It always seems like it takes a long time for the Buccaneers season to come around. As soon as one ends, you are counting down the days for the new one to kick off. It always feels longer when there is a summer of sport taking up the TV schedules too.
Well, the good news is that when the Summer Olympics ends, it’s time for the NFL season to finally(!) begin. Many of us enjoy getting involved in these sports in various ways, including betting on our favorite athletes and teams. The Buccaneers have a few awesome players that are worth looking at this season, with a few who are predicted to be huge for the team. Make sure you check out the various ways you can bet on your favored team or player to make the most of your experience.
We’ll look at a few of our rising stars here.
Graham Barton
Graham Barton was the first-round pick for the Buccaneers in 2024. Fresh from the Duke Blue Devils program, it won’t be long before Graham Barton will be playing center for the Buccaneers (although, we don’t expect it to happen right away).
In 2020, he was the number 1 offensive guard in the country and the top 10 prospect in Tennessee. He had a whole host of offers for his services, with many top college football programs wanting a piece of the action before he headed to Duke. In 2023, he was classed as one of the best centers in the US.
As we said, we doubt he’ll be doing big things for the Buccaneers right away. He might get a game here or there and help them find that all-important consistency top teams need. In the future, though? Well, he is no doubt going to be a top performer for the team.
Chris Braswell
Chris Braswell was the second pick for the Buccaneers, who wanted to add a linebacker to their roster. Again, he won’t be getting many games right away, but he is almost certainly going to be a big deal for the Buccaneers in a couple of years. After all, he is only 21 right now.
The team were in dire need of somebody like Chris Braswell. With Shaquil Barett departing the team, they needed a backup option.
Chris Braswell is going to be tremendous when he is called in for defense. He is exceedingly fast and has a fantastic charge.
Tykee Smith
While Tykee Smith was a third-round pick for the Buccaneers, he is one of the only ones who is expected to be a starter in the early season (assuming he can shake off the ankle injury he picked up a few days before we wrote this).
Let’s be honest here. The Bucs have struggled to fill their Nickelback position as of late. While Tavierre Thomas and Christian Izien are good players, the Buccaneers might want to try something new in this position, and speculation among sports journalists indicates that the “new” thing may be sending out the relatively green Tykee Smith to see if this works. Even the head coach of the Buccaneers, Todd Bowles, has indicated that Tykee Smith is maturing at a faster rate than expected for somebody who has just entered the pro leagues.
If Tykee Smith is already blowing people’s minds before he has even played a professional game, it’ll be interesting to see what he can do in a few years. There is every indication that he could end up becoming one of the best safety players in the modern game.
Jalen McMillan
Jalen McMillan was a third-round pick. He plays in the wide receiver position, and during his college years was classed as the 13th-best wide receiver in the game. He is a tremendous all-around sports star, battling with the decision of whether to head to college for baseball or football (he received offers for both).
As a wide receiver for the University of Washington, his career got off to a rather slow start—with the 2022 season being one of his highlights (1098 receiving yards).
By all accounts, he has been progressing well in the Buccaneers camp, and many are quietly predicting he may well be the real deal. He does enter a group of particularly strong receivers, so we doubt he’ll get much gameplay right away. However, the rest of the receivers for the team seem to believe he can go big in the future.
At the moment, we predict that McMillan will only enter the fray if Mike Evans, Trey Palmer, or Chris Godwin end up getting injured. It’ll be a few years before you see some regular play from McMillan. If sitting on the sidelines doesn’t dull his love for the sport, when he finally does get an opportunity to play about with the Buccaneers, he’ll be wonderful.
Bucky Irving
While it is fair to say that Bucky Irving was just a draft filler (coming in at the latter stages), we do think that he’ll eventually become the RB2 for the Buccaneers. He isn’t massively fast, but if Chase Edmonds or Rachaad White end up getting injured, we won’t be surprised if Bucky Irving steps up to the plate. He is a player that the Buccaneers will have to heavily develop, though. However, they’ve proven they are more than capable of squad development at that level.
Season Predictions for the Buccaneers
The Buccaneers will be coming in hot off a decent 2023 season, and analysts predict that 2024 will be even better. All their key players remain in the team, plus they’ve pulled in a few cool draft picks too (as we mentioned). We predict they’ll win around 11 games this season (with 6 losses), which isn’t too shabby, and it’ll give them even more to build upon as they head into the following season, when this year’s draft picks will be less green and more ready.
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