2025 NFL Season Preview: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last Year: 10-7)

Season Summary:
The Buccaneers were projected as a bottom-five team entering the 2023 season. They were able to win nine games, though many of their victories were very fluky. It’s highly unlikely that Tampa Bay has the same success next year unless it makes lots of upgrades.

2025 NFL Season Preview:

Veteran Additions:
OT Charlie Heck, OLB Haason Reddick, LB Anthony Walker, CB Kindle Vildor, P Riley Dixon.
Early Draft Picks:
WR Emeka Egbuka, CB Benjamin Morrison, CB Jacob Parrish, OLB David Walker. Buccaneers Rookie Forecast
Offseason Losses:
OT Justin Skule, C Robert Hainsey, DE William Gholston, OLB Shaq Barrett, OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, LB K.J. Britt, S Mike Edwards, S Ryan Neal.

2025 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Offense:
When former Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales took Carolina’s head-coaching job, the consensus belief was that Tampa Bay’s offense would suffer. Canales, after all, helped revive Baker Mayfield’s career. Instead, the Buccaneers were far better offensively in 2024 than they were in 2023, thanks to Liam Coen’s great coaching. They improved from 23rd in yardage to third, despite Mike Evans and Chris Godwin missing a combined 13 games.

The Buccaneers, however, will have to see lightning strike three times with a brilliant offensive coordinator hire because Coen is now head coach of the Jaguars. To compensate for this, the Buccaneers re-signed Godwin and then used the 19th-overall draft choice on Emeka Egbuka. Evans, now in his 30s, will continue to serve as the top receiver, while Godwin, Egbuka, and last year’s third-round pick, Jalen McMillan, fight for targets. There’s some belief that Godwin is not fully recovered from his injury because of the Egbuka selection, but either way, Mayfield will have tons of weapons at his disposal, including tight end Cade Otton, who is coming off a solid year.

Mayfield will also be able to deploy an effective rushing attack. Rachaad White is a gifted receiver out of the backfield, but isn’t a very good rusher. Last year’s fourth-round pick, Bucky Irving, stepped in and was tremendous. He was one of the best runners in the NFL and should have another strong year.

Irving and Mayfield will continue to see excellent blocking. The Buccaneers have one of the best left tackles in the NFL, as Tristan Wirfs is only 26 and has many great years ahead of him. His bookend is Luke Goedeke, who made a very smooth transition from guard to right tackle. Goedeke isn’t great, but he’s a solid starter.

Tampa Bay’s interior blocking isn’t as good, but the team has a stellar guard in Cody Mauch. A 2023 second-round pick, Mauch was a stellar blocker last year. The same can’t be said of 2024 first-rounder Graham Barton, who struggled as a rookie. Barton, however, has plenty of upside and could make a big leap in his sophomore campaign. If so, the lone liability on the front line will be guard Ben Bredeson.

2025 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defense:
While the Buccaneers didn’t make any player personnel changes on offense outside of the Emeka Ebguka selection, they spent more resources on their defense. They had to do this, given that their stop unit has surrendered the 18th- and 23rd-most yardage over the past two seasons.

The big acquisition in free agency was Haason Reddick, who could provide a huge boost to the pass rush. Reddick barely did anything last year because he held out for a while and then wasn’t in good shape when he finally joined the Jets. When motivated, however, Reddick can be an exceptional player both on the edge and in the middle of the field. The Buccaneers blitzed at the third-highest rate in the NFL last year because they couldn’t generate pressure naturally with players on the edge. YaYa Diaby led all outside linebackers with just 4.5 sacks, so Reddick, who will be looking for a big pay day once again, should provide an upgrade in that regard.

Most of Tampa Bay’s pass rush came from the defensive line. This obviously includes Vita Vea, arguably the best nose tackle in the NFL. Flanking Vea were Calijah Kancey and Logan Hall, who combined for 13 sacks. Kancey struggled as a rookie, but took a big leap in 2024, logging 7.5 sacks. Hall had a nice third season with 5.5 sacks.

The Buccaneers made more additions in a secondary, which is something they’ve needed to fix for years. They used two second-day picks on cornerbacks Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish. Morrison was considered a first-round prospect before injury concerns derailed his draft stock. If he remains healthy, he and Parrish will have a good chance to contribute, given the issues the Buccaneers have had at the position. This does not include Jamel Dean, who has generally been solid as a starting outside cornerback. Tykee Smith also had a decent 2024 season playing in the slot. A new starter was needed across from Dean, so that’s where Morrison could come into play.

Tampa Bay experienced some poor safety play as well last year. This stemmed from Antoine Winfield Jr. dealing with an injury that caused him to miss eight games. Even when he played, he wasn’t effective because he was reeling from foot and knee issues. Tampa Bay needed to find a new starter to play next to Winfield because Christian Izien is a rather poor defender, but the team failed to obtain help at the position.

Another new player added to the defense was Anthony Walker, who will start alongside Lavonte David, who returns for yet another season. David is not the same athlete he once was, but he still performed on a high level last year. Walker has been a quality linebacker when healthy, but he’s dealt with countless injuries over the years.

2025 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Schedule and Intangibles:
Prior to the 2009 season, the Buccaneers were 68-36 as hosts. However, they’ve maintained one of the worst home-field advantages in the NFL since. They’re 38-65-1 at the New Sombrero dating back to 2009. They were 6-3 and 8-2 in 2020 and 2021, respectively, which includes their Super Bowl win over the Chiefs. They’ve been 10-9 as hosts since 2023 despite making the playoffs both years.

