Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Russell Gage had a couple of moments of brilliance in what was otherwise a forgettable 2022 season. With the quarterback downgrade from Tom Brady to Baker Mayfield (or Kyle Trask), is there any hope for Gage? What is his fantasy football outlook for the 2023 season?
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Russell Gage’s Fantasy Outlook
Gage put together two solid, if unspectacular, campaigns in 2020 and 2021. He averaged 11.3 PPR fantasy points per game in 2020 and 11.6 ppg in 2021. His performance earned him a decent contract from the Bucs last season, where he was set to share the team’s WR3 role with Julio Jones.
With Brady’s skill declining and the Bucs’ offense cratering in productivity, Gage was never able to muster much fantasy value. He averaged 9.5 ppg but really only provided two useful weeks.
In Week 3, he scored 24.7 fantasy points and 25.9 in Week 15. He had just one other game in double digits (excluding Week 18, where he played with the backups after Tampa Bay pulled their starters).
Part of the reason Gage was even able to produce at a high level twice was the Bucs’ ridiculous pass volume. No team threw more passes or threw at a higher rate last season than Tampa Bay.
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This season, Gage remains the WR3 behind Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, but they will be starting Mayfield at quarterback (and eventually, possibly Trask). Suffice it to say their pass volume will be declining precipitously. It would not be a shock if the Buccaneers threw as many as 150 fewer passes this season.
It’s a stretch to say either of the Bucs’ quarterbacks is capable of supporting even two fantasy-relevant receivers. But three? It’s simply not going to happen.
Should Fantasy Managers Draft Gage at His ADP?
Gage has a WR114 ADP. That should tell you all you need to know about whether you should draft him.
Even if you think there’s a path to some sort of fantasy value, there’s no reason to draft Gage. You can draft just about anyone else, and if you really need to, pick him up early in the season.
I have Gage ranked as my WR89, but anything outside the top 72 or so is really just dealer’s choice. Even in the deepest of leagues, fantasy managers should not consider drafting Gage this season.