Top five Tampa Bay Buccaneers that are 25 or under

Who are the best young Buccaneers on our roster?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had quite a bit of success the last couple of years, but as we all know, our roster will be reshaped quite a bit, possibly as early as next year.

However, in this article I want to highlight my top 5 players on the Bucs roster that are 25 years of age or younger. These are the players that our team can potentially build around as franchise cornerstones for years to come!

5. Jamel Dean

Jamel Dean is a budding young player playing on a contract year, and is looking to continue his breakout for the Bucs this season to secure his next contract. Assuming he re-signs with the Bucs and is still playing in Tampa after this season, Dean can be a major player in our defense for the foreseeable future. Jamel Dean has proven to be an extremely proficient cover corner, and together with his former Auburn teammate Carlton Davis III, form one of the brightest young CB tandems in the league. Dean has strong coverage skills, and is a willing tackler when given the opportunity in the run game. Dean breaks up a lot of passes, and has 5 interceptions in his three seasons.

4. Carlton Davis III-

Carlton Davis has shown that he can be an extremely effective coverage corner, with 48 passes defensed in the last 3 seasons. I’m the defensive scheme that Tampa has run, Davis was oftentimes left in single coverage against the opponent’s best receiver and he has proven more than capable of holding his own. Davis does not force a ton of turnovers, and that is something he’s still developing in his game, but that’s really the biggest factor keeping him out of the elite CB conversation at this stage of his career. While Davis hit injured reserve last season, when he is healthy he has proven that he can shut down some of the best receivers in the game.

3. Antoine Winfield Jr. –

Antoine Winfield Jr. has all the makings to develop into one of the top tier safeties in the league. After making the Pro Bowl last year, It is apparent that Winfield is already building that status, and he is only going to get better. Winfield is very adept in coverage, either helping out his corners over the top or going man to man. Last year, under Todd Bowles, the Bucs defense blitzed at an extremely high rate, oftentimes bringing Winfield of the edge to bring his speed and explosiveness into the backfield, and it will be interesting to see how his role will change as Bowles transitions out of the defensive coordinator role and into the head coaching role, but his overall skill set should allow him to be successful in a variety of different ways and gives the Bucs a lot of options to creatively use him.

2. Devin White-

Devin White has proven himself to be one of the best linebackers in the game, regardless of age. While his sack production may have dropped quite a bit last year versus his 2020 season, he still showed that he is a tackle machine who can sniff the ball out. White has the speed to close on the ball carrier from sideline to sideline and is strong in coverage. At a young age, Devin White has proven he will be one of the leaders of the Tampa Bay defense for years to come.

1. Tristan Wirfs-

Tristan Wirfs has already become one of the best young tackles in the game, and is definitely a major centerpiece for what the Buccaneers can look to build on offense in the post- Tom Brady era. Last year, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler ranked Whirfs as the 8th best tackle in the league after being drafted in just 2020, and I have no doubt he will be ranked higher than that when this year’s rankings are released, as he could possibly even be ranked in the top 3. While we may not yet know who our QB of the future is, it is great to know that their blind side will be protected by Whirfs!

These key players can have a huge impact on the success of the Buccaneers for a long time!

Want to write about the Buccaneers? Apply below!

Want your voice heard? Join the The Pewter Plank team!

Write for us!