Bucs ILB Alex Anzalone – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Hunfu Jan

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

QUESTION: In your SR’s FAB 5 you stated that the defense has a much meaner attitude and also that it is incrementally better. Does this mean you feel we are at least respectable now heading into the draft? Are you pleased or not by these defensive signings so far? As always, thanks for 31 years of coverage! I’ve been a subscriber for all of them!

ANSWER: Thank you very much! I greatly appreciate your support through the years. To answer your question, I do think the Bucs defense has taken a step towards becoming more respectable. I would say it’s gone from being a subpar unit to becoming an average unit, but there is more work to be done in both free agency and the upcoming draft and general manager Jason Licht and head coach Todd Bowles knows this.

I really like the acquisitions in free agency, especially on defense with inside linebacker Alex Anzalone, defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson and outside linebacker Al-Quadin Muhammad. The reason, as I stated in my SR’s FAB 5 column, is that Tampa Bay’s defense needed an attitude adjustment. Bowles’ unit had gotten soft over the last couple of years, and the three additions Licht, assistant general managers Rob McCartney and Mike Greenberg and the personnel department brought in add some toughness, physicality and edginess to the Bucs.

Bucs DT A’Shawn Robinson, ILB Alex Anzalone and OLB Al-Quadin Muhammad – Photos by IMAGN Images

Robinson is an ass kicker. We knew that coming in and he only reinforced that during his introductory press conference. He’s an upgrade over Logan Hall at the 4i defensive end position in base defense and an upgrade over Greg Gaines as Vita Vea’s backup nose tackle. Anzalone is a high-energy fire-starter that excels in coverage and relishes the chance to blitz more often in Bowles’ scheme. Muhammad is a late bloomer who had a breakout year in Detroit last year with 11 sacks. He’s highly motivated to prove that wasn’t a fluke.

I’m also a big fan of the Kenneth Gainwell signing as I loved his tape at Memphis back in 2019 and have always wanted him to land in Tampa Bay. Gainwell isn’t as big as Rachaad White, but actually had a higher pass protection grade per Pro Football Focus last year, and he’s a speedier, more explosive back with great hands. He’s a terrific addition to a running back room that is led by Bucky Irving and once again has Sean Tucker in the mix as well.

QUESTION: What does it say to the league when your franchise icon leaves despite the team offering more money and desperately wanting Mike Evans back? The bleeding won’t stop here, M1k3 was the first domino. Baker Mayfield will leave next if winning isn’t No. 1 in Tampa Bay.

ANSWER: I think there is some truth to this. If the Bucs underwhelm again and don’t get back to their winning ways this season there is a chance that more potential free agents leave Tampa Bay next year. The team will have some high-profile free agents in 2027, including defensive tackle Vita Vea, outside linebacker Yaya Diaby, guard Cody Mauch and of course, quarterback Baker Mayfield.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and WR Mike Evans – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

While everything thinks it’s a given that Mayfield will be re-signed next offseason, I’m sure people felt the same way about Mike Evans staying in Tampa Bay with a contract extension. Now he’s in San Francisco, and it’s clear it wasn’t about the money. The Bucs offered more money and he still left to play for the 49ers. Tampa Bay won eight games last year, while San Francisco won 12 despite being in the best division in football.

Players want to win, and back-to-back losing seasons could cause some of them to want to leave and play for a winner. It depends on how the season went and what happens with the coaching staff as a result. So it’s a big year ahead in Tampa Bay. If the Bucs do bounce back and win I would like Mayfield would take a big raise – likely $50 million plus per year – and sign a contract extension.

QUESTION: SR, I know we have come to see Mike Evans as not a diva, but with all this drama surrounding him, it’s hard to not start to see him that way. Am I the only one starting to see Evans in a different light? Should I let this skew my view of him? Help me understand.

ANSWER: I think the only drama surrounding Mike Evans was the fact that he wanted to explore other options in free agency and there were some fans – and maybe a media outlet or two – just didn’t think that he would leave. I had a bad feeling about Evans possibly leaving Tampa Bay dating back to the Senior Bowl when the story first broke that Evans’ return to the Bucs was less than 50%. I know Tony Pauline, the NFL insider who broke that story and spoke to him in Mobile, Ala. where he filled me in on its authenticity.

From then I didn’t feel great about the odds that Evans would be back in red and pewter, and pretty much maintained that throughout my reporting. So I was mentally prepared for his departure, knowing what I knew. I wrote about it and even did a Pewter Pulse video on Evans’ potential departure.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and WRs Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan – Photo by: USA Today

How you want to see Evans is your own right. You can be disappointed that he left, but he felt the 49ers would give him a better chance to win another Super Bowl and get more targets in Kyle Shanahan’s offense. There are less mouths to feed in San Francisco, as Tampa Bay’s wide receiving corps is crowded with talent as general manager Jason Licht has done his due diligence in stockpiling the receiver room with three draft picks in the last two years to prepare for the day that Evans leaves or retires. Unfortunately it came sooner rather than later.

