The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been a fun ride over the past two seasons, with QB Tom Brady leading the show. They went 24-9 with two playoff berths and a Super Bowl title in 2020. At some point, the Brady meal ticket will run out of treats. The Bucs start the year with a downgrade at tight end with Rob Gronkowski retiring. Tampa has two star wideouts (Mike Evans and Chris Godwin), and they added WR Russell Gage for depth. Even with a slow start to the year expected by Godwin after suffering a torn ACL in his right knee last December, the Buccaneers gave him a three-year extension for $60 million.
RB Leonard Fournette has a history of struggling every other season while missing 15 games over the previous four years. SI Sportsbook has Tampa lost as a -752 favorite to make the playoffs (highest odds in the NFL) and +300 to make it to the Super Bowl. I sense 2022 won’t go as smoothly due to injuries and regression in Brady’s production.
OFFENSE
Only Matthew Stafford in 2012 finished with more pass attempts (727) than Tom Brady had in 2021 (719). Tampa threw the ball 65.5% while averaging only 22.6 rushes. The Bucs will win or lose with the passing game again this season, but they still want to run the ball well in the red zone and late in games when playing from the lead.
QUARTERBACKS
Tom Brady – click here for fantasy projections
Kyle Trask
The Bucs added their possible future quarterback in the second round in 2021. He brings an NFL arm with an excellent rhythm in his passes. His weakness comes in his pocket presence and reads at the line of scrimmage and in the secondary. Trask lacks the intangibles needed to start in the NFL at this point of his career. A couple of years holding a clipboard behind Tom Brady should treat him well and possibly fill in the missing links to his game.
In his final year at Florida, Trask passed for 4,283 yards and 43 touchdowns with minimal value on the ground (64/50/3). He finished his college career with strength in his completion rate (67.9) and yards per pass attempt (9.1).
Other options: Blaine Gabbert, Ryan Griffin
