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 Midseason MVPs

Let’s take a look at the best of the best in Tampa Bay, which is 3-5 through the first eight games of the 2023 regular season.

Bucs Offensive MVP – LT Tristian Wirfs

Wirfs may have doubted himself this summer when making the switch from being a Pro Bowl right tackle to left tackle, but nobody else really did. Heading into Week 10, Wirfs is Pro Football Focus’ No. 7 offensive tackle with an 81 grade and the highest pass pro grade at 86.3 with a minimum of 60 snaps. Through eight games, Wifs has not allowed a sack and has only surrendered three QB hits and seven pressures.

Wirfs has been good in the run game, but as a new left tackle, he has some room to improve in that area – as do all of the Bucs offensive linemen. Yet there’s no reason why he shouldn’t make his third straight Pro Bowl team this year with how well the Iowa product is playing – at a new position. Wirfs is proving to be just as dominant at left tackle as he was at right tackle.

There’s no doubt that Wirfs is the priority when it comes to contract extensions in 2024. He’s already had his fifth-year option picked up for next year, but the reality is that the team will likely sign Wirfs to an extension before next season to lower his $18.2 million cap hit in 2024.

Bucs Defensive MVP – S Antoine Winfield Jr.

Bucs S Antoine Winfield Jr. – Photo by: USA Today

It’s no surprise that Winfield has the highest PFF grade on the team at 88.9 because he’s simply been the Bucs’ best player to start the season. Winfield has been a splashy, impact player in virtually every game. Through eight games, he already has two sacks, set a new personal best with three forced fumbles, tied his career high for a season with three fumble recoveries, and also tied his career high with six pass breakups.

And there are nine more games left in the year. Unreal production from a guy who has done it all in half a season except pick off a pass – yet. If the Bucs had 10 other Winfields on defense, they wouldn’t have surrendered 39 points in Houston, nor would Tampa Bay be 3-5.

Winfield is on pace to record a career-high 104 tackles, four sacks, six forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries and 12 pass breakups. And hopefully an interception or two. After locking up Tristan Wirfs to a long-term deal, the Bucs’ next priority will be to do the same with Winfield, who will probably be known as Antoine Windfall Jr. when he breaks the bank next spring.

Bucs Special Teams MVP – P Jake Camarda

Bucs P Jake Camarda – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

It’s crazy to think that kicker Chase McLaughlin, who is connecting on 88.2% of his field goals this year, is not the Bucs’ Special Teams MVP. But that distinction goes to Camarda, who is truly having a Pro Bowl-caliber season in Tampa Bay in his second year with the team. Camarda is tied for the league lead in punting with Tennessee’s Ryan Stonehouse with a 52.3-yard average.

Stonehouse just set an NFL record with a 53.1-yard average last year and will be dueling with Camarda on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium when the Titans come to visit. Camarda averaged 48.8 yards per punt last year and tied his career-high from a year ago with a 74-yard blast earlier this season.

More importantly, Camarda’s net has improved from 41.6 yards last year to 43.6 yards this season. After downing 22 punts inside the 20-yard line last year, he’s already downed 17 inside the 20 this season. The Georgia product has increased his inside-the-20 percentage from 27.9% to an astounding 45.6% in 2023. Camarda had 10 touchbacks last year, but only four this year as he’s become a huge fourth-down weapon for Tampa Bay.

FAB 2. The Other Best Bucs At Midseason

These Bucs deserve recognition for good-to-great individual play through the team’s disappointing 3-5 start.

Best Rookie – DT Calijah Kancey

Bucs DTs Calijah Kancey and Logan Hall – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Bucs’ 2023 draft class has underwhelmed so far, but Kancey has been the best of the bunch. The first-round pick has two sacks and a bunch of pressures in just four games after missing essentially the first four games of the season due to a calf injury. That injury occurred early in training camp and caused him to miss the preseason, which stunted his growth.

If Kancey can stay healthy, he has the chance to not only lead the Bucs in sacks this year and emerge as the best pass rusher, but also record more sacks than Warren Sapp, Gerald McCoy and Vita Vea did as rookies in Tampa Bay, which was just three from each of them. Kancey’s quickness and athleticism are as special as advertised. A full offseason with the Bucs in an NFL weight room should only aid in Kancey’s ascension.

