Buccaneers need to re-evaluate perceived biggest strength

What do the Buccaneers actually have in their receiver room?

The Buccaneers looked like they had the best receiver room in the NFL this time a year ago. No one would make that argument now.

Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are still one of the best receiver duos in the league, but the depth past these two, which was one of the biggest selling points of this unit, failed to impress.

The Antonio Brown drama certainly contributed to these problems, as any team losing a player of his caliber would hurt in various ways, but no one really expected the Bucs receivers to fall off the map without Brown.

With Chris Godwin injured and Antonio Brown enjoying another retirement, there was a perfect opportunity for some of the young guys to step into their roles. Names like Scotty Miller and Jaelon Darden were very hot during the preseason, yet we all saw what that hype led to.

Miller was absent for most of the season, Darden was a non-factor, and Tyler Johnson was far too hot and cold. The only young player that actually took advantage of their reps was Cyril Grayson, and he has done more than enough to earn a spot on the roster for next season.

No one expected some of these names outside of Miller to be bonafide starters, but what we got on the field still surprised in the wrong way.

If the Buccaneers do want to be great in the world after Tom Brady, they will need to take a very long and honest look at what they have on their roster before they throw a new quarterback in with this group.

Brady had a way of elevating the guys around him. In the same way, Evans and Godwin can make any quarterback look good, but it is hard to think that the other guys would be true selling points to a new addition to the roster.

The Bucs have to get busy in free agency and the draft this season to keep the talent fresh. Even if they bring in three or four guys to compete for jobs, there is no way that competition hurts the roster at this point.

The receiver depth has to be better in 2022 if the new quarterback experiment is to work, and if that means looking at a few outside hires, the Bucs should know what they have to do.

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