The Buccaneers have high hopes for 2025, coming off their fourth-straight NFC South title and fifth-straight playoff berth. Tampa Bay is in a position to repeat or even improve, particularly if a few things tilt their way.

The offense mostly needs to maintain its success from last year. On defense, the best they can hope for is pure playmaking, more sacks, and more turnovers from their budding and established stars.

Here are the best-case scenarios for the Bucs during the 2025 season:

Calijah Kancey and an outside linebacker combine for over 20 sacks

There is some young talent that could break the Bucs’ double-digit sack drought and revive its moribund pass rush. The player closest to 10 sacks last year was Calijah Kancey, who has the speed and hands to win a lot of pass rush reps, including 40 pressures in 2024.

Ideally, Kancey will eclipse these figures not only by staying healthy but also by continuing to improve his game. Ten sacks are well within reach, but his ultimate goal should be to be a more consistently disruptive pass rusher.

The third-year defensive tackle should not be alone in reviving the Bucs’ sack figures. Yaya Diaby was the Bucs’ most disruptive pass rusher last season, leading the team with 70 pressures per PFF. He is the most obvious candidate among the Bucs’ outside linebackers to join Kancey in the double-digit sack club. Runner-up would be Haason Reddick, once a reliable sack artist who is looking to return to his quarterback-tackling ways.

Chris Godwin and Mike Evans each finish the season with over 1000 receiving yards

After 11 seasons, it is practically a foregone conclusion that Mike Evans will finish the 2025 season with at least 1000 receiving yards. The question is whether Chris Godwin Jr. will be able to recapture the magic he was playing with last season.

Godwin was arguably the most effective wide receiver in the NFL in the first seven weeks of the 2024 season, leading the league in catches, catch rate, and first downs. His season ended with a dislocated ankle in Week 7, an injury that may impact at least the start of the 2025 season.

Should Godwin finish 2025 with at least 1000 receiving yards, it means he bounced back relatively quickly and almost certainly finished the season. It also means the Bucs’ passing offense was likely every bit as potent as it was in 2024, when it finished top-five in most metrics.

The Bucs’ offensive line misses no more than one starter in any given game

Among the worst things that can happen to an NFL offense is a multitude of injuries or other losses along the offensive line. The Bucs experienced this in 2022 when they lost Ryan Jensen, Ali Marpet, and Alex Cappa. The hollowed-out interior was a big reason why the Bucs recorded their only negative offensive EPA in 2022.

In 2024, the Bucs’ offense started off shaky while right tackle Luke Goedeke recovered from a concussion. The offensive line was healthy afterwards and was the foundation of Tampa Bay’s top-five offense, as it should be again. 

Returning all five starters, the offensive line is the key to the Bucs maintaining a league-leading offense even amid a change at offensive coordinator. A healthy offensive line throughout 2025 means a solid run game, an effective pass game, and likely another NFC South title.

Antoine Winfield Jr. forces at least five turnovers

Last season was arguably the worst of Antoine Winfield Jr.’s career. He missed eight games due to injury, and for the first time in his NFL career, he recorded no interceptions or forced fumbles. His struggles mirrored the defense’s overall, or perhaps vice versa.

When healthy, Winfield Jr. is one of the best safeties in the NFL and the Bucs’ best and most reliable playmaker. He drives the high-end play of the defense. Winfield Jr. recorded five takeaways in 2021 and 2023. 2021 was the Bucs defense’s best year under Bowles by EPA, and in 2023, Winfield Jr. single-handedly prevented two losses with key forced fumbles. 

Winfield Jr.’s playmaking is directly related to Tampa Bay’s defensive success. Five turnovers from Winfield Jr. in 2025 would be instrumental in pulling the defense out of its 2024 doldrums.