The first quarter of the 2023 season has been a positive one for the Bucs. They’ve opened the year with three wins in four games and sit alone atop the NFC South entering their Week 5 bye. There’s a long way to go, but that’s a far cry from being one of the league’s bottom-feeders and a contender for a Top 5 pick as many predicted they would be.

Tampa Bay has seen a lot go right in the first four weeks of the season, from the play of Baker Mayfield and the positional transitions of Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke, to the fast starts from Vita Vea and Antoine Winfield Jr., and the impressive rises of Christian Izien and Zyon McCollum.

But that doesn’t mean everything has been perfect for the Bucs. In fact, there’s plenty that hasn’t gone so well for Todd Bowles’ team so far. With that in mind, here are the most disappointing players from the season’s first quarter.

Robert Hainsey

Bucs C Robert Hainsey – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

When it was announced that the Bucs would be without former Pro Bowl center Ryan Jensen again in 2023, there was at least some comfort in knowing that they could turn to Hainsey. The 2021 third-round pick started 17 games in Jensen’s place last year and spent all of training camp and the preseason as the team’s starting center.

But while he performed admirably as a fill-in last year – especially given the situation – he has taken a major step back this year. The Notre Dame man has allowed a sack and nine pressures this season, and he has three penalties to go along with those concerning numbers.

Hainsey just hasn’t been the guy the Bucs need him to be. He’s not meeting the expected standard both as a pass blocker and in the run game, failing to protect Baker Mayfield the way he needs to and struggling to create running lanes up the middle with guards Matt Feiler and Cody Mauch.

Perhaps playing next to two new guards who aren’t Shaq Mason and Nick Leverett isn’t helping, but Hainsey has been the weak link of the Tampa Bay offensive line through the first four games and will need to get right going forward.

Rachaad White

Ahead of the 2023 season, it became clear that White would have every opportunity to be the Bucs’ RB1. And while the run game might not be as bad as it was a year ago, it’s lacked consistency this year. Even when it’s been “good,” it hasn’t been that good. The best rushing performances the Bucs have gotten out of White this season have come in Weeks 2 and 4, with the first being a 17-rush, 73-yard performance (a solid 4.3 avg., to be fair) and the most recent being a 15-carry, 56-yard day (a 3.7 avg., which is just okay).

White has been all right in the passing game, but overall, it just hasn’t been an inspiring four-week stretch for the first-time starter. He’s been doing a little too much dancing and cutting in the backfield and has failed to hit running lanes when they’re there far too often. And he hasn’t shown much burst or power to this point, looking more like a rotation-worthy runner than a bonafide starter.

There’s time for White to revive the hype around him and at a bare minimum he’s a good back to have, but he currently appears to be just a guy rather than the guy the Bucs need in their backfield.

Bucs Tight Ends

Bucs TE Cade Otton – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs’ tight end room as a whole has been uninspiring this season. In the passing game, they’ve largely been a non-factor. And as blockers, they’re struggling big-time. TE1 Cade Otton hasn’t yet built on what was a promising debut season from a year ago.

He has 12 catches for 89 yards and a touchdown, but his blocking grades have been abysmal. Otton is the third-lowest-graded offensive player overall for the Bucs so far this season, which comes as a bit of a shock after he flashed at times as a rookie last year.

Otton may be the third-lowest-graded player on offense, but he isn’t the worst-graded tight end. That would be David Wells, whose 46.5 overall grade is a big disappointment after what was an impressive breakout performance throughout camp.

Meanwhile, fifth-round pick Payne Durham has been inactive for the first four games and has yet to make his NFL regular season debut. Ko Kieft has continued to be a blocking ace, but he had a woeful time as a pass-catcher in Week 1 and hasn’t been involved all that much since.

Dave Canales recently said the tight ends are doing their jobs and he’s happy with them, but it’s hard to agree as they’ve largely been a disappointment overall.

Carlton Davis And Jamel Dean

The fact that the Bucs have only had one game with their two starting outside cornerbacks healthy at the same time is disappointing enough. If it was just a one-time issue, that would hardly be something to be concerned about. But both Davis and Dean have missed their share of games over the years, and for them to both be on pretty big contracts, it makes their lack of availability that much more frustrating. Davis missed Weeks 2 and 3 with a toe injury, while Dean got shaken up in Week 3 and missed Week 4.

The injuries to Davis and Dean may have been unavoidable, which might make it harsh that they’ve landed on this list. However, when they have been on the field, neither cornerback has been living up to past levels of play. Davis has been okay, and he has two pass breakups in two games (including a key one on a late third down in the win over the Vikings).

The veteran corner has actually graded out pretty well, too, with a 68.7 overall and marks of 81.9 in tackling, 68.3 in coverage and 65.9 in run defense. But he’s been targeted 18 times in his two games and has allowed 11 catches for 165 yards. That’s not quite the Davis the Bucs have gotten in the past.

Dean has been the more concerning of the two. He just signed a new four-year deal this offseason, but he hasn’t played like a big-money corner to this point. He has a 46.7 overall grade and an alarming 43.8 coverage grade, having been targeted 17 times in three games while allowing 12 catches for 195 yards and two touchdowns.

Zyon McCollum has outplayed both Dean and Davis so far this season, so Tampa Bay’s top two corners really need to return to form once they’re back to full health.

Calijah Kancey

Bucs DT Calijah Kancey – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Now, Kancey’s inclusion on this list isn’t even his fault, of course. No one is going to fault a player for getting injured, especially when he hasn’t proven to have an injury history in the past.

But that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been disappointing that the Bucs have been without their 2023 first-round pick for all but 11 plays so far this season. Kancey injured his calf early in training camp, missed the entire preseason and then left his Week 1 NFL debut after 11 snaps due to the issue flaring up.

After leaving Tampa Bay’s win over Minnesota, Kancey missed the team’s games against Chicago, Philadelphia and New Orleans. So, there’s been very little chance to see the Bucs’ planned starting defensive line play together in the first quarter of the season.

When the former Pitt star returns, his quickness should help create opportunities for the edge rushers and potentially Vita Vea on the inside. The good news is that Kancey wasn’t placed on injured reserve, which would seem to be a good indication that he should return soon – perhaps as soon as Week 6.

Ryan Neal

There was a lot of hype surrounding Neal this offseason, and rightfully so. The Bucs appeared to get a steal when they signed him after his restricted free agent tender was withdrawn by the Seahawks. Right away, Neal – PFF’s top-graded safety from a year ago – looked like he was going to be a major contributor in Todd Bowles’ defense. He then spent much of training camp flying in on blitzes and looked like a budding star.

But the season hasn’t started out all that great for Neal. It’s not that he’s been egregiously bad, but he hasn’t made the impact that he looked capable of making all offseason. He has a pedestrian 55.3 overall grade from PFF, with his 60.7 tackling grade being the highest among his categorized grades.

Neal has a 60.4 in run defense, 55.1 in coverage and 50.6 in pass rushing. He’s been targeted six times in coverage and has allowed six catches for 79 yards and a touchdown as well. He does have two tackles for loss to his name, though, and like everyone else on this list, he has the time and potential to get things back on track and have a strong 2023 season.