Right guard Cody Mauch, the team’s second-round pick, has started every game and has gone through some real growing pains. He needs experience and appears to be on the Alex Cappa path rather than the Ali Marpet trail. That means it will likely take a couple of years for Mauch to really develop, but he does have great traits and temperament and should be a good one in time.

Best Free Agent Acquisition – QB Baker Mayfield

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

Mayfield has been an absolute bargain signing for the Buccaneers at one year for $4 million and is having a good season. He’s completing a career-high 65% of his passes with 12 touchdowns and four interceptions. His 74.2 Pro Football Focus grade has him as the 15th-ranked quarterback. That’s tied with Seattle’s Geno Smith (74.2) and ahead of Chicago’s Justin Fields (73.6).

Mayfield is resurrecting his career in Tampa Bay, but will it be enough to warrant a contract extension? That will largely depend on who the head coach is in 2024. If it’s Todd Bowles, and Dave Canales remains the offensive coordinator, there is a decent chance that could happen. But at 3-5, the Bucs need to win a bunch of games in a hurry to make the playoffs and show progress in Bowles’ second season as head coach.

With a strong finish from Mayfield, who has not thrown an interception in each of the last two games, that could happen. Either way, Mayfield is proving to NFL teams that he’s better than he was in 2021 in Cleveland and in 2022 when he played for the Panthers and Rams. He hasn’t done enough yet to earn a mega-contract extension, but Mayfield has shown he can still be a capable NFL starter.

Newcomer of the Year – K Chase McLaughlin

Bucs K Chase McLaughlin – Photo by: USA Today

McLaughlin is the easy choice for this award. Aside from making 88.2% of his field goals, McLaughlin has hit on a remarkable 80% clip (4-of-5) from 50 yards and beyond. The Bucs wanted a stronger leg this year to replace 36-year-old Ryan Succop, and McLaughlin has been exactly what the team was hoping for.

The best thing about McLaughlin aside from his accuracy is his age. He’s only 26 years old, so he has plenty more seasons left to play. Bucs general manager Jason Licht really struggled to find a reliable kicker prior to Succop’s arrival in 2020. Now he’s found back-to-back stud kickers, which is easier said than done.

Now it’s up to Licht and assistant general manager Mike Greenberg to re-sign McLaughlin in the offseason as long as he finishes the year as strong as he’s started it. McLaughlin should be a priority re-signing before free agency starts.

Unsung Player of the Year – ILB Lavonte David

Bucs ILB Lavonte David and OLB Shaq Barrett – Photo by: USA Today

It might seem awkward to have a household name like the legendary David earn this distinction. But no one expected David to play this well at age 33. David earned an 85.1 PFF grade last year and that’s dipped to 71.3 this year, but that seems like too far of a fall.

David leads the Bucs with 78 tackles. That’s 20 more than the next defender, Ryan Neal, who has 58. And it’s 22 more tackles than the disappointing Devin White (56) has this year. In fact, David has been running circles around White despite being eight years old with both linebackers being in contract years.

David also has a pair of sacks on the season, a team-high nine tackles for loss and a forced fumble. He’s a bargain at $4.5 million, which is nearly one-third of what White makes, and the Bucs should definitely re-sign David to another one-year deal next year – even if it has to come with a pay raise.

FAB 3. Most Improved And Most Disappointing Bucs

Like Pewter Report does after every game – win or lose – let’s examine the most disappointing Bucs players and the most impressive players – from an improvement standpoint from a year ago.

Most Improved Offensive Player – RT Luke Goedeke

Bucs RT Luke Goedeke – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

It’s amazing how Goedeke has gone from being a completely sub-par left guard during his rookie season to being a very good right tackle in his second year in Tampa Bay. Goedeke looks at home at right tackle, which is where he played his last two seasons at Central Michigan.

With a 76.8 Pro Football Focus grade, Goedeke is the fourth-ranked Bucs player on offense and is a Top 15 offensive tackle. Nobody saw that coming this season, but Goedeke has earned it. He put in a ton of work with Tristan Wirfs in the offseason and it’s showing.

Bucs general manager Jason Licht has found a pair of great bookend tackles with Goedeke and Wirfs, and that’s awfully hard to do in today’s NFL. The best is yet to come for Goedeke as he continues to get used to playing right tackle.

Most Improved Defensive Player – FS Antoine Winfield Jr.

