Bucs’ Weak Links On Offense

No football team likes to have weaknesses, but not every position can be a team strength. But the reality is that every position has a weak link if one travels down the depth chart far enough. The Bucs are no exception.

Despite fielding a team that still has nine players that have made at least one Pro Bowl, the defending NFC South champions do have weak links at every position – some even in the starting ranks. Some of these weak spots can be turned into team strengths with more experience and development. And some weaknesses can be erased simply due to better play or deployment by the coaches.

Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds looks at the Bucs’ weak links over the next two days in two articles – offense on Monday and defense on Tuesday. Let’s start with Tampa Bay’s offense.

Bucs’ Weak Links On Offense

Quarterback – Kyle Trask

Experience is the greatest teacher, and the problem for third-year quarterback Kyle Trask is that he has spent too much time in the classroom. Outside of a handful of preseason appearances in his first two years in Tampa Bay, Trask has only appeared in one regular season game. That came in the fourth quarter of a Week 18 loss to Atlanta where Trask completed just 3-of-9 passes for 23 yards.

With Tom Brady gone, Trask will finally be given an opportunity to vie for the starting job against newcomer Baker Mayfield. But Mayfield has 69 starts in the NFL and is the current favorite to line up under center in Week 1 at Minnesota. The only way Trask can beat out Mayfield is if he does a better job of protecting the ball in training camp and the preseason, as new offensive coordinator Dave Canales demands that his quarterback protect the football.

Even if he loses the QB competition and is relegated to being the backup, Trask’s lack of experience still makes him the weak link of the quarterback position. Because if Mayfield gets hurt and Trask has to play, his inexperience won’t do him or the Bucs any favors. Trask simply won’t improve until he gets more opportunities under center.

And even some of the best quarterbacks in the league have to go through a trial-by-fire whether it’s during their rookie year or whenever they get the chance to start. The fact that the Bucs don’t have an experienced backup like they’ve had the last three seasons with Blaine Gabbert, could come back to bite the Bucs if Mayfield gets hurt or struggles to the point where Trask has to play.

Running Back – Ke’Shawn Vaughn

Rachaad White enters the 2023 season as the projected starter now that Leonard Fournette has been released. But the depth behind White is as thin as White’s own level of experience after splitting playing time with Fournette last year as a rookie. There is a noticeable drop off in talent behind White with Ke’Shawn Vaughn, a third-round pick in 2020. Vaughn has seen limited playing time over the last three seasons and has just 79 carries for 342 yards and two touchdowns.

Yet he does have a favorable 4.3-yard average and has shown some improvement over his Bucs career. Still, Tampa Bay would not feel comfortable with Vaughn as the team’s starter if White were to suffer an injury. Vaughn’s lone start came in the Bucs’ playoff win versus the Eagles in 2021 where he had 17 carries for 53 yards and a touchdown along with a pedestrian 3.1 avg.

Vaughn has proven to be just an average back with minimal explosiveness. While his hands have gotten better, he’s still not viewed as a great receiver out of the backfield where he could be trusted to play on third downs. The Bucs brought in veteran Chase Edmonds to compete with Vaughn for the backup job and that should be a good competition – and one that Edmonds might ultimately win. Tampa Bay just needs to hope that White can stay healthy for 17 games this season due to the lack of a proven, capable backup runner.

Wide Receiver – Russell Gage

Russell Gage disappointed in his first season in Tampa Bay, catching just 51 passes for 426 yards and five touchdowns. His 8.4-yard average was the lowest of his career. Gage suffered a hamstring injury in training camp and never fully recovered during the season. The Bucs were upset at how he handled his recovery, which took longer than it should have, and forced Gage to take a $3 million pay cut.

New Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales has shared his excitement over the team keeping Gage, and he could have a bounce-back year in Tampa Bay’s new offense. Gage’s primary trait is his quickness. Neither big nor fast, Gage is quick in and out of his breaks and can separate from defenders when healthy. But when hurt, as he was last year, Gage proved to be just an ordinary run-of-the-mill receiver.

The Bucs drafted speed receiver Trey Palmer in the sixth round and he could prove to be an immediate threat to Gage in terms of playing time. Even in limited time in Tampa Bay with just the rookie mini-camp and the first week of OTAs, Palmer has impressed and could make a run at the No. 3 wide receiver spot currently held by Gage. The problem for Gage is that he suffered an undisclosed minor injury that caused him to miss last week’s OTAs. If he can’t stay healthy, Palmer could quickly usurp him and claim the No. 3 spot on the depth chart.

Tight End – Ko Kieft

The Bucs spent a sixth-round pick on Ko Kieft in the 2022 NFL Draft to help with the team’s ground game. Primarily a blocking tight end at Minnesota, Kieft proved his worth as an extra blocker in first year in Tampa Bay lining up in-line, on the move as an H-back and also at fullback. Kieft also shined on special teams as one of the top tacklers.

But due to his limited skills as a receiver, when he was deployed by former offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich it was a giveaway to opposing defenses that the Bucs were going to run the ball. Kieft’s usage was a tell that the Bucs weren’t going to throw the ball and led to some very predictable – and unsuccessful – running plays. For Tampa Bay to avoid that predictability this season, Kieft must improve as a receiver, and new offensive coordinator Dave Canales must call for the ball to be thrown to him more often – or simply throw the ball in general when Kieft is in the lineup.

The problem for Kieft is that the Bucs drafted another pass-catching tight end in fifth-round pick Payne Durham to pair with Cade Otton. Durham had 126 catches for 1,275 yards and 21 touchdowns at Purdue. By comparison, Kieft had 12 receptions for 166 yards and two TDs at Minnesota, and just seven catches for 81 yards and one TD as a rookie in Tampa Bay last year. Instead of possibly emerging as a No. 2 tight end with Cam Brate and Kyle Rudolph gone, Kieft will likely remain the No. 3 tight end with the arrival of Durham – a far better receiving tight end.

Offensive Line – Cody Mauch

Luke Goedeke, the projected starter at right tackle, could have been the pick here instead of Cody Mauch, the team’s second-round pick this year. But Goedeke already has gone through the trials and tribulations of his rookie season, and is returning to a place he had success in college, which is his natural position at right tackle. While he’s unproven there at the NFL level – except for one game in Week 18 – he’s not as green as Mauch will be in his first season in the NFL.

Mauch is not only making the leap from the FCS level where he starred at North Dakota State, he’s also making the position switch from left tackle right guard. While Ali Marpet made a very successful transition from playing left tackle at Hobart College in 2014 to starting at right guard for the Bucs in 2015, Alex Cappa struggled to make that position switch initially. Cappa, a left tackle at Humboldt State, was drafted to become a guard in the third round in 2018. He struggled mightily in pass protection and didn’t emerge as a full-time starter until 2019 until he got stronger.

Mauch is more like Cappa than he is Marpet, and needs a lot of technique work in pass protection. While he should excel as a run blocker, his lack of sound pass protection could cause him some issues as a rookie. Couple that with the fact that he’s lining up next to an inexperienced right tackle in Goedeke, and picking up stunts and twists successfully could lead to some serious growing pains. Mauch could develop into a really good guard in the future, but his lack of experience makes him the weak link on the offensive line.