The Buccaneers’ passing game is walking into the season with more questions than answers, and the biggest one starts with the guy who isn’t there anymore. Mike Evans is gone, and with him goes the receiver who could beat man coverage, win jump balls, and flip a game with one explosive play. Tampa’s offense spent plenty of time last year struggling to uncover against man, so that issue is likely to get a heavy dose until someone in this new-look group proves otherwise.
That leaves Baker Mayfield leaning on a receiving corps that has to sort out its own identity fast. New offensive coordinator Zac Robinson inherits the challenge of figuring out how to replace what Evans brought for 12 seasons and 176 career games, and the answer won’t come from one player alone.
Emeka Egbuka is the most obvious place to start. The first-round pick came out of nowhere in more ways than one last year, first because he was Tampa’s first-round selection and then because he exploded right away.
In his first eight games, and before the bye week, Egbuka caught 34 passes for 562 yards and five touchdowns. He looked comfortable, made big-time grabs against top competition, and consistently produced chunk plays that made him look like a polished pro.
Then the league adjusted. Over weeks 9-18, Egbuka’s production fell off sharply along with the rest of the offense.
He finished that stretch with 29 catches on 64 targets for 376 yards and one touchdown, and his catch rate settled at a troubling 49.6%. The early tape still matters, though.
Egbuka showed plenty to like in those first eight weeks, and now he gets to build on a full year of handling a heavy workload. He’ll also benefit if Godwin and Jalen McMillan are more reliable and if Robinson can keep the offense more consistent overall.
Chris Godwin might be the other major swing piece in this group. If Egbuka’s second-year leap isn’t the top question, Godwin’s status is right there with it.
He’s been a high-end No. 2 when healthy, but the last few years have been wrecked by major injuries, including a torn ACL and a broken leg that largely wiped out 2024 and 2025. That stretch left him with just 16 total games and 13 starts over those two seasons.
Now 30, Godwin is trying to get back to being the slot weapon he was for several seasons before the fibula fracture. If he can simply be a steady chain mover on short throws and screens, that would go a long way toward easing the load on Egbuka, McMillan, and rookie Ted Hurst, while letting those younger receivers work more in the intermediate and downfield game.
At tight end, Tampa has already made its choice. Cade Otton got a three-year deal this offseason, and the team didn’t bring in much real competition for his role beyond Day 3 pick Bauer Sharp. Fans have their gripes, especially when he loses control of the ball at the wrong time, but Otton has been a dependable pass catcher and run blocker who has kept improving over the last four years.
The real question is how much Robinson will lean on him. In Atlanta, he found ways to use Kyle Pitts effectively when the Bucs were on the other sideline, including a game last year in which Pitts scored three of his five touchdowns against Tampa. Pitts finished 2025 with career highs of 88 catches and 928 yards, though that output also came in a season when the Falcons were thin at receiver.
Tampa’s setup is different, even without Evans. Robinson will have more to work with in the passing game than he did in Atlanta, which could keep Otton lower on the target list.
Still, Otton brings something this roster now lacks: size. At 6-5 and 247 pounds, he could become a more useful red-zone option than he’s been before.
In Other News...
Todd Bowles Suddenly Faces A Defining Season In Tampa Bay
Todd Bowles enters the 2026 season with the kind of scrutiny that comes with coaching in a league where patience runs thin fast. Tampa Bay has spent the last few years trying to stay in the NFC race, but the Buccaneers are now being measured against the standard they set during the Tom Brady era, when the postseason trips kept coming and expectations rose with them.
The problem is that the margin for error has narrowed, and Bowles is now being judged on whether this group can get back to that level before the conversation turns uncomfortable. Tampa Bays defense was supposed to be a strength after major investment, yet it never quite lived up to the billing, and with the offense still searching for steadier production, the Buccaneers head into a season where results matter more than reputation. [Read more 🡒]
Tom Brady Is Pushing Toward A Wild New Post-Bucs Chapter
Tom Bradys post-Bucs life already looks like a full-time second act, with minority ownership stakes in the Raiders and Aces and a broadcasting deal with Fox Sports keeping him tied to football and beyond. Even so, the former Buccaneers quarterback keeps drifting toward the kind of headline-grabbing lane that has nothing to do with playbooks, and his latest public appearance only added to that sense that he is still looking for a bigger stage.
At Fanatics Fest, Brady crossed into the WWE orbit in a way that got attention fast, and he has also talked openly on a podcast about wanting a role with the company. For Tampa Bay fans who spent three seasons watching him reshape the franchise, the bigger question now is how far he wants to push this new chapter, and whether the next version of Brady is going to be built around business, broadcasting or something far more theatrical. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers Are Running Out Of Time On Baker Mayfield Decision
The Buccaneers have a familiar quarterback question hanging over them as Baker Mayfield heads toward the 2026 season, and the case for acting early is starting to sound less like a luxury and more like a practical move. Re-signing him before the market opens would give Tampa Bay a cleaner path forward, sidestep a potential bidding war and spare the team from carrying contract talk through another season.
Mayfield also has reasons to want clarity sooner rather than later. A new deal would remove the uncertainty that comes with playing out a contract year, and it would let the Bucs focus on football instead of watching the situation drift toward free agency. If Tampa Bay waits too long, the alternatives get more complicated, and the price of keeping its starter could rise fast. [Read more 🡒]