Assessing Buccaneers Roster Needs Post-Free Agency

With the bulk of free agency firmly in the rearview mirror and the 2026 NFL Draft roughly 4 weeks away, it’s time to break out the trusty Bucs Nation thermostat to measure how needy the Buccaneers are, position by position.

It’s been a significant off-season thus far for Tampa Bay, with a flurry of names of coming and (mostly) going as the coaching staff quite possibly faces its make-it-or-break-it season in a few months. Is the roster in good enough shape to show substantial progress or, at the least, an acceptable plateau from recent seasons that have seen a great deal of oscillation between good and not-so-good?

Let’s evaluate some Buccaneers roster needs and try to gather where the team might look to improve in the draft.

Quarterback

Roster: Baker Mayfield, Jake Browning, Connor Bazelak

Temperature Check: Cold

We might see a 180-degree turn on this one a year from now, but currently it’s a room that’s basically solidified already.

Baker Mayfield has tallied one good season, one great season, and one not-so-great season during his time with the Bucs — will he do enough to sway decision makers that he has more of the first two years in him than whatever 2026 was? It’s a pivotal question, as Mayfield has shown the chops to be an dynamic playmaker and passionate leader at his best, but also someone too confident and too stubborn at his worst. The latter traits led to poor decisions with the ball and, one could argue, several injuries that also affected his play.

At 31 years old with his build, this might be his last chance to prove he deserves a long-term payday in this league.

Tampa signed Jake Browning to be Mayfield’s new backup after an uninspiring stint from Teddy Bridgewater last year. Browning has shown capability to drive the car aptly in limited stints, mostly in 2023 (7 starts, 12-7 TD:INT ratio), but in 2025 he was significantly worse (3 starts, 6-8 TD:INT ratio). If he needs to play for any reason in 2026, hopefully the team will see the 2023 version.

Bazelak showed some goods in preseason last year for Tampa, so he’ll get the chance to do more of the same as QB3 this year.

Running Back

Roster: Bucky Irving, Kenny Gainwell, Sean Tucker, Josh Williams, Owen Wright

Temperature Check: Cold

The Bucs lost a reliable third-down option in Rachaad White, who signed with the Washington Commanders, but gained one of similar quality with Gainwell, who the Bucs inked to a 2-year deal early in free agency. It’s probably safe to say White is a better pure runner and slightly more reliable in pass protection due to his larger size (3” taller and 15 pounds heavier), but there is zero debate that Gainwell is far more explosive and threatening with the ball in his hands. After setting career highs in rushing and receiving yards, as well as TDs, the 27-year-old is primed to have a significant role in new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson’s offense.

Irving dealt with multiple severe injuries last season and didn’t look like who he established himself as in Liam Coen’s offense in 2024. So 2026 will be the chance to prove that his best qualities can rise to the top in an offense that should be more cohesive than Josh Grizzard’s. If not, there’s no guarantee he’ll be around in a starring role come 2027.

Sean Tucker provided some nice pop at various points last season, including pacing the team in rushing touchdowns with 7. He was the only one remotely reliable in goal-line situations, so hopefully he can keep offering value there.

Williams got suspended for PED use last season but the team seemed to like him as a special teamer so he’ll get another chance this preseason, as well Owen Wright.

Wide Receiver

Roster: Chris Godwin, Emeka Egbuka, Jalen McMillan, Tez Johnson, Kameron Johnson, Garrett Greene, Dennis Houston, Jaden Smith

Temperature Check: Warm

Losing Mike Evans to the 49ers is, and will be, a spear to the heart for any Buccaneers fan from a sentimental perspective. But even beyond that, a simple truth is that Evans can still ball, and the Bucs currently employ no one who adequately replicates his skillset.

Their primary man beater and deep threat (though he was consistently reliable in the intermediate parts of the field as well), Evans’s absence at the “X” alignment will demand much more out of younger guys. A first-round rookie, Egbuka raced out to a historic start in the first half of the season but slowed down significantly after defenses started keying on him and playing more man coverage from which he struggled to separate. He’s still young with plenty of upside, so no need to be too panicked, but it will be a key challenge for the 23-year-old.

