Ian Hartitz uncovers the team needs facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers going into the NFL Draft and 2025 season.

The Bucs started the 2024 season at just 4-6 and entered their Week 11 bye riding a four-game losing streak. Winning six of their final seven games was enough to capture their second consecutive NFC South title, but unfortunately the clock struck midnight on their fairytale story against the Commanders in the Wild Card round.

Despite ending their season with an L like most other NFL teams, there were still some cool moments!

Of course, next season will present new challenges, chiefly in the continuity department with OC Liam Coen out, and longtime stud WR Chris Godwin set to hit free agency. Kudos to Todd Bowles for making the playoffs in each of his first three seasons as head coach, but 2025 might just be his toughest test yet.

Today we'll recap some of the good and bad of 2024 before getting into potential offseason injuries to monitor as well as team needs ahead of the 2025 offseason.

As always: It's a great day to be great.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS 2024 RECAP

  • Record: 10-7 (8.5 preseason win total)
  • Points per game: 29.5 (4th)
  • EPA per dropback: +0.211 (5th)
  • EPA per rush: +0.012 (6th)
  • Points per game allowed: 22.6 (16th)
  • Leading passer: Baker Mayfield (4,500 pass yards, 41 TD, 16 INT)
  • Leading rusher: Bucky Irving (207 carries, 1,122 yards, 8 TD)
  • Leading receiver: Mike Evans (74 receptions, 1,004 yards, 11 TD)

Biggest surprise: RB Bucky Irving

Every NFL team passed on Irving multiple times before the Buccaneers made him the 125th overall selection of the 2024 NFL Draft. The undersized (5-foot-10, 195 pounds) Oregon product wasn't expected to work as more than a change-of-pace option behind incumbent starter Rachaad White, but then a funny thing happened: Irving started to look a lot like one of the league's best playmakers with the ball in his hands.

Irving among 31 RBs with 150-plus carries in 2024:

  • Yards per carry: 5.4 (No. 4)
  • Yards over expected per carry: +0.94 (No. 5)
  • Yards after contact per carry: 4.03 (No. 1)
  • Yards per route run: 1.63 (No. 4)
  • Tackles avoided per carry: 27.5% (No. 3)
  • Explosive run rate: 9.7% (No. 6)
  • PFF rush grade: 89 (No. 7)

The above after-contact metric is truly wild: Over the last 10 years only three RBs have averaged north of four yards after contact per carry with a minimum of 200 carries in a season: 2021 Nick Chubb, 2018-19 Derrick Henry … and 2024 Bucky Irving.

One of just 16 rookie RBs to rack up north of 1,500 total yards since 2000, it remains to be seen whether new OC Josh Grizzard will be as willing to feed Irving a true workhorse role in 2025 and beyond—but there's no denying the 22-year-old talent just had himself one helluva rookie campaign.

Honorable mention shoutout to rookie WR Jalen McMillan, who caught 7 TDs in his final five regular-season games while looking the part of a potential long-term starter in Tampa Bay.

Biggest disappointment: RB Rachaad White

White wasn't bad in 2024; there really wasn't a true big-time disappointment inside the Bucs' fourth-ranked scoring offense.

Still, it's tough to say things went all that well when White had his starting job yanked away by a Day 3 rookie. A career-best 4.3 yards per carry still paled in comparison to Irving (5.4) and even No. 3 RB Sean Tucker (6.2), and White also finished third among the group in yards per target.

Now, defenses certainly played White differently; he faced eight-plus defenders in the box on 22% of his carries compared to 15% for Irving. Still, a late game-losing fumble against the Cowboys seemingly was the last straw, as White received just 10 total touches across the Bucs' final 12 quarters of action.

It remains to be seen what White's role will look like in 2025 and beyond, but it's safe to say his once firm stranglehold on the starting job is out the window.

Key injuries

The main injury here to worry about is WR Chris Godwin, who dislocated his ankle late in the Bucs' Week 7 loss to the Ravens.

Now, the timetable for recovery is unclear, although Todd Bowles' assertion that Godwin had a chance to be back for a late playoff run is intriguing. Dr. Deepak Chona believes Godwin will likely be playing in Week 1 of 2025, although WR ankle data favors a moderate dip that recovers midseason.

Here's to hoping Godwin gets back to 100% after his latest excruciating season-ending lower body injury. Things were certainly going incredible to start the season: Ja'Marr Chase (138.1) was the only WR with more PPR points than Godwin (137.8) in Weeks 1-7 last year.

What Are The Biggest Needs of the Buccaneers Ahead Of 2025?

Team Need No. 1: EDGE

The team has all sorts of pieces in the front-seven entering free agency. The pass rushers are no exception: Three of the Bucs' top-six defenders in total pressures are set to hit unrestricted free agency.

Even maintaining the status quo might not be quite good enough considering the team's heavy reliance on blitzing in order to generate pressure. Consider: Tampa Bay ranked fifth in pressure rate (37.3%) last season, but had to send five-plus rushers at the league's second-highest rate in order to do so. The Bucs dropped to 13th in pressure rate when they didn't blitz.

Only the Rams and Cardinals have fewer 2025 dollars devoted to their EDGE rushers; adding more twitch to the outside to complement Vita Vea and Co. makes a lot of sense.

Team Need No. 2: Pass Catcher

This won't be a dire need if the Bucs bring back something close to a 100% healthy Chris Godwin, but even then some extra WR depth could be in play with veteran Sterling Shepard hitting free agency.

It also might be time for the organization to make a real swing at TE. Cade Otton has had some nice stretches since entering the league in 2022, but the Bucs have only used Day 3 picks on the position ever since whiffing on O.J. Howard back in 2017.

Good news for Baker Mayfield: There are two particular first-round worthy options at the position:

  • Penn State TE Tyler Warren: Per Fantasy Life's Thor Nystrom: "The 6-foot-6, 260-pounder is a do-everything tight end. He’s a matchup nightmare in the slot, and he’s a decent blocker when deployed inline. Warren has 98 catches and only three drops this season."
  • Michigan TE Colston Loveland: Thor calls Loveland "the most natural pass-catching TE in the draft" and believes the Michigan man "has some Zach Ertz" to his game.

Team Need No. 3: Linebacker

Tampa Bay is one of just five teams with under $4 million devoted to its LB room ahead of 2025. This is primarily due to longtime stud Lavonte David entering free agency; his $8.5 million salary from 2024 was the fifth-highest per-year number at the position.

Re-signing the 35-year-old veteran would help, but it's also probably time to begin preparing for life after David. Perhaps 2024 second-round pick Chris Braswell is ready to be that guy, pal; either way more depth will be needed depending on the status of fellow free agent K.J. Britt.