After and up-and-down season with Jameis Winston and Ryan Fitzpatrick splitting time at quarterback, the Buccaneers decided to move on from head coach Dirk Koetter (probably a good decicion) and offensive coordinator Todd Monken (probably a bad decision).
Monken’s aggressive and innovative play calling helped jump-start a stale Bucs offense and made them one of the most explosive units in the league.
Bruce Arians is now back after a year in retirement and brings Byron Leftwich with him as his offensive coordinator. Arians has been a perfectly fine coach throughout his career, but unless he’s evolved significantly in his offensive approach, this coaching hire was a step back from Monken’s aggressive style.
Despite a 5-11 finish, Tampa is close to being able to compete for a playoff spot. If they can plug a few of the holes outlined below and continue to develop Winston, Tampa could challenge for a winning record this season and maybe sneak into the playoffs.
Pass-Rusher
The Buccaneers generated the fourth lowest pressure rate in the league in 2018 at 27.5 percent, according to Sports Info Solutions.
Carl Nassib, who was claimed off waivers from Cleveland before the season, was the team’s most consistent pass-rusher. Nassib generated a pressure once every 11.1 pass-rush snaps, according to Sports Info Solutions. Jason Pierre-Paul was right behind him at once every 11.5 snaps.
Rebuilding the defensive line will be made more difficult due to the fact that Tampa already has $57.7M tied up in the unit, according to Spotrac. Pierre-Paul and Gerald McCoy are due $27.7M in 2019, however, none of that money is guaranteed, which means both players are candidates to be traded this offseason.
Pierre-Paul was just acquired a year ago in exchange for a third-round pick, so the team is probably more inclined to keep him around than McCoy, but all options should be considered.
Regardless of where McCoy and Pierre-Paul end up, Tampa needs to bring in a younger, cheaper pass-rusher who can get to the quarterback.
Due to the talent at the edge-rusher position in this draft class, it’s a good bet Tampa will be hoping to land one with the fifth overall selection.
Offensive Line
The Buccaneers offensive line is perfectly average. But other than left guard Ali Marpet, there’s no one worth building around.
Left tackle Donovan Smith is an unrestricted free agent, and is a candidate to be brought back for one more year via the franchise tag. That would mean overpaying for the 2019 season, but it would guarantee some stability at a key position while they attempt to addressnz the future through the draft.
According to Sports Info Solutions, Smith had a blown block rate in pass protection of 2.27 percent, which ranked 14th out of 33 qualifying left tackles—as I said, perfectly average but not worth building around.
Ideally the Bucs can land a young prospect in the draft to groom for Smith’s role following the 2019 season. If they don’t land a pass-rusher in the first round, Alabama’s Jonah Williams could be a target.
Cornerback
The Bucs have invested heavily in the cornerback position in recent years, drafting Vernon Hargreaves 11th overall in 2016 and snagging Carlton Davis and M.J. Stewart in the second round last year.
Unfortunately, the Bucs have barely seen Hargreaves on the field. He played just 13 snaps this past year due to a shoulder injury and missed seven games with a hamstring injury in 2017.
Even when Hargreaves was on the field two years ago, he wasn’t winning over the coaching staff. His performance even prompted then-head coach Dirk Koetter to say he was “extremely” concerned by his play.
New Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles favored zone coverage this past season while with the Jets, an area in which their young cornerbacks have struggled:
If the Buccaneers still have high hopes for Hargreaves, maybe they won’t view cornerback as a glaring area of need. But given his recent injury history and limited success, it’s likely they no longer have the same high expectations they did in 2016.
Middle Linebacker
Kwon Alexander is an unrestricted free agent, as is Adarius Taylor who filled in for Alexander after a torn ACL ended his season.
Re-signing Alexander is an option, but if they don’t, the team should attempt to find a better coverage linebacker for the position.
During his last full season in 2017, Alexander ranked dead last among linebackers, allowing 9.8 yards per target, according to Sports Info Solutions. He partially made up for it with three interceptions, but interceptions, especially for linebackers, are mostly a luck-based stat.
Sure enough, during his six games in 2018, Alexander allowed 8.9 yards per target, but snagged zero interceptions.
