Welcome to SR’s Fab 5 – my weekly insider column on the Bucs that features five things that are on my mind. SR’s Fab 5 is now a quicker read, but still packs a punch. Enjoy!

FAB 1. Bucs Key Questions At The Skill Positions

This SR’s Fab 5 is rather unique. Usually I come to my weekly column with the answers to questions, or at least my informed opinions to better educate you about your favorite team – the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But there are so many questions about this year’s Bucs team, which could just as easily win the division again with an even better record if everything goes right, or pick inside the Top 10 in next year’s draft if everything goes wrong.

So before you start reading this week’s SR’s Fab 5, these are the questions I have about the Bucs heading into training camp and the preseason and I wanted to share my thought process with you. Unfortunately I don’t have the answers – at least not yet. I’m afraid we’ll have to wait until August at least before that happens.

This edition of SR’s Fab 5 is supposed to be thought-provoking and to get you thinking like a Pewter Reporter as we prepare to watch training camp in less than a month. So let’s get to the key questions for every projected starter on the team, as well as some key reserves – starting with the offensive skill position players.

Gone is legendary quarterback Tom Brady and veteran running back Leonard Fournette. The Bucs will feature a new starting quarterback and a new starter at running back as well as a reshuffled offensive line with a pair of newcomers, and of course a new offensive coordinator in Dave Canales. There are so many questions about this unit, so let’s dive right in.

Bucs RB Rachaad White and QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

QB Baker Mayfield: Can Mayfield stay away from interceptions and play within Dave Canales’ offensive structure to emerge as the starter and resuscitate his NFL career? Or is he destined to join other highly drafted quarterbacks like Andy Dalton, Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota as a journeyman?

QB Kyle Trask: Can Trask rise to the occasion and live up to his draft billing and beat out Mayfield for the starting job by avoiding turnovers? Or did the Bucs blow a second-round pick on a backup quarterback?

RB Rachaad White: Can White shoulder the load and become a 1,000-yard feature back in Canales’ run-heavy offense? Or is White more of a complementary back in the NFL best suited for third downs?

RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn: Can Vaughn, who enters camp as the No. 2 back on the depth chart beat out Chase Edmonds to be White’s backup this season? Or will Vaughn go down as a wasted third-round pick who was drafted too high?

RB Chase Edmonds: Will Edmonds’ speed be enough to get him into the running back rotation and perhaps unseat Vaughn for White’s backup role? Or is Edmonds just a younger version of Giovanni Bernard, who seldom played on offense?

WR Mike Evans: Can Evans post another 1,000-yard season for a 10th straight year at age 30? And perhaps more importantly, will he once again be featured as a red zone weapon and get back to reaching double-digits in touchdowns?

WR Chris Godwin: Will Godwin make it all the way back to his pre-ACL injury days as a more explosive receiver? Can he still thrive outside as a receiver running vertical routes and winning 1-on-1 after spending much of the last four years playing inside as a slot receiver?

WR Russell Gage: Can Gage finally get healthy and stay healthy enough to use his quickness to generate yards after the catch and keep his spot as the Bucs’ No. 3 receiver? Or will Gage go down as a free agent bust and be cut during or after the 2023 season?

Bucs WR Trey Palmer – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

WR Trey Palmer: Will the rookie receiver continue to live up the hype and make the team as the No. 4 receiver due to his deep speed and ability to track the ball? And can Palmer make enough of an impression with his production to where he can unseat Gage as Tampa Bay’s No. 3 receiver?

TE Cade Otton: Can Otton ascend to the role of an every-down starting-caliber tight end in his second season, capable of being an in-line blocker and a weapon in the passing game? Or is Otton just an above average tight end in the mold of  a Cam Brate-type player?

TE Payne Durham: Will Durham be good enough as a rookie and a target in the passing game for the Bucs to use a healthy dose of 12 personnel (one back, two tight ends, two receivers)? Or will his lack of speed prevent him from getting open and he’s relegated to being a No. 3 tight end?

TE Ko Kieft: Can Kieft be anything more than a blocking tight end in Dave Canales’ new offense? Or will his usage on to the field continue to tip opposing defenses off that the Bucs will only be running the ball?

FAB 2. Bucs Key Questions In The Trenches

Tampa Bay has revamped its offensive line this offseason. Did the coaches make the right adjustments and put the right players in the right positions? The Bucs defensive line is faster, quicker and more athletic with young starters like Logan Hall and Calijah Kancey. But is the unit too young and inexperienced? There are plenty of questions in the Bucs trenches, so let’s get to them.

