Tampa Bay Buccaneers 53-man roster prediction after OTAs
By Josh Hill
Wide Receiver (7)
- Mike Evans
- Chris Godwin
- Russell Gage
- Trey Palmer
- Kade Warner
- Kaylon Geiger
- Deven Thompkins
Outside of three absolute locks, the wide receiver position could be interesting to watch the Bucs coaching staff fill in training camp. Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Russell Gage are guaranteed to make the roster, with Kaylon Geiger very close to the bubble.
The rest of the slots are up for grabs with some intriguing candidates battling for a roster spot.
It's worth noting that the Bucs carried seven wide receivers into the season last year, with slot receiver being the deepest role on the roster. Dave Canales has hinted that Godwin will move to the slot this season, which is good news for late-round pick Trey Palmer. He's a speedster out of Nebraska who could be groomed as an eventual successor but also forms a pretty devastating combo with Godwin.
With Godwin in the slot, a key battle to watch in training camp is who gets the WR2 role next to Mike Evans. Right now it looks like Russell Gage is in the driver's seat to get the role, but Deven Thompkins and Kylon Gieger might make a run at unseating him. Both of those guys figure to make the roster for depth, with Thompkins penciled in as the kick returner.
Keep an eye on Kade Warner, the undrafted receiver out of Kansas State and son of Hall of Famer Kurt Warner. There's already a preexisting relationship between Warner and Bowles from their days in Arizona (Bowles has talked about meeting Warner when he came to games with his father) and he has a cocky grit that guys come into camp with and backup enough to earn a roster spot. He's already drawn mild comparisons to Scotty Miller, who the Bucs haven't really replaced but was one of those three slot receivers carried on the roster last season.
Warner is a true wild card, as he's listed as the third receiver behind Evans but could end up in a slot rotation with Palmer behind Godwin.