McMillan missed most of the season with a broken neck, but he showed some serious flashes when he returned. He showed the ability to beat man and zone coverage, finishing with 12 catches for 178 yards in 4 games (2 starts). It was a small sample size, but given that and his hot stretch to conclude 2024, fans should be excited to see what he can do in Year 3.

Godwin has never been a traditional X type of player, and that’s fine since he plays short-yardage and screen situations so well thanks to his field awareness and YAC ability. Expect him to handle more of the same. Tez Johnson can torch various coverages but his diminutive size will always inhibit his ceiling since he’s not an elite athlete to compensate.

The rest of these guys are practice squad/bottom-of-roster longshots who won’t be included in any long-term plans unless they absolutely marvel decision-makers out of nowhere.

So with that said, the Bucs adding a receiver with some size who can at least take snaps at the X is definitely not out of the question. Would it be Round 1 again? Unlikely but Jason Licht and Co. have shown they sternly believe in their BPA approach.

On Days 2 or 3, keep an eye on names like Notre Dame’s Malachi Fields, Georgia State’s Ted Hurst, Texas Tech’s Reggie Virgil, or Florida’s J. Michael Sturdivant.

Tight End

Roster: Cade Otton, Payne Durham, Ko Kieft, Devin Culp

Temperature Check: Warm

The Bucs re-signed Cade Otton to a modest extension that keeps him as the team’s TE1 for now, a role which he filled admirably for the last couple seasons. He’ll never be a dynamic playmaker, but Otton is savvy and has become a better blocker in every year he’s played, so you could do a lot worse.

However, the spots behind him leave a decent bit to be desired and could do for an upgrade, especially given that Zac Robinson has an affinity for running 12-personnel (two tight ends). Payne Durham is fine, but isn’t a good enough blocker to make up for his complete lack of juice in the pass game. Devin Culp is all juice with zero blocking chops, and he just hasn’t impressed enough to dissuade the team from seeking upgrades. Ko Kieft is a special teams player primarily who can block here and there pretty well so it seems likely he will stick around.

The Kenyon Sadiq in Round 1 hype has seemed to die down for Tampa, as it probably should have given the team’s other needs. However, seeing an upside investment in late Day 2 or early Day 3 wouldn’t be too eye-opening.

Names like Georgia’s Oscar Delp, Stanford’s Sam Roush, Cincinnati’s Joe Royer, or Texas A&M’s Nate Boerkircher.

Offensive Tackle

Roster: Tristan Wirfs, Luke Goedeke, Benjamin Chukwuma, Marshall Foerner

Temperature Check: Cold

Not too much to speculate on here.

Not only do the Bucs have arguably the league’s best left tackle in his prime, but they also have a upper-tier starter at right tackle with Goedeke. A top-5 tandem in the NFL, the Bucs are set on the edges, injuries permitting.

However, even then it seems the team has unearthed another UDFA gem in Ben Chukwuma, who began playing football at 18 and started just 12 games at Georgia State before not only making Tampa’s 53-man roster but also starting 2 games. And in those two starts, he actually held up well and showed the upside of a high-end swing tackle.

The Bucs also added former top D-II tackle Marshall Foerner on a futures deal, so he’ll get his chance to earn a practice squad spot.

Interior Offensive Line

Roster: Ben Bredeson, Graham Barton, Cody Mauch, Elijah Klein, Dan Feeney, Luke Haggard, Ben Scott

Temperature Check: Hot

The interior OL sabotaged the Bucs’ offense for a huge chunk of 2025, as consistency never found its way to the unit. The Bucs played starting center Graham Barton out of position at left tackle for several weeks while Tristan Wirfs recovered from off-season knee injury, while Cody Mauch and Ben Bredeson missed 15 and 6 games respectively due to injuries.

Add in that even the backups got hurt, like Mike Jordan and Luke Haggard, and the Bucs needed to rely a mish-mash of retreads to keep the offensive line functioning. How they managed to not be absolutely horrible is a testament to OL coach Kevin Carberry, but you can bet the team will not want to go through a similar spin cycle again.

On top of that, there is little long-term certainty at guard or center right now. Cody Mauch looked very good in his second season but then lost basically all of 2025, so he will be playing the final year of his rookie deal with big expectations this season. Graham Barton is a former first-rounder who has not taken a shine to the center position like the team has hoped, despite excellent athletic talent and big-time “wow” moments on tape. His future might be as a guard.

