FAB 4. BUCCANEERS’ CHRISTMAS WISH LIST
The holiday season is in full swing and Christmas is fast approaching. By the time the Buccaneers finishing playing the Saints in New Orleans on Christmas Eve it will be mere hours until Santa Claus and his reindeer take to the skies to deliver presents around the world. Here’s a look at what is on the Buccaneers’ personnel wish list for 2017:

KICK RETURNER
Simply put, the kick return position has been the least productive starting spot on the entire roster in Tampa Bay this year. The Bucs rank dead last in kick return yardage with 290 yards on 19 attempts. That’s a paltry 15.3-yard kick return average. Only the Saints at 16.5 yards per kickoff return are worse.

Tampa Bay’s longest return of the year was 26 yards, which is the second-worst in the league behind Cleveland’s 24 yards. Rookie Ryan Smith has returned 10 kicks for a 16.9-yard average, while Josh Huff has returned four kickoffs for 13.8 yards per return. That’s not including a muff he had against New Orleans that caused the ball to go out of bounds at the 1-yard line and set up a Saints safety on the next play.

USC CB-KR Adoree’ Jackson – Photo by: Getty Images

The Bucs’ punt return position could use a little more speed and dynamics, but Adam Humphries and Vernon Hargreaves have the team ranked 11th right now with a 9.4-yard average, which is respectable. Drafting a player like USC cornerback and return specialist Adoree` Jackson, who has four kickoff returns for touchdowns and four punt returns for scores would be a great place to start. Jackson has averaged 30.5 yards per kick return this season, which ranks sixth in the FBS.

Licht tried to draft a return specialist in Kaelin Clay in the sixth round in 2015, but he ultimately didn’t make the team. The days of a true return specialist may be over in the modern day NFL where each game day roster spot is precious. So finding a player that can play another position like wide receiver, running back or cornerback, while returning kicks is important, and Jackson fits that profile.

WIDE RECEIVER
The Buccaneers need a speed receiver to play opposite Mike Evans next year with 33-year old Vincent Jackson not expected to return in 2017, as his contract will have expired. Tampa Bay has an array of younger receivers that have played okay in fill-in roles, including slot receiver Adam Humphries, Russell Shepard, Freddie Martino and Josh Huff, but the Bucs need a consistent player with speed that is capable of taking advantage of single coverage and producing 1,000 yards over the course of a year.

There are some big names under 30 in free agency, including Chicago’s Alshon Jeffery, Tennessee’s Kendall Wright and Los Angeles’ Kenny Britt among others. Some may make it to free agency, while others will be re-signed or franchised. But don’t be surprised if the Bucs pass on free agency and target the draft where there are plenty of talented wide receivers this year.

Western Michigan WR Corey Davis – Photo by: Getty Images

First-round receivers like Clemson’s Mike Williams, Western Michigan’s Corey Davis and USC’s JuJu Smith-Schuster are big-body guys with large catch radiuses to help out Jameis Winston. While players like Washington’s John Ross and Oklahoma’s Dede Westbrook are lightning fast, big-play machines under 6-foot.

The Bucs would be wise to double dip in this wide receiver class and grab a player like Davis in the first round and come back in the later rounds and draft a player like Oklahoma State’s James Washington, Louisiana Tech’s Carlos Henderson or Western Kentucky’s Taywan Taylor.

RIGHT TACKLE
Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht has invested several draft picks in the team’s offensive line since his arrival in 2014. Starting guard Kevin Pamphile was a sixth-round pick that year, and he added left tackle Donovan Smith and right guard Ali Marpet in the second round in 2015. This year he drafted junior Caleb Benenoch in the fifth round. Although there are plenty of in-house options at the right tackle position in 2017, Licht might have to draft another player to compete with Demar Dotson for the starting job.

Dotson, who was re-signed to a three-year deal in August, will be 32 next October and he’s had an uneven year as the team’s starter. Dotson has had a career-high 11 penalties this year, which is one behind Smith. And Dotson has also missed the last two games with a concussion.

Arkansas OT Dan Skipper – Photo by: Getty Images

Veteran Gosder Cherilus will be 33 in June and is in the final year of his contract. His body is breaking down and he’s not expected to return in 2017. That leaves the aging Dotson and two players that are finishing up their rookie season – Benenoch and undrafted free agent Leonard Wester – as the only viable options. The Bucs view Pamphile, who played tackle at Purdue and also saw time at tackle as a rookie, as strictly a guard in the NFL.

There are a couple of right tackles available in free agency, including Atlanta’s Ryan Schraeder, Baltimore’s Ricky Wagner, New England’s Marcus Cannon and Detroit’s Riley Reiff, but there is no guarantee those players will make it to the open market. This year’s draft class is extremely weak at tackle where there may only be 15-20 draftable players with only two or three in the first round, and none in the top 10.