Chase McLaughlin has enjoyed two great seasons in Tampa Bay. He was 29-of-31, including 7-of-8 from 50-plus in 2023. He was even better last season, going 30-of-32, including 8-of-10 from beyond 50.

The Buccaneers used a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft on punter Jake Camarda. This was a poor decision, as Camarda was 18th in net punting in his second season. Instead of Camarda, the Buccaneers could have taken Tariq Woolen, who was chosen about a dozen selections later. Camarda isn’t even on the team anymore, as the Buccaneers signed Riley Dixon, who was 13th in net punting last year. He did a great job of pinning the opposition inside the 20.

The Buccaneers have an easy schedule because they play in the NFC South. In addition to soft divisional opponents, they also get the Jets, Seahawks, Patriots, and Dolphins. They have to battle some tough teams, too, as they go against the Eagles, Lions, Bills, 49ers, and Rams.

2025 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Rookies:
Go here for the Buccaneers Rookie Forecast, a page with predictions like which rookie will bust and which rookie will become a solid starter.

2025 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Positional Rankings (1-5 stars):

Quarterbacks	Offensive Line	Secondary
Running Backs	Defensive Line	Special Teams
Receivers	Linebackers	Coaching

2025 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Analysis: The Buccaneers aren’t a great team, but they’re solid and play in an easy division. There’s a good chance they’ll make the playoffs as the No. 3 or 4 seed once again, but it doesn’t seem as though they have the defense to make a deep run into January.

Projection: 8-9 (2nd in NFC South)

2024 Projection: 5-12. 2024 Actual Result: 10-7.
2023 Projection: 2-15. 2023 Actual Result: 9-8.
2022 Projection: 12-5. 2022 Actual Result: 8-9.
2021 Projection: 15-2. 2021 Actual Result: 13-4.
2020 Projection: 14-2. 2020 Actual Result: 11-5.
2019 Projection: 7-9. 2019 Actual Result: 7-9.
2018 Projection: 2-14. 2018 Actual Result: 5-11.
2017 Projection: 10-6. 2017 Actual Result: 5-11.
2016 Projection: 7-9. 2016 Actual Result: 9-7.

NFL Draft Team Grade: C Grade

Goals Entering the 2025 NFL Draft: Tom Brady was the primary reason why the Buccaneers won the Super Bowl in 2020, but the great defense also played a big part. The defense has fallen off since, so numerous upgrades are needed on that side of the ball. With just five picks prior to Round 7, the Buccaneers need to spend most of their resources bolstering the stop unit.

2025 NFL Draft Accomplishments: The Buccaneers used their 19th-overall pick as if they were some rebuilding organization. Emeka Egbuka projects to be a good receiver in the NFL, but he’ll be fourth on the depth chart this year unless there are injuries. Thanks to how poor the NFC South is, the Buccaneers are in a position to win now. They needed someone, whether it was an edge rusher or a linebacker, who could help them prevail this season. Egbuka will not do that.

Fortunately for the Buccaneers, they made up for their first-round blunder over the next two days. They obtained a nice value with Benjamin Morrison in the middle of the second frame, though Morrison has injury concerns. David Walker was also a nice bargain in the fourth round. He, Morrison, and third-rounder Jacob Parrish will potentially fill glaring defensive needs.

Despite the second and third days saving the Buccaneers, they can’t be graded favorably. Given how tight the competition is with the Falcons in the division, Tampa Bay needed to come away with a strong class that could help this year, but the Egbuka pick doesn’t allow that to happen.

NFL Draft Individual Grades:

19. Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State – MILLEN Grade

HUUUUHHHHHH!?!??! What a strange pick. The Buccaneers not only re-signed Chris Godwin; they also drafted Jalen McMillan last year. Oh, and they have Mike Evans. Why do they need another receiver? What about the horrible defense? What is happening with this bizarre draft? This is a reach, and it doesn’t fill a need at all. A team drafting too many receivers sounds like a Millen to me.

53. Benjamin Morrison, CB, Notre Dame – A- Grade

I considered Benjamin Morrison to be a first-round prospect earlier in this draft process, but a hip injury pushed him down draft boards. Injuries can come and go, however, so Morrison has a ton of upside. He would potentially fill a big need that the Buccaneers have had to address for several years.

84. Jacob Parrish, CB, Kansas State – B Grade

Another cornerback makes sense for the Buccaneers, who haven’t been able to stop the pass for years. He was projected to be a third- or a fourth-round prospect, so this selection makes sense for multiple reasons.

121. David Walker, DE/OLB, Central Arkansas – A- Grade

This pick certainly fills a need, as the Buccaneers have had issues with their pass rush for years. David Walker is a dangerous pass rusher, though the level of competition is a concern. Still, he’s worth a gamble here in the fourth round.

157. Elijah Roberts, DE, SMU – B+ Grade

Another edge rusher for the Buccaneers makes sense, as does this range for Elijah Roberts. The SMU product was highly productive in school, and he should help get after Michael Penix Jr.

235. Tez Johnson, WR, Oregon – A Grade

I was wondering where Tez Johnson would go. I don’t know how he sees any playing time on offense, but he’ll be used on special teams. Johnson is small, but is a home run threat.

Follow me @walterfootball for updates.