A new Pewter Report Roundtable debuts every Tuesday on PewterReport.com. Each week, the Pewter Reporters tackle another tough question. This week’s prompt: Who is your Bucs sleeper on offense heading into training camp?

Scott Reynolds: WR Kameron Johnson Is Generating A Lot Of Buzz

Bucs WR Kameron Johnson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Tampa Bay’s wide receiver position is loaded with some really talented players heading into training camp. The receiver room is top heavy with 1,00-yard veterans Mike Evans and Chris Godwin being the most experienced along with newcomer Sterling Shepard, an eight-year veteran. The rest of the room features 11 others that have little to no game experience, but plenty of untapped talent. Trey Palmer and Jalen McMillan, this year’s third-round pick, are the top candidates for the WR3 job with Rakim Jarrett leading the way for WR5.

Should the team keep six receivers – and I think they will – it will be a free-for-all with Shepard going against a slew of unproven players for the WR6 role. But keep an eye on Kameron Johnson, an undrafted free agent out of tiny Barton College. I wrote about him in a recent SR’s Fab 5 column after mini-camp.

Last year he caught 51 passes for 875 yards and seven touchdowns, and also threw a 58-yard touchdown pass to his quarterback. The 5-foot-8, 190-pound rookie receiver is an athletic dynamo who ran a 4.46 in the 40-yard dash at the N.C. State pro day and had a 37-inch vertical leap. Several Bucs players have told me that Johnson is the one unheralded guy who has really stood during the OTAs and the mini-camp.

Johnson also brings kick and punt return experience to the table and he’ll be in the mix to replace Deven Thompkins as Tampa Bay’s return specialist. It’s a crowded receiver room full of competition, but if he can maintain his pre-camp momentum when the pads come on in late July and shine in the preseason, Johnson could be a surprise addition to the 53-man roster as WR5 or WR6.

Matt Matera: G Elijah Klein Has A Chance To Start

Bucs G Elijah Klein – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

It’s not often that an offensive lineman could be a “sleeper,” but when we’re talking about a starting position, then it fits the billing. There has been plenty of discussion this offseason about veteran free agent pickups Ben Bredeson and Sua Opeta competing for the starting left guard position, but don’t forget about Klein, either.

The Bucs selected Klein in the sixth round of this year’s draft. He’s a developmental project, and we’ve seen Tampa Bay essentially redshirt a rookie before with Alex Cappa. But, Tampa Bay is also responsible for drafting tackles Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke and right guard Cody Mauch – all of whom started right away.

There’s a chance Klein can develop fast enough and be in the running for the starting job. He comes from UTEP where all they did was run the football. That’s a plus for the Bucs, who want to improve their running game this season. He’ll have to get the pass blocking down, which may take some time.

Klein was excited about learning this offense and has gone to flash cards to get it down. Tampa Bay hopes that they can limit the amount of questions along the offensive line, such as if Mauch is taking a step forward and will Graham Barton provide instant help at center? Those questions also remain about having the right player at left guard. Bredeson and Opeta were brought in, but who’s to say they’re even an upgrade of Matt Feiler from a year ago? Maybe Klein surprises the coaches and gets the nod to start the season.

Bailey Adams: TE Payne Durham Can Be A Bigger Red Zone Threat

Bucs TE Payne Durham – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Payne Durham was a player I liked going all the way back to 2023 Senior Bowl week, as the former Purdue tight end quickly stood out as a big-bodied target capable of being a threat in the red zone. And considering Cam Brate’s retirement and the fact that Cade Otton was the only tight end on the roster who had somewhat-proven upside, Durham felt like a good fit.

So when the Bucs drafted him in the fifth round of last year’s draft, I was a fan of the selection. But Durham didn’t make much of an impact as a rookie, catching just five passes for 58 yards (11.6 avg.) in 13 games. Opportunity — or lack thereof — was partially to blame. He did only have seven targets on the season.

