in 2023 in which he struggled mightily. It is possible his rookie struggles are well behind him and that he will also put 2025’s injury behind him as well, but his success has come in a limited sample size thus far.

Left guard Ben Bredeson also missed 6 games with injury last season, although he was a below average starter, so he wasn’t really missed. He has started 44 games over the past three seasons and will remain the Buccaneers’ starting left guard this season, but he has consistently been a liability and figures to continue struggling in 2026. Graham Barton, meanwhile, remains at center, where he has been a solid starter over the past two seasons, although he is a 2024 1st round pick who is only going into his age 24 season, so he could have further untapped potential and could have his best year yet in 2026.

With Wirfs and Goedeke missing time last season, Charlie Heck made 6 starts, but he was a major liability. He has been replaced as the swing tackle by free agent addition Justin Skule, who figures to be a noticeable upgrade, providing average tackle play in 26 starts as an injury replacement over the past 6 seasons. Depth is still suspect at guard though, where Dan Feeney (10 starts) and Michael Jordan (9 starts) were below average as the fill-ins last season. Feeney, who has mostly struggled in 75 career starts and who is now going into his age 32 season, will likely be the top reserve guard again, with only 5th round rookie Billy Schrauth being added as competition. This should be a healthier and overall much better offensive line than a year ago though.

Grade: A-

Running Backs

Lead back Bucky Irving also missed significant time with injury last season though, missing seven games, and he wasn’t nearly as good in 2025 as he was in 2024 even when on the field, dropping from 5.42 YPC to a 3.40 YPC. Irving also saw his yards per carry after contact drop from 4.03 to 2.33, his missed tackle rate drop from 25.6% to 17.9%, and his carry success rate drop from 55.1% to 41.6%. Injuries are probably partially to blame, but Irving only averaged 3.34 YPC even before missing time with injury, so Irving was probably also significantly hurt by the scheme change. Irving should be healthier in 2026 and has some bounce back potential, but he was only a 4th round pick in 2024 and it is very possible he never recaptures his rookie year magic.

Irving still led the team in carries and rushing yards, as he averaged 17.3 carries per game when on the field, up from 12.2 as a rookie. In the seven games he missed, backups Rachaad White and Sean Tucker split carries 81 and 62 and, on the season, they finished with 132 carries and 86 carries respectively. White was also heavily involved as a pass catcher, leading Buccaneers running backs with 45 targets, although he only turned them into a 40/218/0 slash line and 0.72 yards per route run.

White was not retained as a free agent this off-season, but they brought in Kenneth Gainwell to replace him, which isn’t a huge difference. Gainwell has only had 394 carries in 5 seasons in the league, but he had a career high 114 last season and averaged 4.71 YPC, up from 4.23 YPC in his first four seasons in the league. Like White, Gainwell will be heavily involved as a receiver, where he has averaged 1.15 yards per route run in his career, including 1.47 yards per route run last season. Irving has also been a solid receiver thus far in his career, with a 47/392/0 slash line with 1.63 yards per route run as a rookie and a 30/277/3 slash line with 1.49 yards per route run last season.

Sean Tucker remains as the #3 back and would likely split time with Gainwell if Irving missed more time with injury this season. Tucker went undrafted in 2023, but has averaged 4.31 YPC on 151 carries in three seasons in the league, with 2.60 yards per carry after contact, a 12.6% missed tackle rate, a 48.3% carry success rate, and a 1.33 yards per route run average. This isn’t a bad backfield, but so much of their projection is based on whether or not Bucky Irving can bounce back, which is a significant uncertainty.

Grade: B+

Edge Defenders

While the Buccaneers’ offense should be better due to better health, the Buccaneers’ defense is likely to be about the same as last season, when they ranked 21st in schedule adjusted efficiency. They are better in some areas, but worse in others. One of those areas they are better at is the edge defender position, primarily because of Reuben Bain, who was a steal with the 15th overall pick. Not only did Bain have the talent to be a top-10 or even top-5 pick, but he also fills the Buccaneers’ biggest need at the edge defender position. He might not have a massive upside, but he was very NFL ready and should have an instant impact. 

Bain will start immediately opposite Yaya Diaby, the Buccaneers’ only above average edge defender last season. Diaby led this team with 7 sacks and added 12 hits and a 13.7% pressure rate as well as solid run defense. A 3rd round pick in 2023, Diaby played similarly in a breakout year in 2024, with 4.5 sacks, 14 hits, and a 14.6% pressure rate, while again providing solid run defense. He should continue playing at a similar level in 2026.

The Buccaneers also added Al-Quadin Muhammad in free agency, Muhammad had a very impressive 2025 season, totaling 11 sacks, 10 hits, and a 15.0% pressure rate, but that came out of nowhere, as he had just 15 sacks, 25 hits, and a 7.8% pressure rate in 93 career games prior to last season and was out of the league completely in 2023, before only playing 254 snaps in 2024. Muhammad is now heading into his age 31 season, so it seems highly unlikely he will come close to repeating his career best 2025 campaign, but he could still be a solid rotational player for the Buccaneers.

Anthony Nelson and Chris Braswell also remain on the roster as holdovers. Nelson has never been more than an average rotational player and has averaged just 405 snaps per season in seven seasons in the league, but as far as #4 edge defenders go, you could do a lot worse. Braswell, meanwhile, has shown next to nothing on 611 career snaps in two seasons in the league, but he is a 2024 2nd round pick who is still only going into his age 25 season, so he could still have untapped upside. This is a solid position group with good depth.

