Considering the amount of talent on their roster — both in terms of established veterans and rising stars — it’s not a stretch to say that the Bucs can contend for a Super Bowl as soon as this season.

This is a team that features a quarterback who has thrown for 8,544 yards and 69 touchdowns over the last two seasons in Baker Mayfield. At wide receiver, there’s future Hall of Famer Mike Evans and four-time 1,000-yard receiver Chris Godwin. The offensive line is led by left tackle Tristan Wirfs, a four-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro.

On defense, there’s two-time Pro Bowler Vita Vea, as well as Lavonte David, who continues to be one of the most underrated linebackers in NFL history. Antoine Winfield Jr. is only one season removed from All-Pro honors himself. The Bucs also added two-time Pro Bowler and four-time double-digit sacker Haason Reddick this offseason.

That’s without getting to the emerging talent.

On offense, there’s 2024 1,000-yard rusher Bucky Irving and a receiver who closed the 2024 regular season with seven touchdowns over his last five games in Jalen McMillan, as well as a trio of young stars on the offensive line in Luke Goedeke, Cody Mauch and Graham Barton. Defensively, there’s the team’s 2024 sack leader, Calijah Kancey, as well as Yaya Diaby, Zyon McCollum and Tykee Smith, all success stories from recent Bucs drafts.

Bucs RB Bucky Irving and WR Jalen McMillan – Photo by: USA Today

And with a supporting cast that features the likes of Rachaad White, Cade Otton, Ben Bredeson, Logan Hall, Anthony Nelson and more, Tampa Bay has a roster that is in great shape to contend for the franchise’s third Lombardi Trophy.

In fact, heading into the 2025 NFL Draft, Tampa Bay has to feel like it might just be one more talented class of rookies away from rising to the level of some of the top contenders in the NFC and potentially the NFL as a whole. That’s a sentiment that Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds covered in a recent Pewter Pulse video. 

But are the Bucs still being viewed as a team that is a tier below the top Super Bowl contenders?

It sure seems that way.

Bucs Not Among PFF’s Top 10 Teams With Biggest Super Bowl Windows

Pro Football Focus’ Zoltán Buday published a top 10 list on Friday morning that ranked the NFL teams with the biggest Super Bowl windows ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft.

The usual suspects are near the top of the list, with the defending champion Eagles leading off at No. 1. The Bills, led by 2024 MVP Josh Allen, are No. 2, with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs right behind them at No. 3. Then come Lamar Jackson and the Ravens at No. 4, with the Lions next at No. 5.

There can’t be any arguments against that top five, right? But even as the list keeps going, the Bucs are nowhere to be found.

The Texans are at No. 6, followed by the 49ers at No. 7.

The Rams, Commanders and Chargers then round out the top 10 at No. 8, No. 9 and No. 10, respectively.

Now, Washington just beat Tampa Bay in the playoffs a few months ago and went on to the NFC Championship Game, and the Rams are understandably viewed more favorably than the Bucs given the combination of Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford, as well as the wealth of talent on their defense.

But Houston at No. 6, San Francisco sticking around at No. 7 and the Chargers coming in at No. 10 all came as a bit more of a surprise.

The point isn’t that Tampa Bay clearly has a bigger Super Bowl window than these teams. The point is more that Todd Bowles’ team still isn’t at the level where it’s being viewed nationally as a contender for a championship in 2025. As much as this Buccaneers team might feel like they’re right there, they’re not being talked about like that.

Bucs GM Jason Licht and HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

While it very well could be that Tampa Bay just barely missed out on the top 10, Super Bowl odds indicate that it’s more likely that Baker Mayfield and Co. are lumped in at one tier below the leading contenders.

Initial odds after this year’s Super Bowl had the Bucs at +4000 to win the Lombardi Trophy in February of 2026, which tied them for the 15th-best odds in the league.

Currently, Hard Rock Bet has them at +3000, which ties them with the Broncos, Vikings and Chargers for 11th-best odds. DraftKings also has Tampa Bay at +3000, tied with Minnesota and Denver but behind 11 other teams. ESPN Bet has the team’s odds at 30-1 to win it all, which is 13th. They’re +2900 on FanDuel, which is tied with the Chargers for 13th.

So, are the Bucs really going to remain a middle-of-the-pack team in 2025, or will they turn into the Super Bowl-contending squad they believe themselves to be? Time will ultimately tell, of course, but if anything, their current status related to the other top contenders in the league highlights just how important this upcoming draft is for Jason Licht and his staff.