[Editor's note: This article is from Athlon Sports' 2025 NFL Preview Magazine.Order your copy today online or pick one up at retail racks and newsstands nationwide.]
Death, taxes and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers winning the NFC South. It sure feels that way, as the Bucs took home the division crown for the fourth year in a row in 2024, maintaining the NFC’s longest active streak with five straight playoff appearances by overcoming some critical injuries and a four-game losing streak. They are poised to be the division favorites in 2025, with most of last year’s starting lineup returning. Key veteran free agents like wide receiver Chris Godwin and linebacker Lavonte David signed new contracts, and the entire starting offense returns for a unit that ranked in the top five in both rushing and passing last season.
Continuity has been king in Tampa Bay, and even after losing offensive coordinator Liam Coen to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Bucs kept most of his staff in-house, promoting Josh Grizzard to the top play-calling job. Head coach Todd Bowles has won the division every year since taking over for Bruce Arians, and he’s in position to do it again.
Offense
After enjoying a career year in 2024, quarterback Baker Mayfield is back to lead a Bucs offense that returns every single starter from last year’s top-five unit. Future Hall of Fame wide receiver Mike Evans is back for a 12th season, and while Godwin will be working his way back from a season-ending ankle injury, the Bucs gave him a hefty three-year contract extension as a vote of confidence in his ability to return to full strength and Pro Bowl form. Wideout Jalen McMillan finished his rookie season strong in Godwin’s stead last year, catching seven touchdown passes over the final five games of the regular season. That loaded group didn’t stop the Bucs from spending their first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft on Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka, who should immediately give Tampa Bay arguably the best four-man receiver group in the NFL. The entire tight end room is back from last season, too, led by a reliable target in Cade Otton.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield
Tim Heitman-Imagn Images
The offensive line is anchored by left tackle Tristan Wirfs, who earned first-team All-Pro honors last year for the second time in his five-year career, becoming the first player in NFL history to garner that accolade at both left and right tackle in different seasons. Left guard Ben Bredeson earned a new three-year deal and a solid raise after playing well on a cheaper one-year deal last year, and the rest of the unit is full of young talent — second-year center Graham Barton (last year’s first-round pick), right guard Cody Mauch and right tackle Luke Goedeke.
That unit in the trenches helped Tampa Bay improve from one of the league’s worst rushing offenses over the previous two seasons to one of the best, creating more space to work for running backs Bucky Irving and Rachaad White. White entered last season as the starter, with the rookie Irving in a relief role, but Irving’s explosiveness and big-play ability flipped that script by the end of the year, and White is likely to be the change-of-pace back in 2025. Former undrafted free agent Sean Tucker showed flashes of potential in limited action last year as well and brings a valuable element of power and physicality that rounds out one of the league’s best backfields.
Defense
Despite having a defensively minded head coach in Bowles, it’s Tampa Bay’s lack of consistency and depth on that side of the ball that has been their biggest struggle during his tenure. The first order of business will be improving a pass rush that failed to get consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks without sending extra rushers, which exposed a back seven that didn’t have the depth to overcome multiple injuries throughout the year. The Bucs are hoping that the offseason addition of veteran free-agent outside linebacker Haason Reddick will provide a boost in that area, along with the development of young linebackers Yaya Diaby and Chris Braswell.
At 347 pounds, Vita Vea anchors the Bucs’ solid run defense as one of the league’s most dominant nose tackles, while tackle Calijah Kancey provides the lightning to Vea’s thunder as a disruptive interior presence against both the run and pass. Logan Hall showed flashes of improvement last season, and if Hall can build on that success, it would be a huge win for the Tampa Bay defense this season.
Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David
Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David
© Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
David should have a gold jacket waiting for him at the end of his career, but it’ll have to wait another year, as the longtime stalwart signed another one-year deal to lead the Tampa Bay defense in the middle. The Bucs are hopeful that third-year linebacker SirVocea Dennis can finally stay healthy and lock down the other inside linebacker spot alongside David, but veteran Anthony Walker Jr. will improve the depth behind him after signing in free agency.
The majority of the secondary is back from last season, led by All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. on the back end. After spending time at both safety and in the slot/nickel role as a rookie, Tykee Smith is likely to settle in full time next to Winfield as the last line of defense, giving Bowles another versatile playmaker he can move around the defense. Smith’s permanent move to safety will likely be made easier by the Bucs double-dipping on cornerbacks early in the 2025 NFL Draft, spending back-to-back Day 2 picks on Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish. Both have proven they can play both outside and in the slot, but Morrison is likely to push returning starters Jamel Dean and Zyon McCollum for one of the starting jobs on the outside, while Parrish could supplant incumbent veteran Christian Izien for the slot/nickel spot. Dean has been solid when healthy, but nagging injuries have kept him off the field far too often, while McCollum made a giant leap in this third season and is primed to assert himself as the Bucs’ top cover man.
Specialists
Placekicker Chase McLaughlin remains a source of comfort for the Bucs, having converted 59 of his 63 field-goal attempts over the past two seasons (93.7%). On the other side of the spectrum, Tampa Bay has struggled to find consistency and reliability in the punting game, which led them to sign veteran Riley Dixon in free agency this offseason. Evan Deckers missed a decent chunk of last season but is back to handle the long-snapping duties this year.
Final Analysis
Few teams in the NFL have enjoyed the level of continuity that Tampa Bay brings to the table yet again this season, and the Bucs’ track record of success speaks for itself. The goal in 2025 will be to raise that floor of being the perennial No. 4 seed in the playoffs as the NFC South champs to a ceiling that challenges for an NFC title game appearance or potential Super Bowl run. If the pass rush improves and the defense can create more big plays and takeaways, and the offense can avoid the devastating injuries to key players that plagued it during its worst stretches in 2024, there’s reason to believe Mayfield can lead the Bucs to those heights. Keeping their offensive scheme intact despite changing coordinators yet again could be the most underrated reason why the Bucs will be a championship contender in 2025.