Bucs S Antoine Winfield Jr. DT Calijah Kancey and ILB Devin White – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs were really hoping this distinction would go to either outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka or defensive tackle Logan Hall this year. Tryon-Shoyinka, the team’s first-round pick in 2021, has made some strides and has three sacks so far after plateauing at four over the last two seasons. But Tryon-Shoyinka has not lived up to his draft billing in a critical third season. He’s not developed into a consistent pass-rushing threat like the team hoped he would.

Hall, the team’s first pick at the top of the second round last year, has also made some strides but has been average at best in most games. He added weight in the offseason, but still gets pushed around in the run game and isn’t an instinctive enough or effective enough pass rusher.

So this award goes to Winfield, who has gone from being a great player to an excellent player this year. The move from slot defender to free safety has allowed him to make more plays across the field where he has used his speed, instincts and athleticism to star in a contract year.

Most Disappointing Offensive Player – WR Trey Palmer

Bucs WR Trey Palmer – Photo by: USA Today

There are plenty of candidates to choose from on offense, including rookie right guard Cody Mauch, who has surrendered five sacks this season, and every backup running back the Bucs have trotted out to spell Rachaad White. Robert Hainsey hasn’t progressed like Tampa Bay had hoped this year and the team will be looking to upgrade the center position next year as a result.

But Palmer has really disappointed as the team’s No. 3 receiver for several reasons. First, despite blazing speed, he’s only caught 15 passes for 167 yards and a pedestrian 11.1-yard average to go along with two touchdowns. This is despite playing on 233 pass snaps. Palmer also only has 35 yards after the catch, which is surprising given how fast he is. His fumble in Houston nearly cost the Bucs a chance at their final touchdown, too.

It almost seems unfair tagging a sixth-round pick with this distinction. But Palmer won the third receiver role in camp after Russell Gage went down, and has really underwhelmed despite a heavy workload. He’s averaging less than two catches per week. It hasn’t helped his cause that he’s been flagged four times, including three holding penalties and an illegal formation penalty. Palmer needs to step up down the stretch.

Most Disappointing Defensive Player – SS Ryan Neal

Bills TE Dalton Kincaid and Bucs SS Ryan Neal – Photo by: USA Today

Unfortunately, there are a lot of candidates for this dubious award. Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and Logan Hall get consideration due to their lack of production versus their draft status. Shaq Barrett merits mentioning because his lack of production doesn’t match his $17 million average salary.

Carlton Davis III and Jamel Dean haven’t sniffed an interception in a calendar year despite making a combined $26.8 million. The same could be said for Devin White, who has played some bad football this season for a guy in a contract year. White barely makes plays anymore and looks like he’s playing not to get hurt.

But Neal takes the cake. He’s been awful in coverage, where he has surrendered multiple touchdowns and big plays in the passing game due to taking poor angles and not being a great athlete. The Bucs were hoping they had a steal in signing him this offseason after a high PFF grade last year in Seattle. But the Seahawks rescinded his restricted free agent tender and opted to go with Giants safety Julian Love instead, which was telling. Now the Bucs know why the Seahawks made that move, unfortunately.

FAB 4. The Best And Worst Of 2023 – So Far

Here are my picks for the best and worst team and individual efforts of the 2023 season at the midway point.

Best Individual Performance – Antoine Winfield Jr. at New Orleans

Bucs S Antoine Winfield Jr. and Saints FB Austin Prentice – Photo by: USA Today

Winfield has had a number of outstanding individual performances this season, including one in Minnesota in the season opener where he had eight tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, a pass breakup and two touchdown-saving tackles against wide receiver Justin Jefferson. But Winfield’s game at New Orleans in Week 4 was even better.

Against the Saints, Winfield totaled nine tackles, one sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery right before halftime that led to a Tampa Bay touchdown. Throw in a pass breakup in the end zone on a deep shot to Chris Olave and Winfield was everywhere doing just about everything.

Best Win of the Year – 26-9 at New Orleans

Well, there are only three to choose from, which is quite disappointing. It has to be the Bucs’ 26-9 win at New Orleans, right? That win got Tampa Bay off to a 3-1 start before the bye week. Everything clicked.

The defense held the Saints offense out of the end zone and forced a couple of takeaways. The offense shook off its red zone woes and scored three touchdowns and actually ran the ball for over 100 yards. And the special teams contained dangerous return man Rashid Shaheed. It was truly complementary football all the way around for Tampa Bay.