So overall, this is a weak spot depth-wise that could spread into starter territory if there aren’t some decent investments made in the next 12 months.

If the Bucs decide to add via the draft, Day 2 considerations might include Georgia Tech’s Keylan Rutledge, Notre Dame’s Billy Schrauth, or Duke’s Brian Parker II. Day 3 names might include Oregon’s Alex Harkey or Indiana’s Pat Coogan.

Defensive Line

Roster: Calijah Kancey, A’Shawn Robinson, Vita Vea, Elijah Roberts, Elijah Simmons, Nash Hutmacher, Jayson Jones

Temperature Check: Hot

The Bucs’ entire front 7 is currently in flux, and as such it needs investments everywhere.

They got off to a good start bringing in veteran A’Shawn Robinson, who is a burly run crusher that will add much-needed size and attitude to the defensive line. He should be a good compliment to the more nuanced Calijah Kancey and Elijah Roberts. Kancey has shown excellent flashes but simply cannot remain healthy, as he has played in just 29 games in three seasons. Roberts showed some pass-rushing acumen as a rookie last year so he’ll get notable snaps.

Vita Vea, who’s been everything the team could’ve asked of a nose tackle picked top 15, is on the wrong side of 30 and entering the final year of his deal. There were signs of slowing in 2025, so we’re close to the end of the massive Polynesian’s excellent Tampa tenure.

The 334-pound Elijah Simmons played well as a rookie two-down run stuffer, so the team might have something with him, but it’s probably best not to bet on that exclusively. Hutmacher and Jones are just futures contract camp bodies.

Unfortunately, this is a shallow defensive line class in the way the Bucs traditionally view the position. Threading the needle on value vs. need will be tricky, but don’t surprised if they pull the trigger on someone who aligns with that ideal.

In Round 1, Auburn’s Keldric Faulk needs to be considered. Florida’s Caleb Banks was probably in that conversation as well, but he has a persistent history with foot injuries that culminated in him breaking his foot right before the Scouting Combine. That feels unwise given the team’s issues with its current first-round defensive tackle.

Day 2 names might include Georgia’s Christen Miller or Ole Miss’s Zxavian Harris. Day 3 prospects feature Missouri’s Chris McClellan or Clemson’s DeMonte Capehart.

Edge Rusher

Roster: Yaya Diaby, Al-Quadin Muhammad, David Walker, Chris Braswell, Anthony Nelson, Mohamed Kamara

Temperature Check: Hot

Improving the pass rush is paramount for Todd Bowles’s defense. Signing a player who tallied 11 sacks in 2025, on paper, is great, but ultimately Muhammad is a 31-year-old journeyman who played across from an elite edge in Aidan Hutchinson. Could he be useful? Absolutely, but expecting a huge late-career breakout feels ambitious at best and hubristic at worst.

Yaya Diaby has been a good-to-very-good player for all three seasons of his Tampa tenure (19 total sacks, 38 tackles for loss), though that much-anticipated next step has alluded him. How he performs this year will determine how expensive his extension will be, though you can bet the Bucs would like to keep him around.

Chris Braswell, a second-round pick in 2024, has been a complete bust to this point with just 2.5 sacks and less than 30% of defensive snaps played. He’s firmly on the cut radar entering camp unless he can figure something out fast. Anthony Nelson has been reliable depth player for 7 years but there’s a clear ceiling and expecting much out of him is unrealistic at this point. Useful, but has no business playing 40%-plus of snaps like he has been in recent years.

Many reports since last year’s draft emphasized how excited Tampa was for David Walker, a fourth-round pick who produced gaudy numbers in the FCS but tore his ACL in training camp. If they’re getting what they hoped, that being a juiced-up rotational edge, that will help the situation a lot.

However, it would once again be very dicey to assume that’s all going to work out as planned. The truth is that the roster needs high-end quarterback hunting skill now, and this draft has all kinds of rushers to fill that need.

Day 1, keep an eye on names like Miami’s Akheem Mesidor, UCF’s Malachi Lawrence, Clemson’s T.J. Parker, or Texas A&M’s Cashius Howell. Day 2 prospects include Illinois’s Gabe Jacas, Auburn’s Keyron Crawford, or Oklahoma’s R Mason Thomas. Day 3 would be disappointing, but perhaps someone like Western Michigan’s Nadame Tucker or Texas’s Trey Moore could be an unearthed gem.

