With the NFL season kicking off this week, it’s time to speak our truth Buccaneers’ fans. This is the last chance to plant your flag on what you believe going into the 2025 season. Get out those final opinions now before hindsight steals your moment.
For me, that means Buccaneers hot takes and bold predictions. Some being hotter than others, all being my real expectations. Get ready for an incredible year of Bucs football.
Here are my eight Buccaneers bold predictions for the 2025 season.
1) Calijah Kancey will be an All-Pro.
Last year we saw Kancey take the jump from promising young player to absolute game wrecker. It felt like he was constantly in the backfield in the playoff and his total of 7.5 sacks in 12 games was very impressive. He has quietly become one of the better defensive tackles in the NFL.
In 2025 Kancey will make a lot of noise so everyone can see his dominance. I predict that he will not only lead the Bucs in sacks, but land himself on the All Pro team as a result. I’m thinking somewhere in the range of 12.5 sacks.
We’ve seen him shred some of the best offensive lineman that the NFL has to offer. The only lingering question is whether he can stay healthy for a full season. If he does then he will truly become a household name.
2) SirVocea Dennis breakout season.
The Buccaneers have so many good players. If you were to list them all off then it would probably take a while before you said Dennis’ name. I expect that won’t be the case this time next year.
Dennis has looked great for the Bucs in his two years. Whenever he has been on the field he has looked like the team’s best coverage linebacker and someone who is really good at attacking what’s in front of him. The only problem is that he hasn’t been on the field enough.
Now, with his shoulder surgically repaired, Dennis is looking to put it all together. If he can stay healthy then don’t be surprised if he turns out to be one of the better linebackers in the league. I am predicting a pro bowl year from the Bucs young linebacker.
3) Mike Evans career year.
The Bucs future Hall of Fame receiver has shown no signs of slowing down. Before his injury that cost him a month of the season, he was on pace for a 1,200 yard and 14 touchdown type of season. This probably would have landed Evans as a first team All Pro.
Now, after a training camp where he continued to dominate, I expect him to pick up where he left off. In fact, I think he’ll be even more productive. New offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard has indicated that he wants to throw the ball down field more this year which will play into Evans’ strengths.
This might not be his best year in terms of receiving yards (he had 1,524 in 2018), but I’m predicting that it will be his best overall season. I’m projecting in the ballpark of 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns. Enjoy Mike Evans while you can because he is one of the very best to ever do it.
4) Tap the breaks on Bucky Irving.
Most of my predictions have been sunshine and roses so far (and with a team this good, who can blame me?). However, I’d be lying if I said that I believe everything would go perfectly. In this case, I’m talking about the Bucky Irving hype train.
After emerging for 1,122 rushing yards and 8 rushing touchdowns in his rookie year, everyone is expecting Irving to be even better in 2025 now that he’s the full-time starter. And while I think that is likely true, I also believe it’s been greatly exaggerated.
There are just too many good weapons for the Bucs for me to believe that Irving will have an incredible year. Not only great pass catchers, but also two more really good running backs who the team will want to get involved in different ways. I am predicting a very similar year to last year for Bucky Irving. Good, but not the next big thing at running back.
5) Lavonte David the legend.
We already know that Lavonte David will continue to etch himself into the NFL all time record book. He is seven tackles for loss away from passing Aaron Donald and moving into 4th all time in that category. He is also just 25 solo tackles away from moving into 4th place on that list. It’s a safe bet that he reaches both of these.
However, David could climb up another all time leader board this year. He is just five forced fumbles away from moving into 13th place all time on the all time forced fumbles list. If he achieves this mark then it will tie him with Hall of Famer Brian Dawkins for 2nd most forced fumbles by a non pass rusher, only behind Charles “Peanut” Tillman.
With David expected to be dropping into coverage less and attacking the backfield more, I think he will reach this mark. Just another leaderboard for this all-time great linebacker to climb in route to the Hall of Fame.
6) Buccaneers number one seed.
There should be nothing hot about this take. The Bucs have arguably the best roster in the NFC and a much easier schedule than other perceived contenders. Some might feel like that statement is a hot take in itself, but it really isn’t.
The number one seed should be the expectation for the Bucs. They have a great offensive line, great pass catchers, a great running back room, maybe the best defensive tackle duo in the NFL as well as a very deep and talented secondary. Anything less than the number one seed would feel like a disappointment.
7) Todd Bowles coach of the year.
If I truly believe that the Bucs will be the best team in the NFC, which I do, then Todd Bowles will get a lot of attention as a potential coach of the year. Part of that is being the number one seed and winning 13 to 15 games. The other part is exceeding expectations.
Most people don’t think especially highly of the Bucs. They are projected as a likely division winner of a bad division, but a fringe top 10 team in terms of power ranking. Those media people are wrong in their assessment of the Bucs roster, but if they repeat the lie for long enough then people will believe that it’s true.
If Bowles takes this team from a national after thought to the team to beat in the NFL then he will have exceeded the expectation of most. This is the kind of accomplishment that earns someone Coach of the Year honors.
8) Third time is a charm.
I have planted my flag that the Bucs are a great team. The best team in the NFC and a top three roster in the NFL. With that type of team in place, there’s no reason I wouldn’t predict them to win the Super Bowl this year.
It’s always hard to predict who will win it all because there are usually half a dozen to a dozen that realistically could. Then there are so many unforeseen things that happen throughout the NFL season. This is true in predicting any team to win the Super Bowl, not just the Bucs.
The Bucs have as good of a roster as anyone and they have a favorable schedule. They have the pieces in place to score a lot of points as well as ground out gritty wins. I’m predicting that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers win Super Bowl 60 and bring home their third Lombardi Trophy.
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