The Buccaneers Will Give Us Fireworks This Season

The 4th of July is upon us! A time to celebrate our freedoms with good food, good weather and being out on the water (that’s what I’m going to do!). And of course, let’s not forget the time honored tradition of fireworks.

Of course, this isn’t the only time we see fireworks. In fact, we should see them plenty this coming fall. Expect to see them every time the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense takes the field. 

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that the Bucs should have one of the best offenses in the NFL. The offensive line is very good and the playmakers have depth and talent at every position. Explosive is a theme that the Bucs and 4th of July should both share this year.

How will that shake out exactly? I make my best prediction on how the Buccaneers will give us fireworks this season.

Passing Yards

When I think of fireworks on the football field, I think of a high flying passing attack. And with a new offensive coordinator, it’s reasonable to expect this aspect of the Bucs offense to get back on track after a down year last season. Keep in mind that new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson comes from the same coaching tree as Liam Coen who was the Bucs offensive coordinator in 2024 when the team was top four in both total years and points.

That was the year that Baker Mayfield set career highs in passing yards (4,500) and passing touchdowns (41). Now as we expect the Bucs to return to that similar style of offense, it’s fair to expect a similar type of production. I believe that Mayfield will meet those expectations.

My prediction is that Mayfield will throw for 4,550 yards and 34 touchdowns. Even with the loss of star receiver Mike Evans, the overall depth at receiver is better now than it was in 2024. Here’s how I see that breaking down.

Big Three – 2,800 Yards

We know who the big names are in the Buccaneers wide receiver room. Chris Godwin has been a high end number two receiver for many years and has earned pro bowl honors in the past. Emeka Egbuka was the front runner for offensive rookie of the year for most of last season. Even with those to on the field, don’t be surprised if Jalen McMillan leads the team in receiving yards and touchdowns.

I expect all of these guys to float around 1,000 yards. Whether it be a combination of 1,000, 900 and 900 or 1,100, 850 and 850. Regardless of how it breaks down, I believe this trio puts up about 2,800 receiving yards.

TE/Other WR – 1,000 Yards

I think the forgotten man heading into the season is rookie receiver Ted Hurst. He stretches the field vertically and has an excellent catch radius. As the only true X receiver on the team, I do expect him to produce early in his career. And add Tez Johnson to the mix after an impressive rookie year last season, and I think these two (and whatever 6th receiver makes the team) can combine for around 500 yards.

The same is true for the tight end room. Cade Otton is as consistent as they come, having put up at least 450 in each of the last three seasons. And while I don’t think too highly of the rest of the tight end group, they don’t have to provide much to help Otton get the right end room to 500 total yards.

RBs – 750 Yards

Based on his track record, we know that Robinson will want to incorporate running backs into the passing game. That works well for what the Buccaneers have in the roster. 

Bucky Irving has finished around 300 receiving yards in each of his first two seasons. Kenneth Gainwell is one of the best pass catching backs in the NFL and is coming off a 486 yard season through the air. And while I would call Sean Tucker a pass catching prototype, he’s very explosive and can gash a defense if given space.

I very much expect this to be a true running back rotation with each of these three getting meaningful snaps. And with any of these three being able to chip into the passing game, I expect they combine for about 750 receiving yards.

However, I feel less confident in predicting their overall rushing totals.

As I said, I expect this to be a three man rotation. This means that none of them are likely to reach 1,000 yards rushing. The bottom line is that the Bucs don’t have a high end ball carrier and none are likely to be extremely productive. 

With that said, I could see both Irving and Gainwell (the top two of this trio) both finish with around 700 rushing yards. Then I can see Tucker getting about 350 as someone who can run out the clock and get carries in the hard areas. Total that all up and it’s roughly 1,750 rushing yards. That would have ranked 26th in the NFL last year.

Let’s not overlook the rushing yards that Mayfield can bring from the quarterback position. He had 378 rushing yards in 2024 and 382 last season. Even if Mayfield takes a step back to 300 then that would still bring the Bucs rush offense to roughly 2,050 yards. That would have ranked 13th in the NFL last year.

I will skip any potential rushing yards from wide receivers. While there will inevitably be some, it’s something that I find too difficult and not relevant enough to predict. Plus I want to be reasonably conservative with my expectations.

If you add both of the rushing and passing totals together, that comes out to 6,600 total yards of offense. That would have ranked 3rd in the NFL last year behind just the Los Angeles Rams and Dallas Cowboys. It would also be comparable to the Bucs total offense numbers from 2024 (6,793).

Maybe it’s not fair to expect the Buccaneers return to their 2024 form. After all, it’s not easy to have a top three offense in the NFL. It’s more likely than not that any team would fall short of that expectation.

However, that is what I expect this year. It’s most of the same players that put up those impressive numbers in 2024. If everyone can stay reasonably healthy then I don’t see any reason why they can’t do it again.