2026 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Team Preview

By Brian Murphy, Thursday, July 30, 2026 1:07:12 PM EDT

Tampa Bay rode Tom Brady to a Super Bowl title in 2020 and followed
it up with four straight NFC South crowns, going a combined 40-28 over
that stretch. But their offense stalled out in 2025, with scoring dropping
by 122 points and the team slipping to a losing 8-9 record. Todd Bowles
enters his fifth season at the helm, having gone 35 -33 in Tampa with a
1-3 playoff mark. Before that, his head coaching tenure with Miami and
the Jets produced a 26-41 record.
Bowles' NFL coaching career dates all the way back to 2000 with the
Jets, and he previously spent three seasons (2019 -2021) as Tampa
Bay's defensive coordinator, a run that included the franchise's Super
Bowl win. The Buccaneers were outscored by 31 points last season, a
sharp reversal from their +117 point differential in 2024.
After a disappointing offensive season, the Buccaneers brought in Zac
Robinson to put Tampa back on a positive scoring track. He started his
NFL coaching career in 2019 with the Los Angeles Rams, where
Robinson held three positions – assistant quarterbacks coach, assistant
wide receivers coach, and pass game coordinator/quarterbacks coach.
Over the past two years, he was the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta
Falcons. Tampa slipped to 21st in offensive yards (5,702) and 18th in
points scored (380).

The Bucs still don’t have a defensive coordinator, leaving their defense
calls in the hands of head coach Todd Bowles. They finished 20th in
yards allowed (5,702) and points allowed (411).
Offense

Over the past two seasons, the Buccaneers have had identical run/pass
splits (45.8%/54.2%), but they gained 1,338 fewer offensive yards in
2025. Tampa slipped to 21st in rushing yards (1,947), leading to 13
touchdowns and nine runs of 20 yards. They averaged 27.7 carries per
game at 4.1 yards per carry.
The Bucs finished 19th in passing yards (3,755), with weakness in their
completion rate (62.9%) and yards per pass attempt (6.7). Their
offensive line allowed 38 sacks. Tampa’s quarterbacks delivered 26
passing touchdowns with 11 interceptions.
Quarterbacks

QB Baker Mayfield, TB

Baker Mayfield projects for 3691 passing yards, 26 passing TDs, and 1 INTs, with 243 rushing yards and 1 rushing TDs adding fantasy value for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This is a projection-derived draft blurb and requires player-ID and team validation before CMS import.

RB Bucky Irving, TB

Bucky Irving projects for 231 carries for 1017 yards and 7 TDs, plus 46 catches for 358 yards and 2 TDs in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense. This projection-derived outlook should be reviewed against the depth chart, ADP context, and player-ID match report before CMS import.

RB Kenneth Gainwell, TB

Kenneth Gainwell projects for 107 carries for 448 yards and 4 TDs, plus 32 catches for 225 yards and 2 TDs in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense. This projection-derived outlook should be reviewed against the depth chart, ADP context, and player-ID match report before CMS import.

RB Sean Tucker, TB

Sean Tucker projects for 49 carries for 200 yards and 3 TDs, plus 6 catches for 40 yards and 0 TDs in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense. This projection-derived outlook should be reviewed against the depth chart, ADP context, and player-ID match report before CMS import.

RB Josh Williams, TB

Josh Williams projects for limited stat volume in the current projection set in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense. This projection-derived outlook should be reviewed against the depth chart, ADP context, and player-ID match report before CMS import.

WR Emeka Egbuka, TB

Emeka Egbuka projects for 2 carries for 1041 yards and 0 TDs, plus 85 catches for 1041 yards and 7 TDs in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense. This projection-derived outlook should be reviewed against the depth chart, ADP context, and player-ID match report before CMS import.