Bucs LG Matt Feiler – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

LT Tristan Wirfs: How quickly can Wirfs assert himself as a Pro Bowl-caliber left tackle? Is this the year that Wirfs earns a “C” on his chest and becomes a team captain and the leader of the offensive line?

LG Matt Feiler: Will a change of scenery lead to a bounce-back season for Feiler, who struggled last year with the Chargers? Is Feiler best suited to play left guard or right tackle in Tampa Bay?

C Ryan Jensen: Is Jensen fully recovered from the torn knee ligaments he suffered last year and healthy enough to play a 17-game season? If Jensen can last the season at age 32, can he regain his Pro Bowl form in 2023?

RG Cody Mauch: Is the change from left tackle to right guard and the jump from North Dakota State to the NFL going to be too overwhelming for Mauch during his rookie season? Can he make the necessary strides with his technique that Mauch won’t be a liability in pass protection?

RT Luke Goedeke: Can Goedeke find success back at his more natural position at right tackle than he did at left guard last year during his rookie season? Can Goedeke develop in his second season or is the former second-rounder destined to be a bust in the NFL?

OL Robert Hainsey: Did Hainsey show enough last year as a 17-game starter at center to even be in consideration to challenge either Feiler or Mauch for a starting guard job? Or do the Bucs want him to primarily focus on playing center and being Jensen’s backup?

Bucs DT Calijah Kancey – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

NT Vita Vea: Can Vea build upon last year’s career-high 6.5 sacks and continue to ascend as a pass rusher? Or will the move from playing more in the B gap as a three technique defensive tackle last year back to nose tackle this season stymie his sack production?

DT Logan Hall: Has Hall, who is just under 300 pounds, gained enough size and strength this offseason to hold up as an every-down starter at defensive tackle? Can he become equally adept at stopping the run – like Will Gholston was – as he is as an improving pass rusher?

DT Calijah Kancey: Will the 6-foot, 286-pound rookie defensive tackle become a target in the run game and ultimately a liability up front? Can Kancey’s quickness provide a jolt to Tampa Bay’s interior pass rush to where he logs more than three sacks as a first-year defensive tackle?

NT Greg Gaines: Can Gaines deliver more of a pass rush than former run-stuffing reserve Rakeem Nunez-Roches did, as the team expects? Will Gaines ultimately see some action in the starting lineup alongside Vea if he outperforms either Hall or Kancey in training camp and the preseason?

FAB 3. Bucs Key Questions At Linebacker

The Bucs defense has a lot of star power at both inside and outside linebacker. But those units aren’t without their own questions.

Bucs OLB Joe Tryon Shoyinka – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

OLB Shaq Barrett: Can Barrett recover physically from a torn Achilles tendon and get back to become an effective, double-digit sacker as he turns 31 this season? Will Barrett use the tragic death of his daughter this offseason to motivate him to a great season in her honor, or will the understandable grief be too much to overcome?

OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka: Can new outside linebackers coach George Edwards help unleash Tryon-Shoyinka’s athletic talents and get him to come up with a better rush plan and finish sacks? Or is JTS just a great athlete that lacks the necessary football instincts to ultimately live up to his first-round billing?

OLB Anthony Nelson: Did Nelson take a big step in his development last year with a career-high 5.5 sacks and team-leading three forced fumbles? Or did the 6-foot-7 edge defender actually reach his ceiling to where he’s nothing more than a quality reserve outside linebacker in the mold of Carl Nassib?

OLB YaYa Diaby: Can Diaby make a splash as a rookie pass rusher and actually challenge JTS for playing time and perhaps his starting job? Or will the slow climb to his 9.5-sack senior season at Louisville make him more of a developmental project in Tampa Bay with a similar path?

OLB Jose Ramirez: Will there be a big learning curve from Eastern Michigan to the NFL for the undersized pass rusher? And can Ramirez make enough of an impact on special teams to make the 53-man roster as the fifth outside linebacker, beating out the likes of veteran Cam Gill and fellow rookie Markees Watts?

ILB Lavonte David: Will David once again successfully fend off Father Time and stay healthy to continue to play at a high level at age 33? Can the future Bucs Ring of Honor member return to his play-making ways with more interceptions, forced fumbles and sacks in 2023?

Bucs ILBs Devin White and Lavonte David – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ILB Devin White: Will White use his displeasure over his contract situation with Bucs to fuel him to a great season or will it prove to be a distraction for the fifth-year linebacker? Can White finally become a consistent playmaker to the point where Tampa Bay would even want to reward him with a big contract extension?

ILB SirVocea Dennis: Can Dennis have an impactful rookie to season to where he positions himself as a future starter to replace either David or White in 2023? Will Dennis be able to unseat K.J. Britt as the team’s third linebacker on the depth chart?

