The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defied the odds in 2023, making the postseason and even winning a playoff game. However, 2024 is a new season, and with training camp approaching, they must focus on improving and taking the next step.
Unanswered Questions Ahead of Tampa Bay Buccaneers Training Camp
Perhaps the biggest reason for the Buccaneers’ surprising playoff run last season was the resurgence of Baker Mayfield. The 2018 No. 1 overall pick had the difficult task of replacing Tom Brady in Tampa Bay, but Mayfield surpassed expectations and had a career season.
Mayfield sustaining last season’s success is the headliner for our biggest questions regarding the Buccaneers, as their success this coming season is largely contingent on their quarterback.
Can Baker Mayfield Maintain His Success From Last Season?
Mayfield arrived in Tampa Bay on a one-year “prove it” deal, which was seen as an opportunity for the veteran QB to prove himself as a long-term answer.
After starting the season in a training camp competition with Kyle Trask, Mayfield parlayed his win in the job battle into the best season of his career, throwing for 4,044 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.
Mayfield’s performance earned him a big payday, as he signed a three-year deal worth up to $115 million this offseason. Now, he’ll have to prove that it wasn’t just a flash in the pan. In his NFL career, however, Mayfield has struggled to maintain year-over-year consistency.
As a rookie, Mayfield threw for 3,725 yards, 27 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. But he then followed that with a lackluster sophomore season, throwing for 3,827 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 21 interceptions. After a strong 2020 season in which he led the Cleveland Browns to a playoff victory, Mayfield experienced another drop-off the following year.
Fresh off a big payday and now entering his second season in Tampa Bay, can Mayfield build on his success from last season? Or will 2023 be looked at as another outlier year for the one-time No. 1 overall pick?
Can the Buccaneers Prove They Weren’t a Fluke?
Similar to Mayfield, the Buccaneers as a team need to prove that they weren’t a fluke and can be competitive again in 2024. At 9-8 in 2023, Tampa Bay entered the playoffs and took down the Philadelphia Eagles, who were coming off a Super Bowl appearance the year prior.
However, the Buccaneers did play in the NFC South, meaning they played the Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, and Atlanta Falcons six times — three teams who failed to make the playoffs. They also faced the Eagles in the Wild Card round when they were reeling after suffering a major collapse over the second half of the season.
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If the Buccaneers want to prove they weren’t a fluke, they’ll need to dominate the NFC South, which, while improved, is still among the weakest divisions in the NFL.
Tampa Bay will also need production out of its rookies and development from sophomore players. With minimal free agency additions, Graham Barton, Jalen McMillan, Calijah Kancey, YaYa Diaby, and so on will all need to make major impacts on the field.
What Does the Split Look Like Between Rachaad White and Rookie Bucky Irving in the Backfield?
In 2023, the Buccaneers were overly reliant on Rachaad White in the running game. As their workhorse back, White had 272 carries for 990 rushing yards, an average of just 3.6 yards per carry.
While White emerged as a very reliable receiver out of the backfield with 64 receptions, his ineffectiveness as a runner contributed to the Buccaneers’ 31st-ranked offense in rushing yards per game.
In an effort to improve their rushing attack, the Buccaneers drafted former Oregon RB Bucky Irving in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. This raises the question of how the workload between White and Irving will be divided.
Irving arrives after posting back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons at Oregon, including 1,180 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns in 2023, along with 56 receptions for 413 yards and two touchdowns.
The duo’s differing strengths are complementary: White, known for size and power, is likely to lead as the team’s physical runner. Meanwhile, Irving, at 5’10” and 190 pounds, brings elusiveness and quickness.
Training camp will be crucial to determine the snap distribution, but both are expected to have defined roles with significant playing time.
How Will Tampa Bay’s Offense Perform Without Dave Canales?
After just one year as the Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator, Dave Canales was hired as the Panthers’ head coach.
Canales, who is a QB specialist, was key in Mayfield’s development and breakout. He’d also previously played a notable part in Geno Smith’s career renaissance on the Seattle Seahawks. Canales also took last season’s wide receivers coach, Brad Idzik, to be his offensive coordinator in Carolina.
To replace Canales, the Buccaneers brought in former Kentucky Wildcats OC Liam Coen. Despite coming from college, though, Coen has plenty of NFL coaching experience.
Most notably, in his most recent NFL stop as the Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator in 2022, he coached Mayfield, who joined the team late in the season and took over as the starting quarterback for their five remaining games.
After a disastrous seven-game stretch in Carolina, Mayfield experienced a bit of a resurgence with Coen and the Rams that season, including a game-winning touchdown pass on Thursday Night Football after spending just two days with the team.
By bringing in an OC whom Mayfield has already worked with, Tampa Bay is hopeful that there won’t be much of a learning curve in the new offensive scheme.
Can Graham Barton Fix the Buccaneers’ Interior Offensive Line?
In 2023, one of the Buccaneers’ biggest weaknesses was their interior offensive line, which struggled mightily in the run game. A big reason was star center Ryan Jensen’s knee injury, which forced him into retirement before the season.
As a result, Tampa Bay spent a first-round pick on Graham Barton. A versatile offensive lineman out of Duke, Barton can play tackle, guard, or center. Dating back to the pre-draft process, Barton was viewed as one of the top interior linemen in the draft, according to PFN’s Ian Cummings.
“Barton’s five-position versatility is one of the top differentiators on his profile. He has experience at both tackle and center, and his combination of athleticism, power, flexibility, footwork feel, anchor strength, football IQ, and physicality allows him to seamlessly transition between roles,” said Cummings.
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With Barton at center, he’ll be flanked by free agent signing Ben Bredeson at left guard and Cody Mauch at right guard, the latter of whom started all 17 games as a rookie in 2023 but struggled with five penalties and seven sacks allowed.
To improve the Buccaneers’ interior line in 2024, Barton must deliver above-average play from Day 1. Bredeson and Mauch also need to elevate their performances if the line is to synergize into at least an above-average unit, rather than the liability it was in 2023.