Training camp has finally arrived for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The long road back to the playoffs starts now and I believe the Bucs are in a better position to get there now than they have been in either of the last two years. This team is younger, more athletic and has fewer questions surrounding it that it has the last two seasons.
However, that’s not to say that the Bucs don’t have questions that need answering. There are a few things that this team will need to figure out going into the 2024 season and they are things that will have a big impact on them winning the NFC South for the 4th straight year or not. That’s to say that these are major questions, not minor ones.
For me, there are three that stand out. If the Bucs can find an answer to these questions then it’s fair to expect them to be in the final eight or even playing on Championship Sunday in the winter. If not, there will be reason for concern. Here are my three biggest questions for the Buccaneers going into training camp.
3) Can Liam Coen Build On Baker Mayfield’s Success In 2023?
All the doubters point to two things when projecting a Bucs drop off this year. The loss of Dave Canales and a potential regression of Baker Mayfield as a result. Those two have been linked together since the first time offensive coordinator and quarterback whisperer came to town last year and helped revive Mayfield’s career.
This is a fair concern for a quarterback who has had more valleys than peaks in his career and hasn’t found a way to be consistent at the NFL level. However, new offensive coordinator Liam Coen is also a Sean McVay tree guy and will run a very similar system. That is to say that a lot of what made Mayfield successful last year will still be in place.
I am a firm believer that not only will Mayfield not drop off, but he will actually improve in 2024 and set new career highs in passing yards and touchdowns. But this is a show me type of league. Mayfield and Coen will have to prove this marriage will work the way I think it will and take this offense to the next level this season.
2) Who Will Step Up As A Pass Rusher?
It’s no secret that the Bucs don’t have a big name pass rusher on the roster. They were led by rookie Yaya Diaby with 7.5 sacks last year and nose tackle Vita Vea with 6.5 sacks in 2022. It would go a long way in terms of team success if someone could step up and become one of the premiere pass rushers in the game for this team.
Many believe that it will be Diaby as he led the team in sacks last year as a rookie. However, his advanced stats such as pass rush win rate indicate that he might not be as strong of a pass rusher as his sack total indicated last year. Regardless, another year of development could make him that guy.
The name that I’m most interested in is last year’s first round pick Calijah Kancey. The defensive tackle recorded 4.0 sacks and 10 tackles for loss in the regular season, and then another 1.5 sacks in the playoffs against the best two offensive lines in the NFL. Kancey’s blend of freak athletic ability and pass rush arsenal leads me to believe that he will flirt with 10+ sacks this year.
Other names that could step up include Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, Logan Hall and rookie Chris Braswell. All of these players are very talented, but there is no guarantee that anyone emerges as a great pass rusher. Only time will tell if one of them will.
1) Can The Offensive Line Jell Together And Be A Strength For The Buccaneers By Year’s End?
This was the biggest issue with the Buccaneers over the last few years. With a career ending injury to Ryan Jensen at the start of the 2022 season and the surprise retirement of Ali Marpet earlier in that same offseason, the Bucs offensive line has had massive holes that just couldn’t be repaired. They are perhaps only now starting to build that unit up to near where it was before.
Jason Licht invested a second round pick last year in Cody Mauch, an offensive tackle from North Dakota State University. After some ups and downs last year, Mauch began to find his footing towards the end of the season. Now with a full offseason under his belt and an added 15 lbs of muscle, I am expecting him to take a big step forwards this season.
He will also be playing next to the Bucs first round pick from this year, center Graham Barton. This is a freak athlete at the center position and is an absolute pitbull of a run blocker. The talent along the interior is much improved than it was this time a year ago.
However, this group is also very young and inexperienced. Keep in mind that Barton also primarily played offensive tackle in college and will have some growing pains as a rookie. If this group can come together as the team is heading into the playoffs, then the sky’s the limit for this Bucs team.
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