Best Play of the Year – OLB Shaq Barrett vs. Bears

Bucs OLB Shaq Barrett – Photo by: USA Today

In his first regular season home game since losing his little girl to a drowning accident at his pool in the offseason, Barrett made a sensational play that was packed with emotion. With the Bucs leading the Bears, 20-17, in the final two minutes in Week 2, Barrett read a screen pass down by the Bears’ goal line and picked off Justin Fields’ pass. His teammates rallied to his cause and pushed Barrett over the goal line for his first career pick-six to put the game out of reach. Barrett then pointed to the sky in Arrayah’s honor.

Worst Individual Performance – CB Carlton Davis III at Houston

Davis gave up three touchdowns, including the game-winner to rookie receiver Tank Dell with six seconds left, in a nightmarish performance at Houston. It was a terrible performance for a guy who gets paid an average of $14.8 million per year, did an awful lot of talking before the season and hasn’t sniffed an interception all year. Enough said.

Worst Loss of the Year – 39-37 at Houston

You saw it last weekend. No need to talk about it and re-live it. The 39-37 defeat at the hands of quarterback CJ Stroud and his NFL rookie record 470-yard day with five touchdowns was one of the worst, deflating losses the Bucs have had in a long, long time. We’ll see if it lingers into this week when Tampa Bay hosts Tennessee on Sunday.

FAB 5. Pewter Projections In The Second Half Of The Season

Let’s take a look at the remaining schedule and see if Tampa Bay can make the postseason – and how many Pro Bowlers the Bucs could wind up this year.

Predicted Record Down The Stretch

Bucs HC Todd Bowles and ILB Devin White – Photo by: Cliff Welch P/R

Tampa Bay has lost its last two winnable games against evenly matched opponents in Atlanta, 16-13 in Week 7, and Houston, 39-37 last week. The Bucs should be 5-3 or 4-4 at the very least. Now it will be a struggle to not only make the playoffs, but also have a chance at winning the NFC South, as they are 1.5 games out of first place in the division.

With games against better teams coming up against San Francisco and Jacksonville that will likely wind up as losses, that means the Bucs will need to win six out of the other seven remaining games. That’s a difficult needle to thread and doesn’t leave much room for error. Sunday’s game against the Titans is as must-win as they come. Tampa Bay can’t lose five games in a row and expect to rebound and make the postseason.

Yet the Bucs seem to be in disarray right now after a crushing loss to the Texans, and even though they shouldn’t lose the Titans, I’m guessing they will. After a loss at San Francisco the following week, Tampa Bay will be 3-7 and will be lucky to finish 8-9 again. Either a 6-11 or 7-10 record seems more probable right now.

Predicted Pewter Pro Bowlers

LT Tristan Wirfs

Bucs LT Tristan Wirfs – Photo by: USA Today

If Wirfs doesn’t make the Pro Bowl, it will be a crime. All he’s done is transition from dominating on the right side at offensive tackle to dominating on the left side this season. Wirfs should get All-Pro consideration as well, in addition to a huge new contract. If Wirfs can stay healthy, he’s on a Hall of Fame trajectory.

P Jake Camarda

Some Bucs fans laughed when Camarda was drafted in the fourth round in 2022, while others got angry over the team using a middle-round pick on a punter. But all general manager Jason Licht did was draft an instant starter in the fourth round and land one of the league’s best punters. After a very good rookie season, Camarda is already punting at a Pro Bowl level.

Other Bucs In Consideration For The Pro Bowl

Bucs FS Antoine Winfield Jr. and Falcons WR Drake London – Photo by: USA Today

Antoine Winfield Jr. and Mike Evans have a chance at making the Pro Bowl, but they’re probably going to need a really strong November statistically. Winfield has done everything but pick off a pass during a phenomenal start to the 2023 season. He’s sacked the quarterback, forced fumbles, recovered fumbles and made touchdown-saving pass breakups and TD-saving tackles, too. But Pro Bowl DBs are supposed to have interceptions, and Winfield needs a pick or two to solidify a spot on the list.

As for Evans, he currently ranks 14th in the NFC among receivers in receptions with 37 catches and is sixth in the NFC at wide receiver with 594 yards. He’s also third among NFC receivers with five touchdowns. Getting touched down at the 1-yard line last week in Houston cost Evans a valuable TD. Evans needs two to three 100-yard days in November to rise up the receiving list and needs to be at 10 TDs entering December to get Pro Bowl consideration.