NFL team reports:
Key questions, depth charts and offseason information for the Bucs, Raiders, Jets and Broncos.
Have the Bucs done enough for Tom Brady to succeed?
Really, what more can the Bucs do?
They already boasted two of the league’s best wide receivers in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin before Brady decided to make the Bucs his new team.
They also decided to trade for Brady’s old security blanket, Rob Gronkowski, who will join a tight end group that already features O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate.
The offensive line and backfield were addressed in the NFL draft, with the Bucs first taking Iowa tackle Tristan Wirfs with the 13th overall pick and then using a third-round pick on Vanderbilt running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn and a seventhround pick on Louisiana-Lafayette running back Raymond Calais, both of whom will provide support to running back Ronald Jones.
The Vaughn move surprised some, considering Utah running back Zack Moss was still available and ranked ahead of him on many boards. But the Bucs liked what they saw in Vaughn, especially his potential to catch out of the backfield – something Brady wants in his running backs.
In short, the Bucs look unstoppable on paper, but they still have a long way to go to make it work on the field. The restrictions from the coronavirus pandemic have made this offseason one unlike any these players have experienced before. The Buccaneers have all of the pieces but still need to see how they fit together.
Are there any areas of concern?
The kicking situation is the biggest question mark. The team invested a fifth-round pick on kicker Matt Gay in the 2019 draft, and Gay struggled at times last season, especially in Week 3’s loss to the New York Giants when he missed a potential game-winning field goal. Gay missed seven field goals and five extra points last season and will be the Bucs’ kicker entering camp.
But remember, during Brady’s 20-year run in New England, he essentially had only two kickers: Adam Vinatieri and Stephen Gostkowski.
Both are Hall of Fame-worthy kickers, and Vinatieri was instrumental in the Patriots’ first two Super Bowl wins.
Brady has won championships, but he’s done so with a reliable kicker waiting in the wings. Gay needs to prove he can be that kicker for the Bucs if they are going to win close games in 2020.
Then there is the secondary. Tampa Bay’s defense was 30th in passing yards allowed last season. It used its secondround draft pick (No. 45 overall) on Minnesota safety Antoine Winfield Jr., and he should have an immediate impact on the field if he can remain healthy.
Was he enough of an upgrade?
What are Bruce Arians’ biggest challenges?
Arians will find himself facing a rather peculiar situation. On the one hand, he’ll have Brady and Gronkowski, two future Hall of Famers who have won two Super Bowls together.
But on the other, he’ll have a group of young players who have never played in a postseason game.
The Bucs haven’t been to the playoffs since the 2007 season, and it’s been almost two decades since their last postseason win, which was against the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII. This group has the talent to make a championship run, but Arians will need to manage expectations and the pressure facing it.
It’s been a while since all eyes were on the Buccaneers, and they’ll be under a microscope next season now that Brady’s under center.