QB (2)- Jameis Winston, Mike GlennonThe easiest position to judge. Winston starts and Glennon holds the clipboard. Through 16 games I expect Winston to post (4,275 yards, 34 TDs, 15INTs) (21 rushes,130 yards, 2 TDs).QB Play - A (nearly A+) RB (4)- Doug Martin, Charles Sims, Bobby Rainey, Dominique BrownMartin will start this season. His weight is back down, he is showing the same explosion as before, and let's be real... there is a lot of money on the line for this kid. I expect solid play from the O Line (read below) and Doug will post around (220 carries, 825 yards, 3 TDs) (18 catches, 170 yards) splitting reps with Sims and Rainey. Sims.. I'm sorry, I don't expect much. I don't want to be a downer but I don't see anything special in him. In fact, I hope we see more from Martin and less from Sims. Rainey is the second best RB on the roster and will likely get his chance at PR. Don't expect a ton of rushing opportunities barring injury though. Dominique Brown replaces Mike James and will see his opportunities come through special teams and short yardage situations. RB Play - C+FB (1)- Joey IosefaMany would be surprised to see Joey beat out Lane for the FB position, but there is certainly a reason he was drafted. I still believe that cutting Erik Lorig a season ago was a bad idea. Just look at how much he helped Ingram in NO, and how much our running game suffered without him. Thankfully I think we can atone from that mistake through Iosefa. A fearless brute, he isn't afraid of contact and will not shy away in leading the charge for our RBs this season. He also brings an extra element with the ball in his hands. I'm excited to see how he does in the preseason. FB Play - C+TE (3)- ASJ, Brandon Myers, Luke StockerASJ is primed to have a breakout season. He is finally healthy after dealing with ankle/back issues last season. His motivation seems to be high, and with Koetter calling the plays, expect Jenkins to be featured. Also, we know Jameis likes to use the tight end, as evidenced by his trust in Nick Oleary at FSU. Jenkins will likely post a line close to (55 catches, 670 yards, 7TDs) which would be pretty terrific. He has the skills and the QB to get him the ball now, so there are no excuses. Myers will take a lesser role this year and will not see a ton of playing time other than to spell ASJ at times. Don't be surprised to see him cut prior to the season in favor of a guy like Cameron Brate. Stocker comes back as a solid blocking TE. His efforts last season were rewarded with a new contract and he looks to be the go to TE on obvious running downs this year.TE Play - B+ (all credit to ASJ)WR (6)- Mike Evans, Vincent Jackson, Louis Murphy, Kenny Bell, Russell Shepard, Kaelyn ClayWR has never looked better. Evans and Jackson are back and ready to break the 1,000 yard mark again. Look for Evans to improve on last years numbers, something like (78 catches, 1,285, 13 TDS). Jackson may slide in production as Evans takes over at the X, and guys like ASJ and Kenny Bell step up. Still Jackson should post something like (65 catches, 840 yards, 5 TDs). Murphy will likely start in the slot, but he will split reps with the eventual replacement in Kenny Bell. I expect Kenny to be starting by week 5 and post a line nearing (44 catches, 475 yards, 3 TDs). Shepard sticks due to his special teams prowess, and Clay wins the KR job. It won't be easy but we will have to cut Rannell Hall, Deontaye Dye, and Adam Humphries. I suspect we will attempt to send all three to the PS at the league max, though Hall will likely be picked up by another team, perhaps CLE. WR Play - A+OT (3)- Donovan Smith, Demar Dotson, Kevin PamphileHere's to hoping Donovan can gain some confidence quickly. He starts the year off against Brian Orakpo, Cam Jordan, and JJ Watt. Welcome to the NFL Rookie.... We will definitely have a sense for how he his going to do this year by week four. After the initial onslaught it will get a bit easier for the big fella, with only Kerrigan, Quinn, and round 2 against Jordan to worry about. Dotson will handle his job and Pamphile will need to improve through camp and preseason, as he is one injury away from being the next man up. OT Play - C (solid enough, with the arrow pointing up, run blocking much better than pass)G (5)- Logan Mankins, Evan Mathis, Ali Marpet, Kadeem Edwards, Garrett GilkeyYou may notice a new name in the stable. I'm projecting Licht to sign Mathis to a 3 year, 15m kind of deal in the next week or two. The veteran presence of he and Mankins will solidify the line and give Winston some breathing room in year one. Marpet needs time to develop and imo is better suited to play center though he could very well play both positions this year at different points. Edwards will stick around again, though I don't see him getting much, if any playing time, barring a total decimation through injury. Hopefully we won't see much of Gilkey, but I prefer his development to Omameh's mediocre ceiling.G Play - BC (2)- Evan Smith, Josh AllenEvan needs to put together a solid season to stick around in 2016. I think a majority of his struggle was adjusting to the heat and to snapping (in games, and in practice) to