Six Bucs Land on Pro Football Sports Network's Top 100 Players for 2025
Heading into the 2025 NFL regular season, Pro Football Sports Network created a rundown of their Top 100 players in the NFL headed into the upcoming campaign. Among the esteemed group, six Buccaneer players made the list including Antoine Winfield Jr. (56), Mike Evans (54), Lavonte David (48), Baker Mayfield (46), Yaya Diaby (44) and Tristan Wirfs (29). Wirfs received he highest ranking of the lot and was dubbed the "most valuable offensive lineman in the league." The All-Pro did not register a single sack last season and concluded the regular season with the second-lowest pressure rate allowed (4.7%) among left tackles with at least 200 pass block snaps. Diaby came next and was hailed for his "effectiveness as a pass rusher" despite a lower sack total than his 2023 campaign. He led the Bucs in pressures last season with 57 and generated 13 run stuffs (loss or no gain) in 2024. With the aforementioned talented cornerstone players spearheading the unit, the Bucs are primed for contention and another NFC South title.
Bucs Make SI's Rundown of 12 Teams That Could Win Super Bowl LX
Sports Illustrated created a list of teams that could realistically hoist the Lombardi Trophy in February. The superlative teams chosen as possible winners of Super Bowl LX are the Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Commanders. The Bucs were lauded for Todd Bowles' vision, the team's underrated players and the offseason additions made in the secondary to maximize coverage. The Bucs were labeled "one of the more talented [teams] from front to back if the NFL were to assign each player a Madden-like grade and take the average." With four-consecutive division titles, a defense that finished out the year in the top-three last season and a 2024 team that became the first in NFL annals to complete at least 70% of their passes and average at least 5.0 yards per carry, the Bucs are no longer an "underdog" but rather a powerhouse.