The Athlon Sports 2023 Fantasy Football Annual magazine reached out to team insiders at all 32 NFL clubs to ask them three key fantasy questions heading into the season. As we count down to training camp, Sports Illustrated will publish their answers here. Today’s team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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What does life after Tom Brady look like for the Bucs’ passing game?
The GOAT may be gone, but so is the outdated, vertical-pass-happy scheme that departed with offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich. Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask will battle it out to replace Brady, and new OC Dave Canales’ more QB-friendly system will help. Tampa Bay’s aerial attack will benefit from a renewed commitment to the run game, more play-action and a simplified overall philosophy that puts players in position to succeed.
SEE ALSO: 32 Teams in 32 Days: Buccaneers
Chase Edmonds or Rachaad White: Who takes on the bigger backfield role?
White is definitely Tampa Bay’s new featured back. He supplanted veteran Leonard Fournette down the stretch as a rookie last season, showing off an impressive combination of vision, patience, power and explosiveness that no other back brought to the table. Edmonds was a solid signing to give White a breather every now and then, but White has a three-down skill set that should be on the field most of the time.
Can Mike Evans continue his 1,000-yard streak with Baker Mayfield as his quarterback?
Evans enjoyed three seasons of catching passes from Brady, but anyone who might doubt his ability to extend his NFL-record streak of 1,000-yard seasons to start his career needs to look no further than the list of quarterbacks he played with earlier in his career. Evans managed to top 1,000 yards with Mike Glennon, Josh McCown, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Jameis Winston. Whether it’s Mayfield or Trask throwing the passes this time around, don’t be shocked when Evans makes it 10 years in a row over 1,000 yards.
—Luke Easterling, Athlon Sports
