Dan Hanzus has the Bucs moving on up in his latest NFL Power Rankings

See what Dan Hanzus thinks about the new-look Buccaneers in his latest NFL Power Rankings.

The Kansas City Chiefs may be riding high as world champions after their victory in Super Bowl LIV last month, but as the NFL free agency period has proven so far, a repeat performance by the Chiefs may be hard to come by.

With several big players switching teams, most notably Tom Brady leaving the New England Patriots for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the scales of power in the NFL are beginning to tip. And, for the first time in seven weeks, Dan Hanzus over at NFL.com gave his updated Power Rankings following this first wave of free agency. Not surprisingly, Hanzus had the Bucs moving up seven spots from 19 to 12.

Here’s part of what Hanzus had to say about the new-look Bucs:

“Tom Brady is the quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It’s the biggest free-agent move in the history of the franchise, and it instantly makes the Bucs one of the most compelling teams in the NFL. It was the rare perfect move in free agency: Brady gets a two-year deal for not obscene money (two years and $50 million, with $9 million in incentives) to bring his unmatched experience and leadership to town. Brady will enter Week 1 at 43 years old, but he’s never been this motivated, and he’ll have star players to throw the ball to. This should be fun.”

Fun might be an understatement. Keep in mind that Brady will be taking over an offense that finished tied for third in scoring in 2019, averaging 28.6 points per game, and that was with a quarterback who threw for 30 interceptions. Something tells me Brady won’t hit that mark next season.

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Dan Hanzus says Bucs need to ‘close the deal’ on Shaq Barrett

See why Dan Hanzus of NFL.com thinks re-signing LB Shaquil Barrett should be the team’s top priority.

Now that it’s time to move onto the 2020 season, we can start to look ahead to the NFL draft and free agency.

For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they have a number of big-name free agents that can hit the open market, meaning some important financial decisions are going to have to be made within the next two months. And, given that the Bucs finished 7-9 and had a strong finish down the stretch, this team feels on the cusp of making a return to the postseason next year.

Perhaps the biggest decision the team is going to have to make is how much to pay linebacker Shaquil Barrett, who led the league with 19.5 sacks this season and also broke the franchise’s single-season record of 16.5 set by Warren Sapp in 2000.

In his offseason power rankings, Dan Hanzus over at NFL.com ranks the Bucs at 19, and says getting Barrett under contract is the main priority.

“Let’s not talk about Jameis Winston here. Yes, the future of the quarterback is the most high-profile decision facing Tampa Bay, but it’s not the only big free-agent situation. Cut to: Outside linebacker Shaq Barrett, who signed a one-year contract with the Bucs last spring and proceeded to deliver the best ‘prove-it’ performance since Joe Flacco’s Super Bowl run with the Ravens. Barrett’s monster season — in which he broke the single-season franchise sack record with 19.5 — is going to lead to a massive payday, whether it’s from the Bucs or another team in need of a dominant pass rusher (that’s everyone). Bruce Arians said Barrett, 27, ‘ain’t going anywhere’ … but now the Bucs and GM Jason Licht have to close the deal.”

There’s no question Barrett should be the team’s top offseason priority. The Bucs know what they have in Barrett. With Winston, they are still scratching their heads.

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