a 6'8 Glennon as opposed to a much smaller Aaron Rodgers. Granted, those are sorry excuses for poor play, and Smith has to prove he can be relied on. I expect Marpet to unseat him by season's end, and he will be back in GB in 2016.C Play - C+DE (5)- Jacquis Smith, George Johnson, Will Gholston, TJ Fatinikun, Larry EnglishThere is a lot of concern about this position, and rightfully so. Both starters, Smith and Johnson tallied just 6 sacks a piece last year. Smith, however, did so with limited playing time, so assuming we can get a Michael Bennett type of season from him this year (10 sacks) and a 7-8 sack season out of Johnson, we will be doing great. And I don't think that's too far out of the question. Depth is a major concern though, and I'd like to see us add a solid rotational guy before the season starts, as I think we can do much better than Larry English. I'm predicting 9 sacks for Smith and 6 for Johnson, a total of 18 from the group which is about as much as you can ask for.DE play - B-DT (4)- Gerald McCoy, Henry Melton, Clinton McDonald, Akeem SpenceThe most complete position on the roster, through and through. I love this group a lot BUT I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see McDonald traded prior to the season for a mid round draft pick or perhaps a mutually valuable S or DE. McCoy and Melton will consistently collapse the pocket which will force guys like Brees and Ryan out of their comfort zone. The mobile QBs who thrive outside the pocket will be well-contained by the speedster LBs David and Lansanah. QBs will not like playing against our D this year. Gerald picks up 12 sacks, Melton adds 6, McDonald is he stays tacks on another 3, altogether around 20 sacks as a group. Which is nearly 40 from the DLine unit, total.DT Play - A+LB (5)- Lavonte David, Bruce Carter, Danny Lansanah, Kwon Alexander, Orie LemonThis group is an easy one to speculate on. The top 4 are obvious choices. The fifth spot will come down to Orie Lemon and Khaseem Green in my opinion. Lovie likes Greens athleticism, but Lemon has proven to be an assett on special teams. It will be a good battle over the next couple of months and it wouldn't surprise me at all to see Green win. I liked him a lot coming out of Rutgers, though he wasn't anything special in CHI. Coaching could change that, but for now I'll go with Lemon. Lavonte will have his best year, finally getting a pro bowl berth (146 tackles, 3 sacks, 4ints, 2ffs).LB Play - AS (4)- Bradley McDougald, DJ Swearinger, Major Wright, Chris ConteMcDougald is the most promising talent at S. For a second year guy, with minimal (albeit impressive) playing time, is pretty scary. I expect he will at the least do his job and not be a liability in the passing game. Swearinger intrigues me. I think he has skills to start and obviously the Front Office does too. I think he will take to the coaching here, improve on his attitude, and serve as a solid, if not spectacular, option at SS. As for Wright and Conte, they obviously have experience in the cover 2, and familiarity with Lovie. This will give them the advantage over a guy like Keith Tandy who will be moving on to a new DB group after final cuts. To the practice squad goes Chris Hackett who I expect to turn some heads in the preseason. One injury, and he could be thrust into a starting role that he may not soon let go of.S Play - C+CB (6)- ATV, Johnthan Banks, Mike Jenkins, Sterling Moore, Brandon Dixon, Isaiah FreyIt's a lock that Vernor, Banks, Jenkins, and Moore make the roster. After that, the final two positions are wide open. In the mix will be guys like Leonard Johnson, and Deshazor Everett. I anticipate a parting of ways between TB and the former Largo High standout Leo Johnson. Everette makes his home on the practice squad where he will spend time covering guys like Rannell Hall, Deontaye Dye, and Adam Humphries (provided the Bucs can stash all three on the PS).CB Play - B+P (1)- Spencer LanningThe Bucs finally move on from the perpetually regressing, grossly overpaid Michael Koenen. With the kickoff being moved up to the 35 Koenen's value has taken a serious nose dive, and of course it doesn't help that he has become one of the poorest in the NFL at his position. Enter former Brown, Spencer Lanning. He will have all of camp/preseason to earn the job and no doubt the front office will be pulling for him. He did well in CLE and the job is his to lose. I don't suspect he will disappoint. P Play - CK (1)- Patrick MurrayExcluding the 2012 season, The bucs have had favorable success from the position over the last two decades. Martin Gramatica, Matt Bryant, Connor Barth and now Patrick Murray have all been reliable, solid kickers. Murray was excellent last season kicking above 85% and something like 6-7 on 50+ yarders. With the team moving on from Koenen, I expect Murray to add kick-off-specialist to his list of duties this year, and I believe he'll do great.K Play - A-LS (1)- Andrew DepaolaMost fans couldn't name the Long Snapper, and that's probably a good thing. The unsung hero of special teams (oh the irony).. Andrew has done a solid job and will be feeding Lanning the ball kn 4th downs this season.
