The Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense entered the 2023 NFL season as an afterthought for many fantasy football managers after the retirement of quarterback Tom Brady.
But after clinching their third straight NFC South division title and revamping the offensive line this offseason, the Bucs’ collection of skill players could be back on the fantasy radar entering the upcoming 2024 NFL season.
What can fantasy managers expect from the Bucs’ offense this year?
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Fantasy Depth Chart
QB
Baker Mayfield, Kyle Trask, John Wolford
RB
Rachaad White, Bucky Irving, Chase Edmonds, Sean Tucker
WR1
Mike Evans, Trey Palmer, Cephus Johnson
WR2
Chris Godwin, Rakim Jarrett, Ryan Miller
WR3
Jalen McMillan, Deven Thompkins, Raleigh Webb
TE
Cade Otton, Payne Durham, Ko Kieft, Devin Culp
Baker Mayfield’s Fantasy Outlook
After playing for three different teams in the two years leading up to the 2023 NFL season, most fantasy managers were not expecting much fantasy success from quarterback Baker Mayfield during his first campaign in Tampa.
Well, not only did Mayfield manage to help the Bucs play a winning brand of football last season, he managed to produce a career year across the board. His 4,044 passing yards and 28 passing TDs were both career highs and helped him finish as the QB10 overall in 2023.
This may come as a bit of a surprise, but Mayfield threw for more touchdown passes than Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson last year. Some could argue that Mayfield played at a higher level in 2023 than Tom Brady’s final season with Tampa Bay in 2022.
Baker Mayfield drops it in a bucket to Cade Otton for the go-ahead TD❕#GoBucs
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) December 10, 2023
Mayfield once again proved his toughness by playing through multiple injuries over the final month of the season and managed to win a playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Wild Card Round, where he was excellent — throwing for 337 yards and three touchdowns.
His strong season helped him secure a big payday with the Buccaneers this offseason, receiving a three-year deal to remain the starting quarterback in Tampa Bay.
It remains to be seen whether Mayfield can sustain his high level of play in consecutive years due to his tendency to get dinged up occasionally, the loss of his offensive coordinator (Dave Canales), and his inconsistent production over his six years in the NFL.
However, with the same cast of pass-catching characters returning with some improvement along the interior of the offensive line, Mayfield projects as a solid streaming option at the QB position in 2024.
Rachaad White’s Fantasy Outlook
Mayfield’s production was certainly better than expected, but the biggest fantasy surprise from this offense was Rachaad White, who finished the year as the RB4 in PPR formats.
Volume was certainly the name of the game for White’s production in 2023. He averaged just 3.64 yards per carry — which was lower than his disappointing mark of 3.73 during his rookie season — over his 272 carries for 990 yards on the ground.
Yet, his pass-catching role continues to be his most valuable asset as a producer in PPR formats. White hauled in 64 passes for 549 receiving yards over his 70 targets in 2023. For some context, White ranked inside the top 10 at the running back position in targets (ninth), receptions (fourth), and receiving yards (third). This also marks the second straight season in which White finished with 50+ receptions.
Rachaad White gets LOOSE to extend the #Buccaneers lead! 💨#GoBucs
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) December 10, 2023
Sure, the low yards per rushing attempt continues to be concerning, but his 1,539 total yards and nine TDs while playing all 17 games last season as the Bucs’ feature back make him a valuable fantasy asset on pure volume alone.
If there is one way a back could steal some work from White, it would be due to his lack of efficiency as a ball carrier. His yards after contact per attempt (1.4) and low amount of broken tackles (17) in 2023 don’t exactly suggest he is creating a ton of extra yardage off of his own creativity as a runner.
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Yet, his low yards-before-contact-per-attempt mark (2.2) could speak to many of the issues the interior of the offensive line had last season, which was properly addressed this offseason when the Bucs selected standout center prospect Graham Barton at No. 26 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Barton’s impact could certainly help improve some of White’s efficiency issues on the ground and could raise his fantasy ceiling a bit if he fills a similar feature role in 2024.
Mike Evans’ Fantasy Outlook
It may be hard to believe that Mike Evans caught more passes for more yards in 2023 playing with Mayfield than he did in any of the three seasons he played with Brady, but the demise of Evans’ fantasy value may have been a bit premature after a WR7 overall finish last year.
Actually, this was the highest fantasy finish for Evans at the position since the 2016 NFL season, where he finished the year as the WR2.
His 79 receptions for 1,255 yards and 13 TDs showed the world Evans had plenty left in the tank and helped him garner yet another contract from the Bucs to solidify further his secure position as a focal point of this passing attack in 2024.
Give Mike Evans a chance, and he does the rest 😤
pic.twitter.com/2P1AOB0M70— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) September 17, 2023
To say Evans has one of the highest fantasy floors of any fantasy WR would be the understatement of understatements. Evans has topped 1,000 yards receiving for all 10 years of his NFL career and has never finished lower than the WR22.
One reason to feel confident in selecting Evans as a rock-solid fantasy WR in 2024 is that he actually led the team in targets for the first time since the 2020 season and had instant chemistry with Mayfield.
Evans won’t be able to do this forever, but there is no reason to believe that Evans doesn’t have another 1,000-yard season left in the tank and a potential top-20 fantasy finish at WR in 2024.
Chris Godwin’s Fantasy Outlook
After finishing as a top-20 WR for two straight seasons, Godwin plummeted all the way to WR29. He caught just 83 passes for 1,024 yards and two touchdowns in 2023. If you can’t tell, there is a touch of sarcastic exaggeration when I use the word “plummet” to describe Godwin’s production in 2023. He was still a useful fantasy asset who managed to finish strong last year.
He is still slated to be a WR who is going to see 100+ targets next year and could move back to the slot — which is where he has done his best fantasy work during his career — to help give him legit WR2 upside this upcoming season.
One noteworthy statistical nugget from 2023 that suggests a potential bump in receiving touchdowns for Godwin this upcoming season was his heavy utilization in the red zone last year. He finished tied for 19th in the league with 17 red-zone targets, but he managed to catch just five of those passes for one score.
In fact, those inefficient numbers in the red zone echo his weird regression in the touchdown department as a whole. Godwin was the only player to see more than 110 targets and not score at least three touchdowns in 2023.
The roles of other receivers could expand and eat into his target share, but his role still seems secure in 2024, which makes him a nice discounted option on draft day.
Buccaneers Fantasy Sleepers
Cade Otton is a tight end worth keeping an eye on in 2024 after his outstanding postseason, but he finished the year as the TE20 with 47 receptions for 455 receiving yards and four scores in 2023. Yet, his 67 targets were only two more than his target volume during his rookie year, which makes it difficult to project a huge bump in volume this upcoming season.
Bucky Irving is a rookie running back out of Oregon in whom the team invested fourth-round draft capital to serve as a complementary option to White. He did lead all FCS backs with 55 receptions in 2023, but he doesn’t have the power or top-end speed to offer an element to this backfield that they don’t already have with White. Outside of an injury to White, Irving doesn’t offer a ton of upside outside of being a potential handcuff option.
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At wide receiver, Jalen McMillan was drafted in the third round and could provide ideal formation versatility, great route running, and run-after-catch ability that could factor into 11 personnel sets this year.