{"id":834451,"date":"2026-03-26T08:27:34","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T08:27:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/834451\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T08:27:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T08:27:34","slug":"young-receivers-must-step-up-joebucsfan-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/834451\/","title":{"rendered":"Young Receivers Must Step Up – JoeBucsFan.com"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cTodd, we already have the next Chris Jones on the roster. I can feel it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe has, unlike many, maintained the Bucs took two steps back in free agency.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not what you want to see from a team that finished with a losing record and watched the playoffs from their couches, just like you and Joe.<\/p>\n

Arrow pointing down.<\/p>\n

Joe frankly does not know how anyone can say the Bucs improved by letting a Hall of Fame receiver and your best cornerback bolt to teams where they boasted they\u2019re chasing another ring.<\/p>\n

Not good.<\/p>\n

Gilberto Manzano of SI.com isn\u2019t as harsh as Joe in his grade, giving the Bucs a \u201cC+\u201d for free agency. However, Manzano typed that to him, it\u2019s clear how the Bucs could end up winning free agency: If the young Bucs receivers step up<\/a> and make Bucs fans forget Mike Evans.<\/p>\n

The Buccaneers have plenty of depth at wide receiver to account for the loss of Evans. Still, they\u2019re going to need their young playmakers to grow up in a hurry, remain available and play consistently throughout the season. On the other side of the ball, a subpar defensive front needed help. Robinson and Muhammad aren\u2019t star players, but they\u2019re dependable veterans who will provide plenty of flexibility for Todd Bowles\u2019s defense.<\/p>\n

Joe got to thinking yesterday that maybe Bucs AC\/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht won\u2019t draft an edge rusher at No. 15.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not that the Bucs don\u2019t need an edge rusher. Good golly, they need one so, so badly. But let\u2019s think this through.<\/p>\n

Now does Joe think Licht is a little premature hyping a guy coming off knee surgery who not only has never taken a snap in a game, but has yet to complete a padded practice? Yeah, Joe thought Licht was a bit much in hyping David Walker at the combine.<\/p>\n

(Joe guesses last year it was Chris Braswell\u2019s offseason to get hyped and now it\u2019s Walker\u2019s turn.)<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s say Licht really was fully sincere that the Bucs are sitting on the next Bruce Smith. Licht (thankfully) just signed a double-digit sack guy in Al-Quadin Muhammad who also has a bunch of tackles for loss.<\/p>\n

Well, if you draft an edge rusher at No. 15, who sits? The rookie? The new guy you just paid (AQM)? Or the guy you\u2019ve been hyping, Walker? In theory, you want a No. 15 overall pick to be on the field, regardless of his position.<\/p>\n

If we are to believe that Licht really does believe Walker is the second coming, why would Licht then draft a guy at No. 15 who, at best, would take snaps away from Walker?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cTodd, we already have the next Chris Jones on the roster. I can feel it.\u201d Joe has, unlike…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":825045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2077],"tags":[211,2599,2598,7,6,704,250,2597,2596],"class_list":{"0":"post-834451","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa-bay-buccaneers","8":"tag-buccaneers","9":"tag-bucs-message-boards","10":"tag-bucs-news","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-tampa-bay","14":"tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","15":"tag-tampabay","16":"tag-tampabaybuccaneers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116294533723739996","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=834451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834451\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/825045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=834451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=834451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=834451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}