Quarterbacks: B-

This was a tough one to grade right off the bat. On one hand, you have the starting quarterback, Jameis Winston, and his 2017 record – more importantly the lack of wins. In 13 games, Winston was 3-10 as a starter. He threw for over 3,500 yards in those games, which would have put him on pace to pass for his most yards ever in a full season. However, he still had costly turnovers, whether it be bad luck or Winston trying too much, that led to the record being what it was. Winston finishing the season with his three best games when he was reported to be as healthy as he’s been all season was encouraging, though.

Bucs QB Jameis Winston – Photo by: Getty Images

What elevates this positional grade beyond Winston’s record is that when backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick came in, he did exactly what he was brought in to do: piece together a few wins in Winston’s absence. Even in the games he ended up losing where he came on in relief, New Orleans and Arizona, Fitzpatrick gave his team a chance to win each time he was the starter. For a backup QB, that’s almost an “A” grade in my book. That brings the grade to what it is.

Running Backs: C –

This year the running back position was very subpar for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Doug Martin got the most starts of the four-headed rushing attack Dirk Koetter employed this season, but, on 138 carries, Martin amassed just 406 yards – a woeful 2.9 yards-per-carry average. Later in the year, Peyton Barber emerged as a potential starting back for the team and ended the year that way – though some would argue it took too long for the coaches to get to that point. Barber finished the year as the team’s leader with 423 yards on 108 carries, which was a healthy 3.9 yards-per-carry average, in addition to three touchdowns.

Beyond those two, Jacquizz Rodgers, who played a big role in Martin’s absence in 2016, wasn’t able to have that same impact in 2017 with just 244 rushing yards on the season. Charles Sims recorded 95 yards on 21 carries, but we all know he’s the third down, receiving back of the bunch, and he wasn’t very effective in that role.

All in all, the group was underwhelming, especially the man at the top of the depth chart (Martin), who will likely be released in the offseason. The problem was they were all being used and it didn’t seem like the gameplan let any of the four ever get in a rhythm. That made some healthy efficiency numbers fall on pointless stat sheets in the end.

Wide Receivers: B-

The wide receiver grades, like the quarterback grades, are a bit tricky in Tampa Bay because we have to try to balance out what actually happened, which might be good, with what was expected of this team or what the potential of what this team could have been.

Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

On one side, you have the disappointment. Mike Evans got over 1,000 yards on the year by only one yard and he only had five touchdowns during the entire season while only missing one game. DeSean Jackson had just 668 yards and one of the lowest yards-per-catch averages of his career (13.4). The ever-sure Adam Humphries played well, especially down the stretch, but had a few key drops early in the year, which was thought to be unthinkable, and even had the costly fumble that lost them the Bills game.

But, on the flip side, you have the good. On the two-sided coin, Evans did get to his 1,000-yard mark and became one of only three players in NFL history to start his career with four straight 1,000-yard seasons. Plus, you have to weigh in the emergence of rookie Chris Godwin.

Godwin was a key players for the Bucs throughout the season. He was great on special teams and made key catches in the fourth quarters of games. Godwin even got the start in the final game of the season, and had what some would call the most important catch on the year to score a 29-yard touchdown at the very end in Week 17. Godwin finished with 34 catches for 525 yards and a touchdown. Having him show up and grow is a big reason why this group’s grade is higher than it should be versus the potential of what it could have been.

Tight Ends: A-

Everything considered, I’m not sure what more you could have wanted from the Bucs tight end group.

It may have taken a bit to get into the groove of emphasizing two tight ends, but when the season was all said and done, Cameron Brate had 591 yards on 48 caches, and a team-leading six touchdowns. That was only 70 yards, nine catches and two touchdowns less than what people thought of his fantastic year last season, and that’s with the emergence of rookie tight end O.J. Howard.

Speaking of, let’s talk about Howard. Howard, the 19th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, finished his rookie season with 432 yards on 26 receptions and a team-leading six touchdowns. That gave him a 16.6 yards-per-catch average, which was highest among regular starters. If the Bucs can figure out how to incorporate a bit more disguise and play action into their game plan, these two tight ends can improve more and more with each year – and eventually become red zone guarantees under certain personnel.

Rookie Antony Auclair proved to be a good blocker and showed he can catch the ball, while Alan Cross had a good year in his role on special teams, and as a fullback and move H-back.

Offensive Tackles: B-

People might be shocked at this grade, but the offensive tackle group didn’t play as bad as many would think.

Before he got hurt, Demar Dotson was having a great season on the right side of the offensive line. Pro Football Focus graded Dotson out with an 85 rating, which would have made him one of the top right tackles in the league. He scored better in pass blocking than he did run blocking, which is more of what you want from a shotgun passing team.

Bucs RT Demar Dotson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

On the other side, the heavily criticized Donovan Smith did not grade as well. Smith graded out with  51.9 rating, which put him below the Top 50 in terms of all offensive tackles. Though there have been many criticisms of Smith, when he’s been focused, we’ve seen a pretty good offensive lineman – not great or elite or All-Pro, but he’s been good.

Smith had a handful of very nice pass blocking reps down the stretch of the season, and that was somewhat encouraging. Smith has to get better at run blocking. He’s too big and too strong to miss blocks the way he does. That makes it look like an effort and focus thing. If the Bucs got a focused, angry Donovan Smith for an entire game, his score would be higher, but it just seems like we don’t see that – hence the blown plays and the bad grades.

Guards/Centers: C-

The interior offensive line for the Buccaneers was just not good this season.

J.R. Sweezy was not the player the Bucs thought he was going to be, and he really struggled for most of the season at right guard. He graded out on PFF with a 43.9 rating.

Then throw in that odd rotation of Kevin Pamphile and Evan Smith on the left side all year long and things got even more confusing. Pamphile, in a contract year, did not make the most of his cash-in opportunity. He graded out with a 42.0 rating and even with rotating in and out with Smith, Pamphile just didn’t look like he could hold up. Perhaps it was a triceps injury he dealt with most of the season. Speaking of Smith, who is also in a contract year, he did fine during the early portions of the season, but in the last few weeks of 2017, Smith really struggled. He had maybe the worst game we’ve seen of him in the Green Bay contest at center, and it didn’t get much better from then on out.

Ali Marpet’s transition to center was going okay before he got hurt. He performed well, but wasn’t at the earth-moving level he previous occupied when Marpet was playing at right guard. Perhaps it’s time to move him back to right guard to replace Sweezy – or at least think about it.