ILB K.J. Britt: Will Britt be able to fend off Dennis by becoming better in coverage during training camp and the preseason? Is he in jeopardy of even not making the roster at ILB4 unless he shines on special teams again?

FAB 4. Bucs Key Questions In The Secondary

Tampa Bay’s young depth has plenty of questions behind a quality quartet of starters in the secondary. But even the starters enter the 2023 season with question marks of their own.

CB Carlton Davis III: Can Davis, who has missed a combined 10 games out of the last two seasons, stay healthy for an entire year? Can he become a more reliable interceptor and get back to a four-INT season like had in 2020?

Bucs CB Zyon McCollum – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

CB Jamel Dean: Will Dean hold on to the interceptions he typically drops to the point where he could get Pro Bowl consideration this season? Dean has already become the best cover corner in Tampa Bay, but how high is his ceiling as he continues to gain experience?

CB Zyon McCollum: Can McCollum, who was a liability in the running game, become a better tackler in 2023 and reduce his number of missed tackles? Will he begin to take more chances to make plays on the ball and not be so gun-shy in coverage?

CB Dee Delaney: Can Delaney become the surprise starter at nickel cornerback and replace Antoine Winfield Jr. due to his experience? Or will Delaney’s lack of elite traits allow one of the team’s rookies to surpass him on the depth chart and relegate him to a backup role once again?

CB Josh Hayes: After playing slot and safety last year at Kansas State, can Hayes make a smooth transition back to cornerback where he played at North Dakota State earlier in his career? Can Hayes make a quick transition to the NFL to the point where he can unseat Delaney for the starting nickelback role?

S Antoine Winfield Jr.: Will sticking to free safety result in more interceptions for Winfield and the Bucs defense? Can Winfield pile up enough picks and sacks and force enough fumbles to make it back to the Pro Bowl in 2023?

Bucs S Kaevon Merriweather – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

S Ryan Neal: Is Neal really an ascending safety in the league, or did last year in Seattle make him a one-hit wonder? Can Neal quickly master Todd Bowles’ complex defensive scheme, which asks a lot of its safeties, to where he can avoid a lengthy learning curve and make an instant impact in Tampa Bay?

S Kaevon Merriweather: Will Weatherspoon show off his physicality and shine when the pads come on, as the coaches and scouts expect? Is he athletic enough to be considered a future starter or is just destined to be a reserve and a core special teamer?

S Chris Izien: Can the undersized Izien show enough on defense and special teams in camp and the preseason to unseat Nolan Turner as the fourth safety in Tampa Bay? Will he make enough plays without making many mistakes to claim the open starting nickelback role as a rookie?

FAB 5. Bucs Key Questions On Special Teams And Coaching

Let’s round out this week’s SR’s Fab column by highlighting some of the big questions on special teams and with the team’s coordinators and play-callers.

K Chase McLaughlin: Can the strong-legged McLaughlin be accurate enough to replace Ryan Succop as the team’s kicker this season? Will he be able to handle the pressure of the kicking competition the Bucs created when they signed Rodrigo Blankenship after the mini-camp?

Bucs K Rodrigo Blankenship and P Jake Camarda – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

K Rodrigo Blankenship: Will Blankenship rebound from an injury-plagued 2022 season and stick in Tampa Bay by beating out McLaughlin? Does Blankenship have a big enough leg to drill the 50-yard-plus field goals that Todd Bowles is looking for in his kicker?

P Jake Camarda: Can Camarda build on an impressive rookie season and ascend to the level of a Pro Bowl punter in his second year in Tampa Bay? Will Camarda master the art of directional punting and become a coffin corner weapon special teams?

HC/DC Todd Bowles: Will Bowles continue to call plays on defense or will he turn over the play-calling duties to either Kacy Rodgers or Larry Foote? Can Bowles become a better in-game manager when it comes to situational football on game days and become a less risk-adverse head coach?

OC Dave Canales: Does Canales have what it takes to not only be a good play-caller on game days, but a strategic mind when it comes to building an effective game plan during the week? Can Canales make the necessary adjustments on the sidelines fast enough on game days?

ST Keith Armstrong: Can Armstrong find the right return specialist and actually put together a capable return game so it can be a weapon instead of a liability for the Bucs? With so many rookies and new faces on special teams this year, can Armstrong prevent the Bucs coverage units from faltering in 2023?

Watch Dave Canales On The Pewter Report Podcast

For more on the Bucs’ new offensive play-caller, check out the recent Pewter Report Podcast with Special Guest: Bucs OC Dave Canales by clicking the link below.