FAB 3. The Bucs’ 2010s All-Decade Team

There is just one regular season game left before the turn of the decade into 2020, and I’ve already discussed the importance of keeping two of the team’s elder statesmen, linebacker Lavonte David and right tackle Demar Dotson, in Tampa Bay with offseason contract extensions. The reason is not only because of their play this year, but because of their importance to the franchise during the last decade.

Both David and Dotson make PewterReport.com’s All-Decade Team in Tampa Bay. Here is my list.

Bucs QB Jameis Winston – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

QB Jameis Winston – 2015-19
The 25-year old Winston has broken all of Josh Freeman’s passing records in Tampa Bay and is on the verge of becoming the first QB in Tampa Bay history to be re-signed after his rookie deal. Winston has nearly 20,000 passing yards in addition to 119 passing TDs in his five years with the Bucs.

RB Doug Martin – 2012-17
I actually prefer LeGarrette Blount as the running back here, but there’s no denying Martin’s production, as he rushed for 4,633 yards and 26 TDs in Tampa Bay. He posted two 1,400-yard Pro Bowl seasons but substance abuse derailed his career.

WR Mike Evans – 2014-19
There has been no better or more productive Buccaneer than Evans, a three-time Pro Bowler, over the last decade, nor has than better a better receiver in franchise history. He has smashed nearly every receiving record in Tampa Bay with 462 career catches for 7,260 yards and 48 touchdowns.

Bucs WRs Mike Evans and Chris Godwin – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

WR Chris Godwin – 2017-19
Godwin, who had a breakout Pro Bowl season with 86 catches for 1,333 yards and nine touchdowns, beats out Mike Williams, who had 215 receptions for 2,947 and 25 touchdowns in his four years in Tampa Bay (2010-13) on my list because he’s a better player and not a turd.

TE Cameron Brate – 2014-19
In his six years in Tampa Bay, Brate has caught 290 passes for 2,154 yards and caught 26 touchdowns, including a career-high eight in 2016. Brate, who beats out Kellen Winslow, Jr. and O.J. Howard, has been Winston’s security blanket for years.

LT Donald Penn – 2007-2013
In his prime, Penn edges Donovan Smith as the top blindside protector. Penn made the Pro Bowl in 2010 at age 27, and Smith’s play hasn’t risen to that level yet.

LG Ali Marpet – 2015-19
Marpet has developed into a Pro Bowl-caliber guard since being drafted in the second round in 2015 and perhaps next year he will get the recognition he deserves as he continues to improve as a player. Marpet is also a two-time captain on offense.

Bucs C Joe Hawley – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

C Joe Hawley – 2016-17
Who was the Bucs’ best center of the last decade – Jeff Faine, Jeremy Zuttah, Evan Smith, Ryan Jensen or Hawley? It’s a tough call but we’re going to go with the scrappy Hawley, who helped Martin rush for 1,400 yards in 2015.

RG Davin Joseph – 2016-13
Joseph was a rock at right guard and made two Pro Bowls in Tampa Bay, including one in 2011 while playing for Raheem Morris. An unfortunate preseason knee injury in 2012 derailed his career at age 29.

RT Demar Dotson – 2009-19
Dotson has been the starter here for the past decade. While he’s never been a Pro Bowl-caliber player, Dotson has been one of the better Bucs’ O-linemen in team history.

EDGE Jason Pierre-Paul – 2018-19
Pierre-Paul has only played in 25 games in Tampa Bay over the last two years, but has recorded 19 sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery during that span as the Bucs’ best edge rusher over the last decade.

Bucs DE Jason Pierre-Paul and DT Gerald McCoy – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

DT Gerald McCoy – 2010-18
McCoy is one of the most decorated defensive players in Tampa Bay history with six straight Pro Bowl appearances from 2012-17. Without much talent around him, McCoy posted 54.5 sacks and was a leader in Tampa Bay on and off the field.

DT Clinton McDonald – 2014-17
McDonald was a part-time starter in Tampa Bay at both nose tackle and three-technique defensive tackle and recorded 13.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries and an interception. He was a steady rock of a player next to McCoy for years.

EDGE Shaquil Barrett – 2019
Barrett’s record-breaking season in 2019 with 16.5 sacks and six forced fumbles gives him the edge over Michael Bennett, who was a good, up-and-coming player when he began his career in Tampa Bay. Barrett is half a sack away from breaking Warren Sapp’s single-season sack record in red and pewter.

LB Lavonte David – 2012-19
David has been the best defensive player in Tampa Bay over the past decade – even better than McCoy, a six-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle – despite the lack of recognition. David, who has made it to just one Pro Bowl, is a tackling and takeaway machine, and a great leader on and off the field for the Buccaneers and their young defense.

Bucs Linebackers Kwon Alexander and Lavonte David – Photo by Cliff Welch/PR

LB Kwon Alexander – 2015-18
Alexander was one of Jason’s Licht’s best Day 3 draft picks and finished his Bucs career with 380 tackles, seven sacks, six interceptions, six forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries and one defensive score. The emotional leader of the Bucs defense, Alexander struggled to stay healthy and wound up signing with San Francisco in free agency. Tampa Bay replaced him with Devin Smith, who was drafted with the fifth overall pick.

LB Mason Foster – 2011-14
Foster, the team’s third-round pick in 2011, played four years in Tampa Bay as the middle linebacker before moving on to Washington and being replaced by Alexander. Foster recorded 343 tackles, six sacks, five interceptions, two forced fumbles and scored two defensive touchdowns with the Bucs.

CB Ronde Barber – 1997-2012
Barber played 16 years in Tampa Bay, including his final three seasons in this decade. Despite his play tapering off a bit as he aged, Barber was still good enough – and the Bucs’ cornerback situation was bad enough – for him to place on this list. In his final three years in Tampa Bay, including 2012 at free safety, Barber recorded 253 tackles, 10 interceptions, three sacks, two forced fumbles and one defensive touchdown, in addition to being a defensive captain.

Former Bucs CB Aqib Talib – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

CB Aqib Talib – 2008-12
Talib played four and a half years in Tampa Bay before wearing out his welcome with off-field character concerns, which led to him being traded to New England. The Bucs’ first-round pick in 2008, Talib was a tremendous talent and recorded 158 tackles in red and pewter, in addition to 18 interceptions, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one defensive touchdown.

S Justin Evans – 2017-19
The safety position has probably been the biggest area of weakness in Tampa Bay over the decade with failed draft picks like Mark Barron and failed free agent signings like Dashon Goldson and Chris Conte among others. Evans had a promising start to his career with the Bucs with 124 tackles, four interceptions and a defensive score in his first 24 games before toe and heel injuries caused him to miss the 2019 season.

S Bradley McDougald – 2013-16
McDougald edges out Conte for this spot only because he was a more solid defender in pass coverage. McDougald had 228 tackles, five interceptions, one fumble recovery before leaving for Seattle in free agency prior to the 2017 season.

P Michael Koenen – 2011-14
Koenen got the nod over Bryan Anger because of his ability to handle punts and kickoffs in Tampa Bay. Koenen averaged 43.7 yards per punt in his four years with the Buccaneers before being replaced by Jacob Schum in 2015. Anger had a great season in 2016 but his production tailed off after that.

Bucs K Connor Barth – Photo by: Getty Images

K Connor Barth – 2009-12, 2015
Barth had two stints in Tampa Bay over five years and made 83.8 percent of his field goals during that span. His 92.9 percent field goal percentage in 2011 is a team record that currently stands.

What do you think about my list of Bucs greats (and mediocre players) during the past decade? Sound off in the article comments below.