Buccaneers Fantasy Football Preview: Can Baker Mayfield, Rachaad White, Mike Evans and Others Build on Last Season?
Breaking down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers best fantasy football players for the upcoming season.
Let’s dive into another NFL team fantasy football preview.
Check back soon for more team previews. Of course, things will change between now and the start of the season, and FantasySP will cover any major changes when those happen.
Here’s all the team previews we’ve already covered:
AFC: Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins, Las Vegas Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts
NFC: San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, Seattle Seahawks, Washington Commanders
Let’s talk about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers now.
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Baker Mayfield Fantasy Outlook
Mayfield got a big contract extension with the Bucs after leading the team to the playoffs in 2023. He had several strong fantasy weeks a season ago, and should at least be a streaming option in 2024.
In 17 starts, Mayfield completed 364 of his 566 passes for 4,044 yards, 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He added 163 rushing yards and a score on 62 attempts.
The offense looks pretty similar to a season ago, and probably even got better, so there’s no reason Mayfield couldn’t be a good fantasy asset this coming season. Mayfield is currently QB22 and going around pick 152.
It’s a bit surprising to see Mayfield not even in the top 20 after the season he put up last year, but a lot of QB injuries helped him become a better fantasy asset than he really was. He’s a streaming option to begin the season, but I’d also heavily consider him at the end of a standard league draft.
Kirk Cousins, Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford and Deshaun Watson are the quarterbacks being taken before Mayfield. All of them have some concerns going into the season, while Mayfield really doesn’t have any. It comes down to who you like, but I’d be fine taking Mayfield as my backup fantasy QB late in the draft.
Running Back Fantasy Outlooks
Rachaad White is the team’s No. 1 RB again. Rookie Bucky Irving is the top backup, while Chase Edmonds provides more depth at the position.
White definitely improved in his second NFL season. In 17 games played, he rushed for 990 yards and six touchdowns on 272 attempts. White caught 64 of his 70 targets for an additional 549 yards and three scores.
Edmonds was around for 13 games with Tampa Bay in 2023. He had 176 yards and no scores on 49 rushing attempts, while grabbing 14 of his 17 targets for 81 yards and no touchdowns.
Irving was a fourth-round pick of the Bucs. After a solid collegiate season at Minnesota, he starred at Oregon for a couple seasons. He went for over 1,457 total yards and 12 touchdowns in 2023.
White is the back to own in Tampa Bay. He’s RB13 and going around pick 34.
Having Irving around is a bit concerning for fantasy owners, but White should still be the workhorse back for the Buccaneers. He was a top-five fantasy back last season, so I love the value you’re getting with White near his ADP. He could be your third back taken, but could end up as your best option for the season.
Irving is RB56 and going around pick 171. He might be the future back of the Bucs, but I expect him to not play a huge role this season (unless White is injured). I wouldn’t use a late standard league pick on Irving, but instead treat him as a waiver wire option. He’s a solid pick in deeper leagues and dynasties though, although he might not be startable much this season.
Edmonds is unlikely to be a startable fantasy player in any format this season. I’d treat him as a waiver wire option, who you could grab if White or Irving goes down.
Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlooks
Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are back to lead the Tampa Bay receivers, while rookie Jalen McMillan may start alongside them. Sterling Shepard, Trey Palmer and Rakim Jarrett are the other top backups at this point.
Evans is as steady as a fantasy player as you’ll find, with 1,000-plus receiving yards in each of his first 10 seasons. In 17 games last season, Evans had 1,255 yards and 13 touchdowns on 79 grabs and 136 targets.
Godwin also topped 1,000 yards in 2023, marking the fourth time he’s hit that mark in the past five seasons. He went for 1,024 yards and two scores on 83 catches and 130 targets.
Palmer played in 17 games as a rookie last season. He made 39 grabs on 68 targets for 385 yards and three touchdowns.
Jarrett appeared in 10 games, making four catches on nine targets for 60 yards and no scores.
Shepard was with the Giants for the first eight years of his career. In 15 games last season, Shepard had just 57 yards and a touchdown on 10 catches and 22 targets.
McMillan was a third-round pick of the Bucs in the draft. He had a big third collegiate season at Washington, with 1,040 yards and eight scores. McMillan missed a couple games in 2023 and finished with 468 yards and three scores.
Evans is the Bucs’ receiver you want again in 2024. He’s WR16 and going around pick 32 right now.
He offers great value near his ADP, and is one of the few guys likely to lead his team in receiving around that ADP. Evans is a pretty safe pick, with not a ton of upside, but he’s someone you should be able to start each week this season. I expect a little decrease in touchdown production, but for him to still at least live up to the expectations of a fourth-round fantasy wideout.
Godwin is WR33 and going around pick 75. He finished as WR30 a season ago, so that’s a fair spot for him. I do prefer a few of the guys going after him, but wouldn’t wait too much longer than pick 75 to try to land Godwin if you want him. He’ll be a flex option for most of the season.
Every other Tampa Bay receiver is off the draft board in standard leagues. McMillan is the closest, but is a better option in deep leagues and dynasties. He could become a streaming option in standard leagues, but it’s hard to imagine him, Evan and Godwin all being startable with a good running back and decent tight end on the team.
The other Tampa wideouts can be streaming options in deep, deep leagues, but players you should not draft and instead view as streaming options if injuries occur ahead of them on the depth chart.
Tight End Fantasy Outlooks
Cade Otton is the team’s top tight end. Nobody else is worth mentioning, as they’d only become fantasy assets if Otton missed extended time.
Otton played in all 17 games in his second NFL season. He did some solid things, hauling in 47 of his 62 targets for 455 yards and four scores.
Otton is currently TE19 and going around pick 168. That makes him a late round draft option in standard leagues. I prefer to leave Otton and address another need late in a fantasy draft, but if you need a backup tight end, he’s probably the last one I’d truly consider using a pick on.
He’ll be a streaming option throughout the season, but probably too inconsistent to trust most weeks. Otton is a good deep league option, even if it’s as a backup.
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