I think Evans wanted off the carousel of offensive coordinators in Tampa Bay – he’s played for four different play-callers in the last four years – and he knows that Shanahan will be the head coach and play-caller for the next three years. I’m sure he feels Shanahan is a better head coach than Todd Bowles too, which is the truth. So I understand why he left – even though it was disappointing.

QUESTION: How much flexibility do the Bucs have at pick No. 15 as we stand after free agency? To me it’s shoehorning us into picking an edge rusher and every other team knows it.

ANSWER: Oh, I don’t think that’s the case at all. I don’t know that the Bucs have to – or will – go with an edge rusher in the first round. It’s a safe bet that Tampa Bay will draft an outside linebacker this year – maybe two. We’ve had the team drafting a pair of edge rushers in our previous mock drafts, and I think there’s a chance that could happen.

Back in January in our first 7-Round Bucs Mock Draft we had the Bucs selecting outside linebackers Dani Dennis-Sutton from Penn State and Western Michigan’s Nadame Tucker in the third and fourth rounds. In our last edition, we had the Bucs selecting Texas A&M’s Cashius Howell in the first round and Tucker in the fourth again.

Texas A&M edge rusher Cashius Howell – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Maria Lysaker

Free agent acquisition Al-Quadin Muhammad replaces Haason Reddick. David Walker coming off injured reserve replaces Markees Watts, who likely won’t be back. But Tampa Bay does need to replace Chis Braswell, a former second-rounder who has been a bust with just 2.5 sacks in his first two seasons with the Buccaneers, and possibly Anthony Nelson, too.

This is a pretty deep edge rusher class and I think there will be a few starting-caliber outside linebackers in both the second and the third round. UCF’s Malachi Lawrence, Oklahoma’s R Mason Thomas, Missouri’s Zion Young, Illinois’ Gabe Jacas, Michigan’s Derrick Moore are a few of those edge rushers that could be selected on Day 2. I don’t think the Bucs absolutely have to draft one in the first round.

Pewter Report’s third 7-Round Bucs Mock Draft debuts on Wednesday on PewterReport.com at 5:00 p.m. ET, and Josh Queipo and I will be discussing our selections live at 8:15 p.m. ET Wednesday night on our Pewter Report Mock Draft Show 3 on our PewterReportTV YouTube channel.

QUESTION: Scott, what are the chances they trade back from No. 15?

ANSWER: I’m not sure what the chances are that Tampa Bay trades back from the No. 15 overall pick in the first round. That will likely depend on which players are available when general manager Jason Licht is on the clock. It’s too early to tell with the 2026 NFL Draft still five weeks away.

But this would appear to be a good year to certainly consider it. In most mock drafts I’m not sure there is a player that could be available at No. 15 that is worth being selected that high, especially at an area of need – outside linebacker, inside linebacker and defensive tackle.

Georgia ILB CJ Allen – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Allen Poizner

Is Georgia inside linebacker CJ Allen the 15th-best player in the draft? Is Texas A&M edge rusher Cashius Howell worth selecting in the middle of the first round? Is Ohio State defensive tackle Kayden Daniel or Texas Tech defensive tackle Lee Hunter worthy of a mid-first-round pick? I’m not sure.

But the real value in this year’s draft is on Day 2. There isn’t much difference between a mid-first-round pick and a second-round pick. And there might not be much of a difference between a second-rounder and a third-rounder, either. If Licht can trade down 10 spots or so, get a great player and pick up an extra Day 2 pick – or picks – I would definitely be in favor of it.

QUESTION: I think we can agree the Bucs are done in free agency outside of a rotational corner. In your opinion have they done enough to have the horses for a 10+ win season? Feels like they need to hit some Tristan Wirfs and Antoine Winfield Jr.-level home runs in rounds 1-2 to have a shot.

ANSWER: Yes, I do feel like the bulk of free agent signings that Tampa Bay is going to make have taken place. I would suspect that the Bucs will be in the market for a veteran cornerback after losing starter Jamel Dean in free agency and not re-signing reserve Kindle Vildor. Keep an eye on Miami’s Rasul Douglas and Cleveland’s Martin Emerson – if his Achilles rehab is on schedule.

Bucs LT Tristan Wirfs and GM Jason Licht – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

I’ve been critical that the Bucs have drafted a lot of starters since 2022, but not many stars. It’s a fact that general manager Jason Licht hasn’t drafted a Pro Bowler or All-Pro since the 2020 draft when he traded up to select offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs in the first round and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. in the second round. Licht has been a very good at drafting, but he could use another elite draft like he did the year of the Super Bowl, as Wirfs is a future Hall of Famer and Winfield has made two Pro Bowls and one All-Pro team.

Perhaps more importantly, I think we need to see Licht land a dominant edge rusher as finding success at that position has been very elusive since he took over as G.M. in 2014. Former second-round pick Noah Spence (2016), former first-round pick Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (2021) and second-rounder (2024) Chris Braswell were all misses, and the jury is still out on David Walker, last year’s fourth-round pick who was on injured reserve all last year. So far, Yaya Diaby, a third-round pick in 2023, has been his best edge rusher through the draft. Diaby is a good outside linebacker, but needs to take a big step forward in his contract year.