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Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions from the @PewterReport Twitter account this week in the Bucs Mailbag. Submit your question to the Bucs Mailbag each week via Twitter using the hashtag #PRMailbag. Here are the Bucs questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.

QUESTION: Which player do you feel is going to have the most improved or standout season?

ANSWER: If he continues at this pace, outside linebacker Yaya Diaby could have a monster year. Diaby has been a monster during the first four training camp practices and the pads haven’t even come on yet. There have been times where Diaby has been virtually unblockable – and he’s going against two formidable offensive tackles in left tackle Tristan Wirfs and right tackle Luke Goedeke during some of his reps. Both starting tackles talked to me about Diaby after Sunday’s practice.

Goedeke called Diaby “a handful” after practice, while Wirfs said he’s “going to be a problem for the league this year.”

Bucs DT Calijah Kancey and OLB Yaya Diaby – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Diaby’s pass rush is still a work in progress, but he should be more technically refined after three more weeks of camp battles. Right now, Diaby is bigger and stronger than he was a year ago, and after doing Pilates this offseason, he’s become more flexible and agile, too.

Diaby’s rush plan has also shown signs of improvement, but he still needs to be quicker getting to his finishing move when throwing combos at offensive tackles. That will come with more experience this August in the preseason and this fall during the regular season.

I think defensive tackle Calijah Kancey has a good chance of becoming a double-digit sacker this season, but so does Diaby. He had 7.5 sacks last year to lead the team during his rookie season. There’s no reason why he can’t lead the Bucs defense again this season in that category. It should be fun seeing Kancey and Diaby racing to see which Tampa Bay defender will get to the quarterback first this fall.

QUESTION: What’s been surprising so far in Bucs training camp?

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

ANSWER: I think two of the biggest surprises in Bucs camp are at the wide receiver position. Trey Palmer, who is entering his second season, has had a very up-and-down training camp for the first four practices. I really expected Palmer, who had a very good offseason in the OTAs, to put up more of a fight for the No. 3 wide receiver position with rookie Jalen McMillan. Right now it’s been McMillan who has been the smoother, polished, more consistent playmaker in practice.

Now keep in mind that the pads haven’t come on yet (that happens on Monday morning) and training camp has just begun. There is still plenty of time for Palmer to rise to the occasion – and even for McMillan to fall off a bit. This battle is far from over. But through the first week, McMillan has the clear lead for WR3 on my scorecard.

The other surprise in camp at wide receiver is Sterling Shepard. At times, he’s been the third best wideout behind veterans Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Shepard looked a little rusty during the mandatory mini-camp after he signed with the team. After missing OTAs and offseason workouts, that was to be expected. But Shepard’s rustiness extended to the first day of training camp, too. That led me to believe that it was unlikely that he makes the team this year.

Bucs WR Sterling Shepard – Photo by: Cliff Welch P/R

The 30-year-old veteran quickly found his stride on Thursday and made several big plays and quickly established a rapport with backup QB Kyle Trask. It will be interesting to see how Shepard continues to fare in camp and in the preseason. The top four receivers seem set with Evans, Godwin, McMillan and Palmer. The guess here is that the Bucs keep six receivers due to Liam Coen’s penchant for running three-receiver sets and it’s likely that Tampa Bay’s kick and/or punt returner is a wide receiver.

The top three receivers vying for the two remaining spots on the depth chart would be second-year pro Rakim Jarrett, buzzworthy undrafted free agent Kameron Johnson and Shepard. The only issue is that whoever fills out the final two spots on the depth chart will likely have to have a role on special teams in order to be active on game days. Will a 30-year-old receiver like Shepard want to cover kicks or punts at this stage of his career? It will be interesting to see how the wide receiver battle shakes out over the next month.

QUESTION: Any thoughts about making John Wolford QB2 based on his familiarity and experience with Liam Coen? Also, any thoughts about what happens with Kyle Trask beyond this season? Does the team let him go?

Bucs QBs Kyle Trask and John Wolford – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: Kyle Trask’s future with the Bucs remains to be seen. It’s a far cry from a year ago when he was getting more reps in practice and he was neck-and-neck with Baker Mayfield for the starting quarterback job during the first week of training camp. There were some practices early on where Trask outplayed Mayfield. But after the first week and the first preseason game, especially, Mayfield came on strong and took control of the QB position.

Now Trask is resigned to be the backup for a fourth straight season. I think we saw the best of Trask last year in terms of his effort and gusto because he was in a legit QB competition. He’ll really need to perform well in the preseason to show the Bucs – and other NFL teams that may be interested – that he’s worth signing in 2025. To date, he has not shown that he can be anything more than a backup quarterback at the NFL level. Being on his third offensive coordinator in the last three years certainly isn’t helping.

Can John Wolford unseat Trask as Baker Mayfield’s backup? It’s not likely, but not out of the realm of possibility, either. Liam Coen coached Wolford in Los Angeles and was there when Wolford beat the Cardinals to help the Rams make the playoffs a few years ago. Coen certainly thinks highly of him and he knows the Rams-based offense even better than Baker Mayfield at this point in time.

But for Wolford to leapfrog Trask and move into the backup role, it would take a fantastic camp and preseason from Wolford and a complete collapse from Trask for that to happen. The Bucs do value Wolford and think he’s the best third-string quarterback in the league – at the very least.

QUESTION: When Jason Licht drafts an offensive lineman, is it his decision to move them to a position other than what they played in college? For example, Cody Mauch to right guard as opposed to left guard since his college days were at left tackle. What about if the coaches don’t agree on the position change? In Licht we trust. After many dark seasons since 2014 he’s definitely been the Licht at the end of the tunnel.

Bucs LT Tristan Wirfs and C Robert Hainsey – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: I certainly trust Jason Licht when it comes to drafting exceptional offensive linemen. Licht has had more success drafting offensive linemen than any other position since he took over as the team’s general manager in 2014. In fact, every offensive lineman he’s drafted within the first three rounds has emerged as at least a quality starter.

Tristan Wirfs, Licht’s first-round pick in 2020, is clearly his best pick so far. Wirfs has already become a Pro Bowler and an All-Pro and is on a Hall of Fame trajectory if he stays healthy. Second-round picks Ali Marpet and Donovan Smith in the 2015 draft also helped the Bucs win Super Bowl LV along with Wirfs in 2020. Alex Cappa, a third-round pick in 2018, was also on that Super Bowl squad as a starter at right guard.

Luke Goedeke, a second-round pick in 2022, struggled at left guard, but has found a home at right tackle where he’s blossoming into a star. The same could be said for right guard Cody Mauch, who was a second-round pick in 2023. Even Robert Hainsey, a third-round pick in 2021, has been of value as the team’s starting center the past two years, replacing the injured Ryan Jensen.

When it comes to changing positions from college to the NFL, Licht and his personnel staff look for athletic linemen – typically left or right tackles – who they can move inside to guard or center. Look no further than Licht and the Bucs drafting Graham Barton, a left tackle at Duke, in the first round this year to play center. Barton did start five games at center during his freshman season. So it was easier to project him transitioning to the interior at the NFL level as a result.

I do wonder why Mauch was moved from left tackle at North Dakota State to right guard instead of left guard because played on the left side in college. I think the reason was because veteran Matt Feiler, who signed last year in free agency, was more comfortable playing left guard. I’m glad Mauch is staying at right guard, though, because I think he and Goedeke have established a rhythm and chemistry together playing on the right side.