The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defied expectations in 2023, profitable their third consecutive NFC South title and first with out Tom Brady since Jeff Garcia was their beginning quarterback.
The Buccaneers aren’t used to prosperity, and listed here are three explanation why their bubble will burst in 2024.
1. One-hit surprise?
It is simple to overlook, however there is a motive why Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield could not latch onto a beginning job in his first two NFL properties when the function was his to lose and solely obtained a flier from the Tampa Bay entrance workplace throughout the 2023 offseason.
Mayfield struggled close to the tip of his time with the Browns and his whole six-game stint with the Panthers. At this level final 12 months, the concept Mayfield was price a three-year, $100 million contract — which he signed in March — would have been preposterous.
However the No. 1 total choose of the 2018 NFL Draft had his greatest season as a professional in 2023, posting profession highs in completion proportion (64.3), yards (4,044) and touchdowns (28).
What occurs if Mayfield’s horse-drawn carriage turns again right into a pumpkin?
Tampa Bay is not set as much as succeed if Mayfield falls quick, with John Wolford, Kyle Trask and undrafted 2024 free agent Zack Annexstad the opposite quarterbacks on its roster.
2. Lack of former offensive coordinator Dave Canales
Quarterback whisperer Dave Canales is gone, leaving Tampa after one season to change into head coach for the division-rival Panthers. Over the previous two seasons, Mayfield and Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith have netted large paydays after working alongside Canales, and the way his departure impacts the Bucs offense is price monitoring.
The workforce employed 2023 Kentucky offensive coordinator and former Rams offensive coordinator Liam Coen (2022) to exchange Canales. Coen is aware of Mayfield from his transient run in Los Angeles, which included a 98-yard profitable drive in opposition to the Raiders and a 51-14 win over the hapless Broncos.
Nonetheless, the Rams completed final in complete offense in Coen’s lone season as offensive coordinator. Whereas accidents contributed mightily to that workforce’s struggles, they weren’t significantly efficient when quarterback Matthew Stafford and broad receiver Cooper Kupp had been wholesome, both. Los Angeles averaged 16.4 factors within the eight video games Stafford and Kupp had been each energetic.
3. No speeding offense
The Bucs have not had a good speeding assault for practically a decade. The final time they’d a top-10 rush offense was in 2015, they usually’ve ranked final in every of the previous two seasons. At a sure level, that kind of ineptitude has to meet up with them, proper?
Tampa Bay wants a giant season from rookie first-round choose Graham Barton, a middle out of Duke, and a serious second-year leap from 2023 second-rounder Cody Mauch, who was graded as one of many league’s worst guards by Professional Soccer Focus as a rookie, rating 74th out of 79 qualifying guards.
The workforce additionally lacks top-end expertise at working again. ESPN’s Mike Clays locations the Bucs’ RB unit twenty second as a part of his 2024 NFL Projection Information.
