FAB 4. Bucs’ 53-Man Roster Prediction

There are two preseason games left before the start of Tampa Bay’s 2017 regular season, but only one SR’s Fab 5 before the final roster cuts were down. So it’s time to play the guessing game with the Bucs’ final 53-man roster and offer up my prediction as I see it going down.

Of course a standout a game by an unheralded backup player, especially in the final preseason game when the starters will sit and the reserves will play, could change everything. Bucs wide receiver Adam Humphries won a roster spot as an undrafted free agent in 2014 with a great preseason finale at Miami.

With that said, here’s my best guess as to which 53 players Bucs general manager Jason Licht and head coach Dirk Koetter will keep on September 2, which is when the one – and only – roster cut down will occur this year.

Quarterbacks – 3
QB Jameis Winston
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
QB Ryan Griffin

Bucs QB Jameis Winston – Photo by: Mark Lomoglio/PR

Analysis: Winston is one of the best young talents in the position in the league. The Bucs wanted a preseason battle for the backup quarterback job, but Griffin’s shoulder injury derailed that contest after the Cincinnati game and handed that job to Fitzpatrick. The big question will be whether the Bucs want to keep three quarterbacks again this season. Griffin will be a free agent next year and Fitzpatrick will turn 35 in November. Tampa Bay would like to have a player serve as a long-term backup to Winston.

Running Backs – 4
RB Jacquizz Rodgers
RB Charles Sims
RB Peyton Barber
RB Jeremy McNichols
Analysis: Doug Martin will start the season with a three-game suspension and won’t count against the 53-man roster until he returns for the New York Giants game in Week 4. Rodgers has been steady in practice and figures to start in Martin’s place. Sims and Barber have shown a good deal of improvement in training camp and will vie for playing time. McNichols, the team’s fifth-round pick, has underwhelmed this August and will need to really step it up in the final two preseason games as he’s not an automatic lock to make the team.

Wide Receivers – 5
WR Mike Evans
WR DeSean Jackson
WR Adam Humphries
WR Chris Godwin
WR Josh Huff
Analysis: The Bucs only go with five wide receivers because of Koetter’s plans for using the two-tight end set with great regularity this season. Evans and Jackson may be the most dynamic duo in the league from a playmaking perspective. Humphries is a reliable slot receiver and the team’s punt returner, while Godwin, the Bucs’ third-round pick, will push for playing time as an outside receiver after a sensational training camp. The Bucs are trying to force Huff onto the roster due to his intriguing athleticism. His inconsistent hands will keep him off the field offensively, outside of some end-arounds, but Huff has kick return ability and the size to play on all special teams, which is what the fifth wide receiver does.

Tight Ends – 5
TE Cameron Brate
TE O.J. Howard
TE Luke Stocker
TE Alan Cross
TE Antony Auclair

Bucs TE Cameron Brate – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Analysis: Howard, Tampa Bay’s first-round pick, would be the starting tight end on most any other team, but the Bucs have Brate, a clutch play-maker, as the starter. Howard and Brate will see the field together quite a bit in “12” personnel (one back, two tight ends, two receivers). Stocker is the best in-line blocking tight end, while Cross is a special teams ace and a fullback-tight end hybrid. Auclair makes the team as a developmental prospect because he can play special teams, block and catch.

Offensive Line – 9
LT Donovan Smith
LG Kevin Pamphile
C Ali Marpet
RG J.R. Sweezy
RT Demar Dotson
G-C Evan Smith
C Joe Hawley
OT Caleb Benenoch
OT Leonard Wester
Analysis: Pamphile is in a contract year, and Smith must show he’s the left tackle of the future this season, too. Marpet has fared well in his move to center, and Sweezy has been the physical force the Bucs expected he would be at right guard. Dotson is getting up there in age, but the team has some potential and eventual heir apparents on the team in Pamphile, Benenoch and Wester. Smith can back up center or guard, which makes him valuable, Hawley may be expendable because he is viewed strictly a center.

Defensive Line – 9
DE Robert Ayers, Jr.
DT Gerald McCoy
DT Chris Baker
DE Will Gholston
DT Clinton McDonald
DE Noah Spence
DE Ryan Russell
DE DaVonte Lambert
DT Sealver Siliga
Analysis: The Bucs need McCoy, Ayers and Spence to pile up the sacks this year, because outside of those players there isn’t much pass rush. Both McCoy and Spence are capable of reaching double-digit sacks. Baker and McDonald will split time at nose tackle and that, along with Gholston’s presence, should help the defensive line improve in stopping the run. Russell adds depth as a pass-rushing defensive end while Jacquies Smith is sidelined, and Lambert is a run-stuffing reserve end. Siliga, a mammoth, run-stuffing defensive tackle, barely beats out Stevie Tu’ikolovatu, the team’s sixth-round pick, for the last spot on the depth chart.

Linebackers – 5
WLB Lavonte David
MLB Kwon Alexander
SLB Devante Bond
MLB Kendell Beckwith
OLB Adarius Glanton

Bucs LB Lavonte David – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Analysis: Because the Bucs play so much nickel defense, which deploys only two linebackers, the team can still get away with keeping only five linebackers. David and Alexander are among the league’s best, while youngsters Bond and Beckwith, the team’s third-round pick, will compete for the starting strongside linebacker role vacated by Daryl Smith’s retirement. Glanton is a special teams star and has improved enough as a defender to step in to any of the three linebacker roles and edges undrafted free agent and Hard Knocks star Riley Bullough for the last spot on the depth chart.

Cornerbacks – 5
CB Brent Grimes
CB Vernon Hargreaves III
CB Javien Elliott
CB Ryan Smith
CB Robert McClain
Analysis: The injury to Jude Adjei-Barimah hurts the Bucs’ depth at cornerback as there are only five worthy of keeping on the existing roster unless an unheralded rookie steps up in the final two preseason games. Grimes is an ageless wonder and Hargreaves is improved from his rookie season in 2016. Elliott and McClain will vie for the nickel cornerback role in the slot, while Smith, a former safety, is perhaps the most improved player in camp and a potential replacement for Grimes in time as an outside cornerback.

Safeties – 5
FS Chris Conte
SS Keith Tandy
SS J.J. Wilcox
FS Justin Evans
FS Josh Robinson
Analysis: Conte and Tandy have held on to their starting jobs heading into the 2017 season with Conte, a free safety, having the better training camp. Wilcox, a free agent newcomer, has made plenty of splash plays in camp and could challenge Tandy, who is in a contract year, for playing time at strong safety. The athletic Evans will contribute on special teams while he continues to learn the defense. The team views him as the eventual replacement for Conte. Robinson is the Bucs’ special teams ace and has Pro Bowl coverage ability on punts.

Bucs P Bryan Anger – Photo by: Mark Lomoglio/PR

Specialists – 3
LS Andrew DePaola
K Nick Folk
P Bryan Anger
Analysis: DePaola has returned to challenge Garrison Sanborn and has a veteran presence, as does Folk, who beat out Roberto Aguayo, for Tampa Bay’s kicking duties this year. Anger is a Pro Bowl-caliber punter, whose specialty is nailing kicks inside the opponents’ 20-yard line.

PUP List
DE Jacquies Smith

Suspended List
RB Doug Martin

What do you think of my 53-man roster? Would you have kept Bullough? Is five tight ends too many? Is five wide receivers or five cornerbacks not enough? Sound off below in the article comments section.