Where is the Bucs biggest weakness, and where might they look to bring in more veteran help before the season starts?
1) IMO the Bucs biggest weakness is ILB.
We're hoping that Lavonte David can defy Father Time for another year. And KJ Britt was a career special teamer until he was given the starting job because of White's poor play. He performed well and earned the starting job, but he was drafted in the 6th round for a reason. And the depth consists of Russell, Dennis and Jones. Good late round depth guys, but I think their starter potential may be a bit overhyped because of positive coach comments. Sure, if all goes well David and Britt will be serviceable and hold their own and Dennis is a future replacement. But if all doesn't go well that could be the biggest hole in the defense at a position that is pretty important in making tackles, so teams aren't turning 4 yard runs into 10 or 15 yards.
2) #3 WR.
The Bucs might bring in another veteran WR to be the #3. You can't just pencil in a rookie 3rd round draft pick into that spot. I have confidence that both Trey Palmer and Jalen McMillan will be fine in the long run, but for the short run we still need a veteran WR who can just be a solid #3 target this year. The Bucs have usually been able to bring in a cheap source of catches like Breshad Perriman, Justin Watson, Scotty Miller. Even David Moore filled that role for a time last year and he's gone. Do we have that guy on the team right now?
3) Left Guard
Of course, the Left Guard spot is the obvious choice, but that's just one position. Sure, you want a great LG just like you do at any position, but you can to some extent cover up some deficiencies at guard that you can't cover up at center or tackle. There are a few guys at LG who can probably do a passable job and keep us from having a total disaster there. And particularly when they are bookended by two stud first round picks. That's why I only rank this as the #3 concern.
So if the Bucs do go out and look to shore up another position at some point prior to the regular season, I would say it would be ILB. I'm not holding my breath because Bowles seems to have a lot of faith in the players he has assembled on his defense. This can come back to bite him though. See Exhibit A: Devin White.
but for the short run we still need a veteran WR who can just be a solid #3 target this year.
No, we don’t.
Not really sure what their biggest weakness is but I'd throw corner into the mix. I'd like to pick up another player there if we could.
Coaching is pretty weak and may cost us a game or two which could be the difference between playoffs or not
on offense, yeah agreed left guard
I don’t think most teams sans Brady Bucs and current dolphins have 3 great WRs so that’s more of a luxury and I think Palmer and McMillan should be good there. Otton and White, make or break year for them, are they “just another guy” or do they break out.
on defense, cornerback scares the heck out of me
and while ILB is weak next to David, the bigger issue to me is edge. does diaby build off of last year? Is Braswell worthy of the he NFL? We already know JTR is useless.
Good points, particularly TE is a concern. The reason it wouldn't be is that Coen reportedly doesn't use 2 TEs very much. But regardless it's a position that's important for blocking for the running game as well as receiving. Otton is decent, but I wouldn't call him a "weapon". Last year I was hoping the Bucs would sign a veteran. Schultz, Engram, Gesicki and Hurst are good to serviceable guys, but the Bucs were not reported to be making a run at any of them last offseason. And again, this offseason they didn't seem to have interest in the free agent crop, nor did they spend any draft picks on one. So that's definitely one of the concerns. I'd put that at #4 on my list only because we do have a serviceable starter in the position.Coaching is pretty weak and may cost us a game or two which could be the difference between playoffs or not
on offense, yeah agreed left guard
I don’t think most teams sans Brady Bucs and current dolphins have 3 great WRs so that’s more of a luxury and I think Palmer and McMillan should be good there. Otton and White, make or break year for them, are they “just another guy” or do they break out.
on defense, cornerback scares the heck out of me
and while ILB is weak next to David, the bigger issue to me is edge. does diaby build off of last year? Is Braswell worthy of the he NFL? We already know JTR is useless.
I don’t think most teams sans Brady Bucs and current dolphins have 3 great WRs so that’s more of a luxury and I think Palmer and McMillan should be good there.
We’re fine at #3.
To think we need to bring in a vet, when we have a 2nd year Palmer and just drafted a WR with a premium pick, is pure stupidity.
Biggest weakness on this roster is:
LG
RG
EDGE
CB
The LB play can be a real problem. Hoping LVD is his usual great but then what? other guys platooning? They seem higher on Dennis, but maybe just talk
It's funny. ESPN says slot receiver is the Bucs biggest weakness. I guess they didn't get the memo about Coen moving Godwin to slot 😎.
IMHO the biggest weakness is edge until proven otherwise by the draft pick and any FA they bring on. The defensive backfield looks solid, but they can only cover for so long before someone pops open. Need to get fast pressure on that QB!
I’d rank biggest weaknesses:
CB - and I’m hoping we’re targeting one for the next FA wave.
Edge
LG - someone may flash and we have some depth - but till not comfortable here.
iLB - but as we all have heard - I think Dennis is who they’re counting on. I can see Britt in a rotation and he’s savvy - but can’t see him holding up as a starter.
Pretty solid overall, and as has been pointed out, everyone’s trying to scheme deficiencies.
Heading into this schedule with a new OC is going to be interesting. Baker has about 6 games under Coen, so he understands the concept…everyone else will be learning and there are a lot of new faces on OL… so there’s enough to say grace over.
Like Mike said: Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.
but for me, corner has to be the scariest weakness.
Agreed on this list. At least we have potential long-term solutions at RG, EDGE, CB if guys step up and progress. LG is a problem now and moving forward with no upside of that being fixed for the '25 off-season.I don’t think most teams sans Brady Bucs and current dolphins have 3 great WRs so that’s more of a luxury and I think Palmer and McMillan should be good there.
We’re fine at #3.
To think we need to bring in a vet, when we have a 2nd year Palmer and just drafted a WR with a premium pick, is pure stupidity.
Biggest weakness on this roster is:
LG
RG
EDGE
CB
Edge is the biggest weakness.
I mean assuming Braswell works out with Diaby who is here long term behind those two? What if one of them is out with an injury? Watts/Ramirez/Nelson could platoon but it isn't the same thing because they have to be able to drop into coverage, and disrupt run plays not just rush. I think Ramirez is probably closer to that ideal along with Nelson. Watts seems like a third down specialist but he could prove me wrong.
@alldaway - you’re right. I’ve said since the offseason started. It will be our downfall against the best teams and if we get to the playoffs. The best the Bowles defense has looked was during their Super Bowl run when their 4 man rush got consistent pressure against the Saints, Packers, and then Chiefs. Heck, Washington torched us in the wild card round because we were blitzing like crazy and losing contain. But then we settled in and played to our strength the rest of the playoffs. That isn’t a strength we can lean on this year.
The only way EDGE was not going to be a weakness is if we brought in a proven 10+ sack guy. I don't think there's many of them that touch that open market and if they do they are vastly overpaid i.e. Brian Burns.
At this point at least we have upside there, Braswell could be a impact rookie and get 5-6 sacks, Gregory could chip in with 5-6 sacks and Yaya as well. So while its still a question mark about how good the pass rush will be, we really had no realistic options to fix it anyway. Where as LG need could've been addressed in the draft earlier, or traded for a proven commodity that's inexpensive. In addition, there's no upside there for the bench warmers we have competing for the position. At least, Braswell has a chance to showcase his ability. Guy could go for 8-10 sacks and surprise folks. He's got the ability to do so and surrounding talent.
Well true but I am glad the team didn't punt on finding an edge rusher and drafted Braswell. But I think next off season the team makes another push for another edge even if Diaby and Braswell work out.
