Honorable Mentions: Keenan McCardell, Vincent Jackson
Keenan McCardell only played two years with the Bucs, but was very productive during the short stay. In the two seasons, he caught 145 passes for 1,844 yards and 14 touchdowns. He was a big part of Tampa Bay’s 2002 Super Bowl run, catching 61 passes for 670 yards and six touchdowns. Those aren’t necessarily eye-popping numbers, but he was a key cog in an offense that needed some substantial improvement after falling short for years before 2002. In the Super Bowl itself, No. 87 only caught two passes, but both were for touchdowns. All he did the following year was haul in 84 catches for 1,174 and eight touchdowns. His tenure with Tampa Bay was short, but McCardell definitely deserves his name to be in the conversation.
Another player worthy of a mention here is one from more recent history: Vincent Jackson. When V-Jax signed with the Bucs in 2012, it was a big deal. He was coming off of a seven-year stretch with the Chargers in which he went over 1,000 yards three times. After that, he was even more consistent with Tampa Bay, surpassing 1,000 yards in his first three years with the team. He finished his Buccaneer career with a bit of a thud due to injuries, but his production those first three years put him at No. 3 on the franchise’s all-time receiving yards list. Without knocking any of the following guys, the fact that he did it with Josh Freeman, Mike Glennon and Josh McCown as his quarterbacks makes it even more notable.
Yes, this is a top five list. But realistically, these guys couldn’t be completely omitted. They had impressive numbers in their Buccaneer careers, but for one reason or another couldn’t crack the top five. One of these players could easily be No. 6 while the other takes No. 7.