Pewter Report’s PR Roundtable
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A new Pewter Report Roundtable debuts every Tuesday on PewterReport.com. Each week, the Pewter Reporters tackle another tough Bucs question. Who is the Bucs player you want to see succeed the most?

Scott Reynolds: If Bucs Don’t Win The NFC South, It Won’t Be The Falcons Doing It, Either

I’m not sure who is going to win the NFC South this year. I believe the Bucs have the best and most talented roster on paper, and I’ve written in a previous SR’s FAB 5 column that I think they’ll recapture the division crown. But I can also see scenarios where an improved Panthers team retains the title in a heated race with the Buccaneers, as well as making a case for the Saints building off their hot finish to the 2025 season and making a run at leading the NFC South.

But I don’t see a world where the Falcons contend for the division title this year. There has been a mixed reaction in Atlanta over the hiring of new head coach Kevin Stefanski. Yes, he is a two-time NFL Coach of the Year award winner, posting a pair of 11-win seasons in Cleveland in 2020 and 2023. But he’s also had four losing seasons with the Browns, including his last two, and has a 45-56 (.446) overall record as a head coach. He comes to the Falcons with an 8-26 record over his last two year. Why should I – or anyone – be impressed with this hire?

Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect – Kirby Lee

Outside of some limited success with Baker Mayfield in 2020, Stefanski failed to develop a quarterback in Cleveland. He had to rely on two veterans in Joe Flacco and Deshaun Watson for the team’s playoff run in 2023. Now he’s charged with the task of developing former first-round pick Michael Penix Jr., who is coming off yet another ACL tear, and continue to develop Miami castoff Tua Tagovailoa, who might be the better option but will likely start the year as the backup QB.

Atlanta had a lackluster free agency period and draft class, and I think the Falcons’ overall talent isn’t great outside of a few star players like guard Chris Lindtsrom, receiver Drake London and running back Bijan Robinson. I think holdover defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich is a talented play-caller, but the Falcons lost a lot of depth pieces who contributed sacks last year.

Atlanta fired Arthur Smith after three straight 7-10 seasons from 2021-2023. Raheem Morris was fired after back-to-back 8-9 seasons, despite the Falcons winning their final four games of the year. I wouldn’t be surprised if they actually take a step back under Stefanski and finishes with six or seven wins this year. A winning season in Atlanta would surprise me. A season where the Falcons actually win the NFC South would shock me.

Matt Matera: A Bucs CB Leading The NFL In INTs Would Be Awesome, But Shocking

I’m not yet sold on the playmaking ability of the Buccaneers cornerback room. Yet I will say I’m a firm believer in new cornerbacks coach Rashad Johnson getting a lot of improvement out of the position in Tampa Bay this year. Even if he gets a great deal out of Zyon McCollum, Jacob Parrish and Benjamin Morrison, that doesn’t mean they’ll be in the league-wide conversation of interception production. I just don’t see it.

Former Bucs cornerback Jamel Dean led Tampa Bay with a career-high three interceptions last season. He went to the Steelers in free agency, so that production is gone. But those three picks were the most interceptions a Bucs player has had – at any position – in a season since former safety Mike Edwards had three during the 2021 year.

Bucs CB Zyon McCollum – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

There’s no doubt that a cornerback on the Bucs can get more than three picks. But it still would be nowhere near the lead across the NFL. The leader in interceptions in the NFL over the last three season was 7 (Bears, Patriots safety Kevin Byard), 9 (Lions safety Kerby Joseph) and 9 (Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland).

The odds of McCollum, who has three career interceptions in four seasons, Parrish, who had two picks as a rookie, or Morrison, who has yet to record his first NFL interception, doing that would be slim. You can’t completely rule it out because all three were in the ballhawk category in college, but hopefully the Bucs can at least get some interception production out of their corners while maybe not being the best that the league has to offer.

Adam Slivon: If The Bucs’ Offense Is Not A Top 10 Unit In The NFL

When it comes to what would surprise me most about the Bucs entering this season, I look at the offense. If there is any reason to be most optimistic about Tampa Bay’s chances in 2026, it centers around how Zac Robinson’s unit puts points on the board and controls the game. Looking at who the team has at each position on that side of the football, I would be absolutely shocked if they do not get back to being a top 10 scoring offense in the NFL. Of course, much of this projection is based on health, and the team suffered a string of bad injury luck last season. Still, there are a lot of reasons why the offense should hum along and keep them in every game.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Baker Mayfield, supported by another strong cast of weapons, has it in him to be top 10 quarterback when at his best. In a contract year to boot, Mayfield has a lot of reasons to get back to form and play like the gunslinger he was in 2024. What will be the X-Factor is the offensive line, as they are supremely talented across the board. There is no reason they should not keep No. 6 upright and create running lanes. There is admittedly slight concern about how Bucky Irving returns and produces, but even if he is not the rookie sensation he was in 2024, Kenny Gainwell and Sean Tucker are dynamic enough to make the offense balanced and catch defenses off guard.

