The bread and butter of the Buccaneers’ offense has been their passing attack, highlighted by the play of Pro Bowl receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, both of whom eclipsed the 1,100-yard mark last season.
With Tom Brady now under center and the Bucs looking to make some noise in the NFC, you can be sure Tampa Bay will take to the air again this season, especially now that Rob Gronkowski will be roaming the field.
Despite the greatness of both Evans and Godwin, the Buccaneers are still in need of another receiver. That might be why Mike Clay of ESPN ranked the Bucs’ wide receiver unit as the second best in the NFL, behind only the Dallas Cowboys.
Per Clay:
“The Cowboys entered April’s draft with one of the league’s best, young WR duos in Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup. They now have the league’s best trio after selecting arguably the best of this year’s loaded class, CeeDee Lamb, with the 17th overall pick. New head coach Mike McCarthy relied heavily on three-WR sets in Green Bay, so expect to see this trio on the field on nearly every play this season.”
I tend to agree with Clay’s assessment here and would give the Cowboys receivers the edge over Tampa Bay’s right now. Not only is Lamb one of the biggest steals of the draft, but he helps give Dallas three strong options at receiver. The Bucs have Evans and Godwin, but still need to find a sure-fire third option.
Scotty Miller looks to be in contention for that role, as does fifth-round pick Tyler Johnson out of Minnesota. Dallas receivers — minus Lamb — have also had the benefit of playing with quarterback Dak Prescott before, whereas the Bucs are learning with a new quarterback in Tom Brady.
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