Grade: B

Interior Defenders

The Buccaneers lost interior defender Logan Hall this off-season, after he was a solid all-around interior defender across 611 snaps last season, playing decently against the run and pressuring the quarterback at a 8.9% rate. To replace him, the Buccaneers signed veteran A’Shawn Robinson. Robinson had a similar season in 2025 to Hall, playing 658 snaps, playing decently against the run and pressuring the quarterback at a 8.9% rate, but he is going into his age 31 season and last season was one of the best in his career, with his 31 total pressures being a career high, so it seems unlikely he will be as good in 2026 as he was in 2025.

The Buccaneers are at least getting Calijah Kancey back from a torn pectoral that cost him most of last season, when he played just 97 snaps in 3 games. Kancey is a below average run defender, but he has totaled 11.5 sacks, 19 hits, and a 9.8% pressure rate in 29 career games and the 2023 1st round pick is still only going into his age 25 season and still has time to improve as a run defender. He has had durability issues through his career, missing at least three games in all three seasons in the league, but he will almost definitely play more games in 2026 than 2025.

Vita Vea is the Buccaneers’ best interior defender and has been for years, playing at an above average level against the run and as a pass rusher throughout his career. In total, he has 35 career sacks, with 44 hits and a 10.1% pressure rate in 112 career games. The concern is he is going into his age 31 season and, while he has yet to start declining, he could easily decline at least somewhat this season, which would hurt the Buccaneers’ defense.

Elijah Roberts, a 2025 5th round pick, also will continue playing a significant role, after playing a significant role as a rookie (506 snaps). Roberts was at his best as a pass rusher, with a 8.3% pressure rate, while struggling against the run. He could take a step forward in year two, but he didn’t come into the league with a high upside so he might max out as a solid rotational player. This is a decent, but unspectacular position group overall, especially if Vita Vea starts to decline this season.

Grade: B

Linebackers

The Buccaneers also did well with their second round draft pick, getting a good value in Josiah Trotter, who also filled a huge need at linebacker. Linebacker was a big weakness of this defense last season and that weakness only got worse when Lavonte David retired this off-season, after being the Buccaneers’ best linebacker by default last season, despite being washed up. Trotter and Anzalone will only be upgrades by default though, as Trotter could struggle through growing pains as a rookie, while Anzalone is a consistently average and experienced starter (93 career starts in 111 games), but is now heading into his age 32 season.

Sir’Vocea Dennis, who was one of the worst starting linebackers in the league last season as the other starter opposite Lavonte David, is still on the roster, but will be no higher than third on the depth chart and he could be outside of the top-3 entirely, with Christian Rozeboom also being added this off-season. Rozeboom has been below average on snap counts of 522, 828, and 823 over the past three seasons respectively, but was still better by default than Dennis was in the only full season as a starter in his career last season. This is still an underwhelming linebacking corps, but they should be better than last season by default.

Grade: C+

Secondary

The Buccaneers’ biggest loss on defense this off-season is top cornerback Jamel Dean, who was above average across 661 snaps in 14 games last season. The Buccaneers didn’t really replace him, only using a 4th round pick on Keionte Scott, who was a great value, but is still highly unlikely to be able to replace Dean in year one. Instead, the Buccaneers will be counting on a pair of second year cornerbacks taking a step forward, 2025 2nd round pick Benjamin Morrison and 2025 3rd round pick Jacob Parrish. 

Parrish was actually the better of the two as a rookie, playing at a slightly above average level across 747 snaps, and it wouldn’t be a surprise at all if he took a step forward in year two and became an above average starter. Morrison, meanwhile, actually struggled as a rookie across 360 snaps and, even if he does improve in year two, he has a long way to go to even be an average starter. He will likely be the #3 cornerback behind Parrish and Zyon McCollum, a decent, but unspectacular starter across 30 starts over the past two seasons. If Morrison continues to struggle or if one of their top-3 cornerbacks get hurt, the rookie Scott would likely take over.

The Buccaneers are better at safety, where Antoine Winfield and Tykee Smith remain as the starters. Winfield is an above average starter in his prime in his age 28 season. Meanwhile, Smith is a solid starter in his own right and, still only in his age 25 season, the 2024 3rd round pick could still get better going forward. This is a solid secondary overall, but they figure to be hurt by the loss of their top cornerback Jamel Dean in free agency.

Grade: B+

Kickers

Chase McLaughlin had a bit of a down year in 2025, only contributing about 0.49 points above an average kicker, after contributing 19.53 points above an above kicker from 2022-2024. In 2024, he ranked third in the league with 9.64 points added above average. Kickers tend to be inconsistent though and McLaughlin should still be in his prime in his age 30 season, so he has obvious bounce back potential in 2026. He probably isn’t one of the best kickers in the league, but he is at least an above average option.

Grade: B+

Conclusion

The Buccaneers should be better in 2026 than 2025, particularly on offense, where they should have better health. However, they were a little worse than their 8-9 record suggested in 2026, only winning by more than 3 points twice all season, so, even if they are better in 2026, they might not necessarily win more games and get back into the post-season. The good news is they play in arguably the worst division in the league, so a division title is within reach even if they aren’t that good.

Prediction: 8-9, 1st in NFC South