Pete Prisco’s latest Top 100 players list gave Tampa Bay a little national shine, with two Bucs landing spots among the league’s best. Tristan Wirfs checked in at No. 22, while Baker Mayfield came in at No. 80.
For Wirfs, the placement fits the way he’s been viewed for a while now. Prisco pointed to the missed time at the start of the season, writing, “He missed the first three games with a knee issue, but returned to play at his usual high standard.
He is outstanding in pass protection.” That’s the kind of reputation Wirfs has built: dependable, dominant, and impossible to ignore when he’s on the field.
Mayfield’s spot tells a different story, but it still says plenty about how he’s viewed around the league. Prisco noted, “After a big 2024 season, Mayfield battled through injuries to both himself and several of his offensive teammates in 2025.
He wasn’t the same player he was the year before. His numbers all came down, but the talent is still there.”
Even after a rougher year in Tampa Bay, the belief in his ability clearly hasn’t disappeared.
The Bucs’ two selections reflect the high-end talent still on the roster, even if the team fell short of the postseason after a 6-2 start. There’s also a little sting in seeing only two names make the cut, given how much talent Tampa Bay has assembled.
Wirfs’ inclusion hardly raises an eyebrow. He has grown into one of the NFL’s premier left tackles, blending athleticism, strength and technique in a way that makes him central to everything Tampa Bay wants to do.
He protects Mayfield’s blindside, handles elite pass rushers and brings the kind of steadiness teams build around. His absence early in the season only underscored how important he is.
Mayfield’s ranking is just as revealing in its own way. He has re-established himself as a starting quarterback and a player who can drive an offense, especially with his toughness and command of the system.
Still, this past season was easily his least productive in Tampa Bay. The Bucs won eight games, short of the bar they had set, and Mayfield posted his fewest passing yards, passing touchdowns and lowest completion rate since joining the team.
Even so, making the list shows the league still sees what Tampa Bay can be when everything clicks. Mayfield’s talent is still obvious, and the expectation is that healthier weapons around him in 2026 could push those numbers back up.
As for other possible Bucs candidates, there are a few names worth considering, but not many strong cases. Antoine Winfield Jr. is coming off a Pro Bowl season, yet the defense’s overall struggles make it difficult to push too many Tampa Bay defenders into this kind of company. Vita Vea carried a heavy load, especially with Calijah Kancey out for most of the season, but the unit as a whole just didn’t give enough support.
Second-year receiver Emeka Egbuka might be the most interesting long-shot name for the future. His hot start gave him a real chance, though a slow second half likely took him out of the conversation this time around. If he does show up on a list like this after next season, that would probably mean Tampa Bay has taken another step forward, too.
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