The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have plenty of talent on the depth chart
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers enter the 2020 season as one of the favorites to make the NFL postseason because of their newly-added talent.
The Buccaneers will have an opportunity to break a 12-year streak of missing the playoffs and much of that has to do with the addition of QB Tom Brady in the offseason.
As we prepare for the upcoming season, here’s a look at our projected two-deep depth chart for the Buccaneers.
Quarterback
Starter: Tom Brady
- Blaine Gabbert
This is the easiest position to project in terms of the depth chart. Brady didn’t sign a two-year, $50 million deal to do anything other than become the new leader of the offense. And he’ll be exactly that.
Brady is going to have an opportunity to take this Buccaneers offense to the next level through his leadership and I’m interested to see how he responds to having potentially the most wide receiver talent in his career at his disposal.
Blaine Gabbert will play the back-up role behind Brady and then we’ll have Ryan Griffin and Reid Sinnett following those two. I would expect Sinnett to play mostly on the practice squad with an opportunity to learn and grow during his first year in the league.
Running Back
Starter: Ronald Jones II
- Ke’Shawn Vaughn
- Dare Ogunbowale
- Raymond Calais
Ronald Jones II has an opportunity to be the first 1,000-yard rusher in quite a while for the Buccaneers. Behind him, though, there are questions.
Tampa Bay drafted Ke’Shawn Vaughn and the franchise is obviously hoping the running back can come in and make an immediate impact. I think he’ll get the nod as a second-stringer before long as they look to include his explosiveness to the offense. Behind him, you’ll have Ogunbowale and then late-round pick Raymond Calais.
I still wouldn’t be surprised to see Tampa address the running back position with a veteran free-agent at some point as a way to gain more depth behind Jones II.
Offensive Line
LT: Donavan Smith
- Brad Seaton/Josh Wells
LG: Ali Marpet
- Zach Bailey
C: Ryan Jensen
RG: Alex Cappa
RT: Tristan Wirfs
This is what the offensive line will look like. You’ll obviously see Donovan Smith remain the starter at left tackle and you’ll get an upgrade at right tackle with rookie Tristan Wirfs taking over the position.
One of the key players to this offensive line is Joe Haeg. Though Haeg is listed as the second-stringer at right tackle, I would expect him to be a ‘utility lineman.’ He’ll be used on both the exterior and interior at times and will provide much-needed depth for the Bucs this season.
Tight End
Starter: Rob Gronkowski
- O.J. Howard
- Cameron Brate
- Anthony Auclair
We went a little deeper than two-deep on the tight end depth chart because of the simple fact that you’re going to see all of these guys- especially Gronkowski, Howard and Brate- used quite a bit during the season.
I expect to see some two tight end- even three tight end- personnel groupings from the Bucs and that will allow a guy like O.J. Howard to shine for the first time in his career. This may be the deepest tight end group in the league and it will show over the course of this season.
Wide Receiver
X- Mike Evans
- Tyler Johnson
Y- Chris Godwin
- Justin Watson
Z- Scotty Miller
- John Franklin
While I do believe that Scotty Miller will likely start to begin the season, it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see Tyler Johnson move into a starting role before it’s all said and done.
Miller proved to be a reliable option, but the play-making ability of Johnson will give him an edge before the season is through.
Defensive Line
LDE- Ndamukong Suh
NT- Vita Vea
- Khalil Davis
RDE- William Gholston
The Buccaneers retained Ndamukong Suh and they’ll add rookie Khalil Davis to the mix. I expect the rookie to play at nose-tackle behind Vea and for us to see his playing time amplified as the season progresses.
Look for a major emphasis to be placed on Nunez-Roches this season as the Bucs begin to see what their options may be at the position once Suh is gone.
Linebacker
WLB: Jason Pierre-Paul
- Kahzin Daniels/Quinton Bell
ILB: Devin White
ILB: Lavonte David
SLB: Shaquil Barrett
Of course, Barrett isn’t necessarily a true-linebacker, but we all know the type of defense that Bucs run.
Look for White and David to be mentioned more this year and I really believe this group can become one of the most dominant in the league because of their versatility and athleticism.
Defensive Backs
SS: Antoine Winfield Jr.
FS: Jordan Whitehead
Antoine Winfield Jr. is simply too talented to sit the bench for too long. There are some talented options in the defensive backfield for the Buccaneers, but Winfield Jr. will win that strong safety position.
We’ll see Whitehead get the first shot at free safety with both Evans and Edwards getting plenty of time in the secondary, as well.
The Pewter Plank is a Tampa Bay Buccaneers website that provides complete coverage and analysis as part of the FanSided network.