Inside Linebacker

Roster: Alex Anzalone, SirVocea Dennis, Christian Rozeboom, Nick Jackson

Temperature Check: Inferno

With the official retirement of Lavonte David after 14 illustrious seasons, the Bucs are moving into the new era at linebacker — and it absolutely must be addressed with a top-50 pick, and any other result is a failure.

Signing Anzalone to a 2-year deal on the first day of free agency was a wise move, as Anzalone has been a very reliable player for a long time, and especially so in pass coverage. He’ll raise the floor quite a bit compared to what the Bucs fielded last year, but he’s also going to be 32 so he is not a long-term answer.

SirVocea Dennis got trusted to step up into a starting role opposite David in 2025, and he absolutely floundered. He’s simply not athletic enough to handle what linebackers are asked to do in this defense, and the mental errors only intensified the issue. He’s best as a depth piece, as is new signee Christian Rozeboom.

We could go so far as to say the Bucs should draft multiple linebackers come April.

When talking Day 1, Ohio State’s Sonny Styles is obviously the pipe dream, but more realistic targets might be C.J. Allen of Georgia or Jacob Rodriguez of Texas Tech after a trade-down to acquire more draft capital and fill the position at better value. If waiting until Day 2, other names include Missouri’s Josiah Trotter and Texas’s Anthony Hill in Round 2, while Round 3 might yield talents like LSU’s Harold Perkins Jr. and Michigan’s Jimmy Rolder.

Day 3 prospects include Bryce Boettcher from Oregon, Alabama’s Justin Jefferson, or Arizona State’s Keyshaun Elliott.

Cornerback

Roster: Zyon McCollum, Benjamin Morrison, Jacob Parrish, Josh Hayes, Damarion Williams

Temperature: Warm

The Buccaneers attacked their secondary needs in the draft last year by bringing in Ben Morrison and Jacob Parrish on Day 2, but more work still needs done after Jamel Dean left in free agency and Zyon McCollum took a big step back in 2025.

There’s currently little promising depth at outside corner, and free agency should still be scoured for battle-tested veterans, but it wouldn’t hurt to consider more youthful options in a fairly deep draft.

Day 1 seems unlikely, given how much has been invested into McCollum and Morrison, but you can never say never with talened players like Tennessee’s Jermod McCoy or Clemson’s Avieon Terrell.

It’s more likely late Day 2 or early Day 3 is the spot to hunt, with names like Georgia’s Daylen Everette, Washington’s duo of Tacario Davis and Ephesians Prysock, and Florida’s Devin Moore all intriguing names to play outside corner.

If the team wanted to play Parrish more on the outside, which he did do some last year, they might look for more nickel-oriented prospects like Oregon’s Jadon Canady or Duke’s Chandler Rivers.

Safety

Roster: Antoine Winfield Jr., Tykee Smith, J.J. Roberts, Rashad Wisdom, Miles Killebrew, Marcus Banks

Temperature Check: Lukewarm

The Bucs possess one of the best safety tandems in football between Antoine Winfield Jr. and Tykee Smith, but they don’t necessarily have a capable third option — a position which does see consistent play in Bowles’s defense in its optimal form (see the combination of Winfield, Jordan Whitehead, and Mike Edwards).

J.J. Roberts, an undrafted free agent in 2025, turned heads in training camp but tore his ACL in the preseason before getting a chance to show what he could do in meaningful action. In addition to rehabbing from a brutal injury, Roberts will need to prove himself all over again. He’ll contest with Rashad Wisdom and Marcus Banks, both of whom the team seems to like well enough as practice squad regulars / special-teamers.

The Bucs also signed Miles Killebrew, but the 33-year-old is here exclusively for special teams help. An All-Pro and Pro Bowl special teamer he might be, but a suitable defensive player he is not.

If any draft adds happen at this position, it will likely be Day 3. Arizona’s Dalton Johnson, Kansas State’s VJ Payne, and Oklahoma’s Robert Spears-Jennings could all pique the team’s interest in the later rounds.

Assessing Buccaneers Roster Needs Post-Free Agency

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