Even with the wide receiver room losing Mike Evans, the Bucs have a surplus of quality wideouts. Chris Godwin Jr. leads the way from a name recognition standpoint, but Emeka Egbuka and Jalen McMillan could pass him as the top option in the passing game. Add in rookie Ted Hurst and Tez Johnson, and there is no excuse not to have success airing out the football. It could be argued that each of the position groups mentioned are top 10 in their own right, and the weakness of the tight end room is not as glaring considering their role is to be safety valves who block and not featured heavily in the offensive gameplans. It would really alter Tampa Bay’s future if Robinson does not put all of these pieces together.

Bailey Adams: I’d Be Surprised If The Bucs Don’t Reclaim The NFC South

I know that for a while there this offseason, the vibes surrounding the Bucs were lower than they’d been in a while. And I understand that some will continue to cling to that negativity even as the 2026 season approaches. But I’m finding it harder and harder to be negative about this 2026 Tampa Bay team. We’re far enough removed from the frustration of January and the disappointment of March when Mike Evans left via free agency that I’ve reached a point where I’d genuinely be surprised if the Bucs miss the playoffs for a second straight year.

Tampa Bay currently stands as a slight favorite to win the NFC South, with New Orleans and Carolina both right there in the mix as well. But the more I look at this division and the more I look at these Bucs, the more I believe that 2025 will end up being a one-year blip for the red and pewter and that they’ll be right back at the top of the division in 2026.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: USA Today

Like my boss, Scott Reynolds, I don’t believe in the Falcons. I don’t know if I ever will. They’re the Falcons.

As for the Panthers, I don’t look at them as a team with real staying power atop the NFC South. I’m still not sold on Bryce Young, and last year felt more like Tampa Bay losing the division than Carolina actually winning it. Dave Canales’ team made some intriguing additions on defense, but I’m really just having a hard time believing this roster is talented enough to repeat as division champions.

Now, there’s the Saints. I’ve long thought New Orleans is the biggest threat to Tampa Bay’s chances of recapturing the division title in 2026. But the farther removed we get from the end of last year, the more I wonder if we’ve collectively gone too far in on Tyler Shough and the Saints. Shough had a promising finish to the year, yes, but 10 touchdowns to six interceptions is hardly surefire franchise quarterback territory. Five wins down the stretch? Great, but one came against a free-falling Bucs team, two came against that same Panthers team I just expressed doubts about and the others came against… the Jets and Titans.

The Saints could use that finish to kick start a run this year against an admittedly weak schedule, but this Bucs team is the most talented in the division. It’s the most experienced team in the division. And I think this team has a new edge and a new hunger to it. I like Tampa Bay to bounce right back and win the NFC South in 2026, claiming the division title for the fifth time in six seasons. And yes, I’d be surprised if that didn’t happen.

Josh Queipo: The NFC South Actually Being NFL’s Worst Division Would Be Surprising

What would surprise me in 2026 is the NFC South finishing as the worst division in football. For all the talk about it being the worst last year, it simply wasn’t. The top team in the NFC South may not stack up with the other seven, but that is not what defines a division as a whole.

That definition comes from how the division fares against everyone else and its record against non-divisional opponents. And that’s where the NFC South beat out two other divisions in 2025. At 30 wins, the NFC South outperformed both the AFC North (29) and the NFC East (27) as a whole. Granted the 10-7 Steelers or the 11-6 Eagles would have easily won the NFC South if either had been in that division, but the AFC North and NFC East were rather top heavy divisions in 2025.

Panthers DT Derrick Brown and Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Nathan Ray Seebeck

The schedule only helps from here. Last year the NFC South drew the AFC East in the crossover, a division that tied for the third best record in football at 36 wins, and still cleared two divisions. In 2026 that flips to the AFC North. The NFC South is trading a full slate against one of football’s strongest divisions for one of its weakest.

Here is the kicker. I believe every team in this division got better this offseason, and 32 wins feels like the floor, not the ceiling. The shiny part of a division, the top, is what people picture when they think strong divisional football. The NFC South does not have that one dominant division-winning team, and may not for a while. What the NFC South does have is a floor that sits higher than several other divisions in the NFL, and that is what carries it to a better than worst finish for another year.