Bucs Trending Up In New Power Rankings

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have checked all the boxes thus far in the offseason. Now past both free agency and the NFL Draft, the Bucs have come away protecting some key pieces from last season while identifying new talent to contribute to next year's team. 

Everything about the past few months has gone according to plan for general manager Jason Licht, the architect behind this group. Despite the shocking loss of offensive coordinator Liam Coen and then trusted executive John Spytek, the Bucs have maintained and come away arguably stronger for next season. 

Tampa Bay retained Chris Godwin through free agency and signed Haason Reddick to bolster a defense that needed a pass rushing force. Those moves along with several others set them up to pick with some freedom come draft day. 

That led to the selection of standout receiver Emeka Egbuka at No. 19 in the first round, adding more firepower and a potential future star to the Bucs' offense. Now the race for a fifth straight NFC title will not be won on paper, though Tampa Bay has positioned themselves strong at the start. 

While usually underrated in the scope of the league, the Bucs' success of late is becoming hard not to notice. Following the results of the draft, CBS Sports moved the Bucs up to No. 9 in their post-draft power rankings, placing them firmly in the league's top 10. 

Each year under Todd Bowles, the Bucs have made incremental progressions while maintaining some important benchmarks to keep themselves in the mix. Now, the goal is to make that leap forward. 

That will be tough to do in a loaded NFC. Tampa Bay will face three of the five conference powers rated above them with two of those games coming on the road. 

Last season, the Bucs showed they could compete with the top dogs early on, beating the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions all in the first half of the season. 

But in 2025, they will be expected to maintain that standard throughout the campaign and avoid the lulls that have plagued them in the past. So far, they are off to an encouraging start.