The Buccaneers kick off their 2018 regular season against the Saints in New Orleans on Sunday and they may be without left tackle Donovan Smith, who is still recovering from a training camp knee injury. While Smith may or may not be one of the top 10 most talented players in Tampa Bay, he is one of the most valuable Buccaneers because the talent level behind him on the depth chart falls off dramatically.

As Tampa Bay’s 2018 campaign begins, here are the Top 10 Most Valuable Buccaneers this season.

1. QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
While Ryan Griffin made strides in the preseason he has never played a snap in any regular season game. Fitzpatrick was 2-1 as a starter last year in relief of Jameis Winston, and needs to stay healthy because if he gets injured and Griffin needs to start, the Bucs have zero depth left at the quarterback position. Wide receiver Adam Humphries is Tampa Bay’s emergency quarterback if disaster strikes in Weeks 1-3. When Winston returns in Week 4, he overtakes this spot. As Fitzpatrick and Winston go, so goes the 2018 Buccaneers.

2. LT Donovan Smith
The Bucs are hoping Smith is able to practice this week and return from his knee injury to play in the season opener at New Orleans. If he can’t go, does the team trust Micheal Liedtke enough to start him against the Saints? The talent drop is so huge from Smith to Liedtke it may force Dirk Koetter to move Demar Dotson to left tackle, insert Caleb Benenoch at right tackle and plug in Evan Smith at right guard to put the best five linemen on the field and weather the storm in Smith’s absence.

Bucs RB Peyton Barber – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

3. RB Peyton Barber
Barber had a tremendous preseason, averaging 5.8 yards per carry and scoring two touchdowns as the chain-mover on offense. The Bucs were hoping Ronald Jones would provide some “dash” to go along with Barber’s “bash” on offense, but the rookie had a horrific preseason, averaging less than one yard per carry. If Barber goes down, Jacquizz Rodgers becomes the starter, and while he’s serviceable, he’s not the ideal starter for more than a game or two. That leaves Jones as the primary backup runner and he hasn’t shown much running ability yet. Right now there’s a big drop off after Barber.

4. CB Brent Grimes
Does the 35-year old Grimes have one good year left in him? The Bucs certainly hope so. Tampa Bay needs Grimes to play at a high level and stay healthy otherwise the Bucs are quite inexperienced at the cornerback position. In fact, Vernon Hargreaves III is the only other cornerback on the roster with an interception – and he only has one. Carlton Davis and M.J. Stewart are talented cornerbacks and should be fine with time and experience, but right now Grimes needs to be on the field.

5. DT Gerald McCoy
McCoy has had one of his best preseasons where he notched two sacks. In years past, McCoy might have topped this list because he was the lone dangerous defensive lineman, but he still ranks high because he’s a six-time Pro Bowler and his primary backup, Vita Vea, has yet to take a snap in any NFL football game after suffering a calf injury on the first day of pads in training camp. Vea may be good in time, but there is a huge drop off between McCoy and the Bucs’ first-round pick draft due to experience.

Bucs MLB Kwon Alexander – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

6. MLB Kwon Alexander
The Bucs will start the season without Kendell Beckwith, who is not only the starting SAM (strongside) linebacker, but he’s also the backup MIKE (middle) linebacker, because he’s on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list. That puts Tampa Bay in a precarious situation if anything happens to Alexander, who missed four games last year with a hamstring injury. Tampa Bay only has five linebackers on the roster, and not one of the reserves – Adarius Taylor, Cameron Lynch or Jack Cichy – has played middle linebacker in an NFL game before, so it’s imperative Alexander stays healthy.

7. FS Justin Evans
The Bucs’ weakest position in terms of talent and experience is at safety where 29-year old Chris Conte, who is entering his ninth year in the league, is the lone veteran of this unit. Evans showed tremendous promise as a rookie last year, but he doesn’t even have 16 starts under his belt yet. Evans is a Pro Bowl-caliber talent and the depth behind him and Conte is very inexperienced. Rookie Jordan Whitehead, the team’s fourth-round pick, is the reserve strong safety, while Isaiah Johnson, who is mostly a special teams player, is the backup free safety as a first-year player. The Bucs can’t afford to lose Evans.

Bucs DE Jason Pierre-Paul – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

8. DE Jason Pierre-Paul
Tampa Bay’s defensive line got revamped this offseason with the additions of defensive end Vinny Curry and Carl Nassib and defensive tackles Beau Allen, Vita Vea and Mitch Unrein. But none of them have the mix of speed, agility and power that Jason Pierre-Paul does. Pierre-Paul, a two-time Pro Bowler who was acquired in a trade with the New York Giants, gives the Bucs the elite edge rusher they have been missing since the days of Simeon Rice back in the early 2000s. Pierre-Paul is the difference between Tampa Bay being a 30-sack team and a 40-plus sack team in 2018.

9. C Ryan Jensen
There is a reason why Tampa Bay made Jensen the highest-paid center in the league. He’s really good. The Bucs actually have several back-up center candidates on the team including left guard Ali Marpet, who played center last year, in addition to veteran Evan Smith and newcomer Adam Gettis. But Jensen was signed to help get push in the middle and drive Tampa Bay’s interior running game. There is a drop off in talent between he and the others, and the Bucs definitely want to keep Marpet at left guard, which was a problem area for the team last year.

10. K Chandler Catanzaro
The Bucs’ kicking situation has been influx for nearly a decade and the team is desperately looking for capability and stability at this position. Catanzaro, who signed a big deal that pays him $3 million annually, has showed some promise in the preseason. He has a big strong leg that helps him connect on long field goals and drill kickoffs. Kickers can get injured (see Nick Folk last year) and the last thing Bucs general manager Jason Licht wants to do during this season is to have to find another kicker due to injury or ineffectiveness yet again.