Tribal Assessment

April 14th, 2025

No needs!

Holy smokes, this may be the first time Joe has ever read, short of a Super Bowl-winning team, that an NFL squad has no needs.

But that’s how highly Bradley Locker of the PFF tribe thinks of the Bucs. They have no needs after free agency in the starting lineup, he says. Hoo, boy.

Guess this Locker hasn’t watched the Bucs’ pass defense. And Locker doesn’t even believe Todd Bowles, who openly hasn’t just pined for a corner, but confessed that he needs depth at corner.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Remaining Starter Needs: None
Remaining Depth/Future Needs: LB, EDGE, DI
Having retained Chris Godwin, Lavonte David and Ben Bredeson while adding Haason Reddick, the Buccaneers should feel good heading into the draft. The focus for general manager Jason Licht will likely be finding younger upgrades at weaker positions, particularly on defense.

David is 35 and on a one-year deal. … Even with Reddick now in the fold, the Buccaneers should look to better a defensive line where only Yaya Diaby and Vita Vea generated [any sort of pass rush].

Hhhmmm? Calijah Kancey couldn’t rush the passer? That would be news to the folks who work at One Buc Palace. This Locker either doesn’t watch tape or he has a vivid imagination.

The Bucs need all sorts of help on defense. They could probably use another tackle, another edge rusher wouldn’t be bad. And they terribly need inside linebacker depth, need a new corner and need a new safety.

But other than that, yeah, one of the worst pass defenses in the league the past two seasons is set.

Right?

12 Responses to “Tribal Assessment”

  1. MadMax Says:

    Through a trade down somewhere, im coming away with Starks/Emmanwori….Higgins….Knight….Farmer…Nohl Williams….Ty Robinson/Elijah Roberts….BJ Adams….

  2. Aqualung Says:

    Forrest Gump and Bubba Buford apparently scribe for the tribe.

  3. garro Says:

    Lets just imagine ….dream sequence music and vid… The world famous NFL expert writes his latest thoughts on the NFC South Champion Tampa Bay Bucs….
    Music distorts and screeches to a halt as does the vid…Oh screw it! I’l just make something up!

    Go Bucs!

  4. Brian in St Pete Says:

    As LONG AS Sir Dennis can get through a majority of the season with his refurbished shoulder, I think this is a correct assessment. We are really drafting for future replacements and depth/rotation this year.

  5. Bucs Guy Says:

    Trade back – Edge in 1st, pick up extra 3rd rd pick
    CB in 2nd
    S and ILB in 3rd
    DT in 4th
    WR in 5th
    CB in 7th

  6. BucU Says:

    “”As LONG AS Sir Dennis can get through a majority of the season with his refurbished shoulder””

    To me this is the biggest question mark on this defense. We’ve heard virtually nothing about his recovery from the Buc organization. Will be ready for OTA’S?
    Training camp? Preseason? Time to start investigating this Joe’s.

  7. KABucs Says:

    If this writer is basing all of this on the fact that we had a ton of injuries last year and that this coming season nobody will get hurt in the secondary or at linebacker + Bryce Hall ends up being better than we thought, Winfield gets fully back to form, Izien has his best season ever, Smith makes the perfect transition to safety, Diaby hit’s double digit sacks along with Reddick.. then I agree with him. Let’s draft pure depth via BPA.
    We all know things won’t play out that way. Some of these wonderful things will happen, surely not all of them.

    But yeah, he’s living in dreamland. We could upgrade and replace a couple starters If we get lucky. If Licht does a great job, we get a ton of depth and rookies that get a good amount of playing time.

  8. Brian Says:

    BPA on Defense!
    If you pressure the QB it helps the back end! If f you can’t pressure the QB you need good DBs
    Are Defense killed us!
    NEED to get of the field on third down!😭😭😭

  9. Brian Says:

    Like JOE says a punt is as good as a turnover!

  10. shaduckdow Says:

    Bucs draft picks: 1)Trust Jason Licht. 2) Best player available 3) Trade down for more draft picks (especially for rounds 2-4 where Licht is a genius. 4) Never pass up a good D2 offensive lineman. 5) Don’t use high draft picks on injury prone players.

  11. View from 132 Says:

    Yes, the most complete team to lose in the first round of the playoffs in NFL history.

    The team has no linebackers. Yes, Lavonte has been consistent for years, but even Derrick was not the same guy in his last year.

    They also need a quarterback. I’m not a Baker hater, but the team needs a real QB in waiting because either Baker will regress OR he won’t and be way too expensive. He’s not one of these tier one 50+ mil a year guys.

  12. heyjude Says:

    Respectfully View from 132 – I get what you are thinking with the QB decision. However, I don’t think the Bucs will draft another QB this time around. They kept Trask and we have other needs. Baker is doing a great job and like Mike Evans stayed for less money. We were lucky to get Baker. He has been the perfect fit. Maybe in the 2026 draft though and he can mentor a new QB for the future.

 

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