The Buccaneers have officially moved on from James Winston and moved on to one of the great quarterbacks to ever play: Tom Brady. This year, the Buccaneers are going to compete for the NFC South title with the Saints as the battle between Brady and Brees will be the first matchup between two QBs aged 40 years or older.
Before we dive into their starters, let’s look at the additions for the Buccaneers this offseason.
Key Additions: QB Tom Brady, TE Rob Gronkowski, RB Leonard Fournette, and OL A.Q. Shipley
Key Departures: DE Carl Nassib, WR Breshad Perriman, and OT Demar Dotson
Let’s look at the starters for the Buccaneers this season after a busy offseason.
Offensive Starters:
- QB: Tom Brady
- RB: Ronald Jones II
- WR: Mike Evans
- WR: Chris Godwin
- TE: Rob Gronkowski
- TE: O.J. Howard
- LT: Donovan Smith
- LG: Ali Marpet
- C: Ryan Jensen
- RG: Alex Capps
- RT: Tristian Wirfs
Defensive/Special Teams Starters:
- DE: Ndamukong Suh
- DT: Vita Vea
- DE: William Gholston
- OLB: Jason Pierre-PAul
- ILB: Devin White
- ILB: Lavonte David
- OLB: Shaquil Barrett
- CB: Carlton Davis
- CB: Sean Murphy-Bunting
- S: Antoine Winfield Jr.
- S: Jordan Whitehead
Strongest Position: Linebacker
I know that most people will say that the wide receiver position is there strongest position, but the linebacker position is better. In my opinion, the Buccaneers have the best linebacker unit in the entire league. Jason Pierre-Paul has been a great player his entire career.
Shaquil Barrett was a beast last season, leading the NFL in sacks with 19.5, along with Lavonte David, who has been a great linebacker for the Buccaneers his entire career, totaling over 100 tackles in seven of his eight seasons.
Devin White is ready to take on a larger role on the defense this year after a solid rookie campaign in 2019, posting 91 tackles and recovering four fumbles. This linebacker unit is going to be the anchor of the defense this season.
Weakest Position: Cornerback
The cornerback position for the Buccaneers may be the worst in the entire league. Sean Murphy-Bunting is only entering his second season in the league, while Carlton Davis is entering his third season. The position is extremely young and is going to struggle against some of the league’s top receivers, who are in their division (Michael Thomas and Julio Jones). The Achilles heal of the Buccaneers defense is going to be the cornerback position.
The Buccaneers are set to be one of the best offensive teams in the NFL this year and they have a ton of talent on defense. However, the Buccaneers are going to have to learn to play together, which may set them back from the Saints this year. I think they will place second in the NFC South and get the top Wild Card spot in the NFC.
