Did the Buccaneers Make Themselves a Super Bowl Contender?
For the better part of a decade, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been stuck in a spell of mediocrity. This offseason, Tampa Bay made major upgrades at key positions and look like a team that can contend for the Super Bowl. Were the moves enough? Let’s dig into the team that the Buccaneers will be putting on the field in 2020.
Free Agency
Without argument, the biggest acquisition that the Buccaneers made this offseason was signing arguably the greatest player of all-time, Tom Brady, to a two-year deal. Brady is leaving his legacy in New England and is looking to start a new one now in Tampa Bay at age 43. Besides Brady, Tampa Bay was active this offseason, especially trading for Brady’s fellow running mate, TE Rob Gronkowski, who is coming out of retirement to reunite with his quarterback. Fast forward to a week before kickoff, and the Bucs add former first-round pick Leonard Fournette, a running back who was just released by the Jaguars. While Gronkowski and Fournette are unknowns in their role with the new offense, both can be impact players to help Brady succeed.
The Draft
The most underrated part of the offseason for the Buccaneers is easily their handling of the draft. With their first-round pick, Tampa Bay selected Tristan Wirfs, an offensive tackle out of Iowa. Brady is going to need protection and the Buccaneers were starving for offensive line help, making Wirfs a perfect pick for Tampa Bay. In the second round, Tampa Bay selected Antoine Winfield Jr., a safety from Minnesota. Winfield was their best value pick, receiving some first-round grades from analysts, and is poised to make an immediate impact and support the stout defensive line Tampa Bay possesses. Tampa Bay completed their draft by taking RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn, WR Tyler Johnson, DT Khalil Davis, LB Chapelle Russell, and RB Raymond Calais, addressing depth at positions they were lacking talent from. I fully expect a few of these rookies to make an impact right away and contribute to winning football games in 2020.
The Returning Team
Besides the offseason acquisitions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster was solid, but held back by their quarterback in the past season. The receiving duo of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin will be a force yet again, O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate will join Rob Gronkowski in the TE room, and Ronald Jones will most likely be the featured back, even with the acquisition of Fournette. On the defensive side, they return pass-rusher Shaq Barrett, DT Ndamukong Suh, and OLB Jason Pierre-Paul. Match this team with the greatest quarterback of all-time and you are going to have success.
Are they a Super Bowl Contender?
With all these moves, are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers super bowl contenders in 2020? On paper, yes, there is no question that they are. But I would not be surprised if this team falls into mediocrity again. As great as Tom Brady is, who knows if he and head coach Bruce Arians are going to mesh well. Plus, Brady is 43 now with his best years behind him, and Gronk is coming off a year away from the game. Can they be contenders? Yes, but they are going to need Brady to play close to vintage Brady and not show that his age is getting to him. The running game and defense can get them to the playoffs, but as far as Super Bowl contenders, the Buccaneers are going to need Brady to be great to get there in 2020.
Offseason info from nfl.com
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