The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been building something special for quite some time. The Tom Brady era has come and gone, but the team has still won two NFC South titles in a row and won a playoff game without him — and it’s looking to continue the cycle in 2025.
General manager Jason Licht did some good work in the offseason, bringing back free agents and adding in the draft. The Bucs are retaining their entire offense from last year’s campaign, but they’re also adding more players with drafted wide receivers Emeka Egbuka and Tez Johnson. Meanwhile, the defense has retooled itself significantly, bringing in pass rusher Haason Reddick and drafting defensive players in Benjamin Morrison, Jacob Parrish, David Walker and Elijah Roberts.
The Bucs are looking to field a competitive team this year in hopes of making a big playoff run, and Pro Football Focus thinks they may be able to make it happen. PFF ranked every NFL roster by strength, and they have the Bucs at No. 10.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving makes a touchdown catch against Washington Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
PFF has Tampa Bay’s biggest strength on the offensive side of the ball, praising the continuity on the roster in that respect.
“With the addition of the dynamic Bucky Irving to the team’s backfield, the Buccaneers boasted one of the NFL’s most balanced offenses last season. They ranked among the top nine teams in PFF passing grade, PFF rushing grade, PFF receiving grade and PFF pass-blocking grade in 2024. The only other teams to accomplish that feat last season were the Falcons and Ravens.”
On the flip side, PFF believes Tampa Bay’s pass defense is the most glaring weakness on the team.
“On the other side of the ball, the Buccaneers struggled to stop the pass up front and in the secondary. They ranked 21st and 18th in PFF pass-rush grade and PFF coverage grade, respectively, last season. Coverage over the middle was particularly poor, as Tampa Bay’s linebackers placed 20th in PFF coverage grade while the team’s safeties ranked 28th. A bounce-back from Antoine Winfield Jr. would go a long way toward fixing that problem.”