RUNNING BACK
The Bucs re-signed Doug Martin to a five-year contract worth $35.75 million and included $15 million in guaranteed money. The result? Martin has battled a hamstring injury that caused him to miss five games and he still remains the team’s second-leading rusher with 421 yards behind Jacquizz Rodgers’ 422 yards.

The offensive line has done little to help Martin in the ways of creating holes, but at the same time, Martin isn’t breaking tackles the way he did last season when he was in a contract year. Rodgers has ripped off two runs longer than 20 yards, including a 45-yarder, but Martin’s longest carry has traveled just 17 yards. As a result, Rodgers is averaging 4.4 yards per carry, while Martin is averaging a paltry 2.9 yards per carry along with Charles Sims.

Toledo RB Kareem Hunt – Photo by: Getty Images

Martin will return to Tampa Bay next year, as will Sims, but the Bucs need to bring in some real competition in training camp. Peyton Barber has had a decent rookie year and padded his stats with a 44-yard touchdown at San Francisco running through a huge hole, but ideally he’s the Bucs’ third rusher on the depth chart. The Bucs need to focus on the No. 2 spot behind Martin because Sims is strictly a pass catcher and has regressed as a runner this year.

Rodgers should be re-signed for depth and competition next year, but the Bucs should also take advantage of a deep running back class and add some speed and playmaking ability. Drafting Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey late in the first round would help the Bucs’ return game and he has special ability as a runner and as a receiver out of the backfield. If the Bucs wanted to go with a bruiser to push the pile and make big plays, Texas’ D’Onta Foreman, Oklahoma’s Samaje Perine, Wyoming’s Brian Hill and Toledo’s Kareem Hunt are viable options.

TIGHT END
The Bucs had hoped to pair Cameron Brate and Austin Seferian-Jenkins this year at the tight end position, but an early-season DUI cost ASJ his roster spot as the team parted ways with the talented, but troubled player. Brate, a former undrafted free agent out of Harvard, has shined this season and should finish the year with around 800 receiving yards. His seven touchdown catches are tied for the most among tight ends in the NFL this year.

While Brate has emerged as the Bucs’ No. 2 weapon in the passing game behind Evans, the team is void of another pass-catching tight end as Brandon Myers and Luke Stocker are primarily blockers that offer little run-after-catch ability. If something had happened to Brate this year, the Bucs’ passing game would have taken a huge hit.

Miami TE David Njoku – Photo by: Getty Images

Because the tight end position is so valuable in Dirk Koetter’s offense, Licht needs to invest in a good receiving tight end to pair with Brate in 2017. The Bucs have Tevin Westbrook in-house as an option, but he hasn’t generated much buzz within the walls of One Buccaneer Place.

The tight end position is actually loaded in this year’s draft, and the Bucs should take advantage. Alabama’s O.J. Howard is a first-rounder, while Michigan’s Jake Butt, Virginia Tech’s Bucky Hodges, Clemson’s Jordan Leggett, Ole Miss’ Evan Engram and Miami’s David Njoku could all be drafted in the second round. Keep an eye on Arkansas’ Jeremy Sprinkle and Toledo’s Michael Roberts as late-round sleepers at this deep position.

DEFENSIVE END
The steady play of veteran Robert Ayers and the emergence of second-round pick Noah Spence push the defensive end position down a bit on Santa’s wish list. Both Ayers and Spence have 5.5 sacks on the season, which is tied for second behind Gerald McCoy’s team-high seven.

Spence has the ability to become a double-digit sacker, and his three forced fumbles are second on the team behind Lavonte David’s four. Yet Ayers will be 32 next September and the Bucs would be wise to groom an eventual replacement. Tampa Bay has three defensive ends coming off injured reserve next year in Jacquies Smith (knee), Howard Jones (knee) and George Johnson (hip), but that only muddies the water because their level of effectiveness coming off those injuries is in question.

Florida State DE DeMarcus Walker – Photo by: Getty Images

Ryan Russell has shown more promise this year as a pass rusher than rookie Davonte Lambert, who is more of a run stuffer, but Russell has just one sack and needs to show more production and promise to stick around in 2017. The same goes for Lambert. Will Gholston is a premier run-stopper slated for free agency. The guess here is that he is re-signed by the Bucs to start on the left side, but he offers little pass rush outside of the two or three sacks he gets each year.

Licht would be wise to ask Santa for another pass rusher to eventually start opposite Spence and help rush situationally next year. Missouri’s Charles Harris or Michigan’s Taco Charlton could be an option late in the first round for Tampa Bay, while Florida State’s DeMarcus Walker or Illinois’ Dawuane Smoot or Kansas State’s Jordan Willis might be a good pick in the second or third round.