It took Durham a while to climb from inactive on game days early in the season to the Bucs’ TE2 role behind Otton. But he started to show up later in the season, twice coming just a couple yards shy of his first career touchdown. One of those came at Indianapolis, when a 12-yard catch set Tampa Bay up at the goal line. And the other was at home against Jacksonville, when a 25-yard catch got the offense to the 2-yard line. Durham also had an 18-yard catch in the Wild Card win over the Eagles.

So when training camp rolls around later this month, I’ll be interested to see what strides Durham has made this offseason — his first full offseason in the NFL. His blocking will need to improve to ensure he gets on the field more often and has more opportunities to make an impact. And Liam Coen running more three-wide receiver sets and less 12 personnel is going to make it even more difficult for the former Boilermaker to take the next step in 2024.

But at 6-foot-6, 253 pounds, he simply has too much size to not be a factor in the red zone. So I’ll be looking for more out of Durham during 11-on-11s and in red zone periods, especially if he gets a chance to play with the first team — and quarterback Baker Mayfield. And then it’s time to make it happen on Sundays inside the 20. 

Josh Queipo: WR Trey Palmer Has The Most Big-Play Potential

Bucs WR Trey Palmer – Photo by: USA Today

Bucs wide receiver Trey Palmer ran a 4.33 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine last year. That’s in the 94th percentile for all wide receivers. He is fast. Like Jimmy John’s fast.

And he isn’t just a track star. Palmer’s speed translates to the game. You have seen how other offenses have unlocked speed like that. The Miami Dolphins are re-writing record books by using similar speedy weapons like wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle and running backs Devone Achane and Raheem Mostert.

Former Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Dave Canales occasionally took advantage of Palmer’s speed (see Week 5 vs. Detroit last year) but was not able to consistently tap into his trump card as Baker Mayfield and the rookie receiver often weren’t in sync on downfield shots. At one point in the season Canales had Palmer’s average depth of target at less than 6.0.

No other receiver on this roster has anywhere close to Palmer’s ability to get deep quickly. New offensive coordinator Liam Coen has the opportunity to weaponize that speed and create game-changing plays. Putting Palmer into a short-motion, speed-release role where he does not have to worry about working off jams and giving him free access to the field – similar to how the Rams were able to elevate Puka Nacua’s skillset last year – could make him a player no one sees coming in 2024. And it could land Palmer the WR3 role as a starter this season, too.

Adam Slivon: TE Devin Culp Could Surprise In Pads

Bucs TE Devin Culp and TEs coach Justin Peelle – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Surprise, surprise, another tight end.

The Bucs tight end room remains one of the youngest going into this season, and the team added another young player into the mix after selecting Devin Culp in the seventh round. Although he had a quiet senior year at Washington with their top three wide receivers getting most of the targets (new Buccaneer Jalen McMillan being one of them), Culp’s 4.47 speed stood out at the NFL Scouting Combine and led to him being drafted.

With offensive coordinator Liam Coen having a track record of involving the tight end in the offense – see Tyler Higbee with the Rams in 2022 – it would not be surprising to see him find a way to utilize Culp’s skillset. His speed offers a different dynamic than any of the other tight ends in the room, and if it shows up on the field with some big plays, then he has a chance to make an impact and see the field during the regular season. After Cade Otton played 97% of the team’s offensive snaps last season, expect the other tight ends to give him more breaks and eat into that timeshare.

For Culp, his primary competition will come from Payne Durham and Ko Kieft for the No. 2 tight end spot behind Otton, but with Kieft not seeing the field during offseason activities so far, Culp may already have passed him up on the depth chart. What will separate him and Durham is who is more well-rounded and not just a niche player.

The former Huskie weighed only 231 pounds entering the NFL, but he stated back in May that he is closer to 245-250 pounds, which will help him not be as overmatched when asked to block. He still is relatively raw at the position, but his style of play can benefit the offense and open the field up more for Baker Mayfield to distribute the football around, which will be something to keep an eye on.