If you could build the ultimate Madden NFL team, chances are it’d look a lot like the 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. You’d have wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin catching deep balls from Tom Brady, and oh, just for good measure, let’s add Brady’s favorite target of all time, Rob Gronkowski to the roster.
It’s easy to get caught up in the offensive potential of this team, especially when you consider the Bucs finished 2019 as the league’s third-best offense, averaging 397.9 yards per game, despite the fact that Jameis Winston tossed 30 interceptions. Brady taking over that offense, along with Gronk, will instantly make Tampa Bay the league’s best offense, right?
Well, not so fast.
While Brady is certainly an upgrade at quarterback, we can’t ignore the fact that he will be 43 when the season starts and Gronk will be 31 and a year removed from the game. Both these guys were stars in New England, but they’ll be playing for a new coach, in a new offense, on a new franchise. And, due to the coronavirus pandemic, they haven’t had the benefit of hitting the field yet with their new teammates to develop that chemistry. It’s an offseason unlike anything they’ve experienced before, and doing it on a new team makes it all the more challenging.
And if Tampa Bay wants to boast the league’s best offense, they still need to fix their issues on the O-line and in the backfield. Thursday’s draft will allow them to address those positions of need, but let’s see which players the Bucs walk away with before assessing this team’s offensive outlook. Plus, it’s not as though teams like the Saints, Niners, Chiefs and Ravens haven’t made upgrades of their own this offseason.
It’s going to take some time for Brady and Gronk to build that rapport with their new teammates, and this unusual offseason certainly isn’t going to help. The Bucs will put up points for sure, but we’ve seen Bucs teams in the past do that, too, and still finish the year with a losing record. What we want to see is a postseason berth from this 2020 team.
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