Each week during the regular season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' communications department publishes a "Game Release" to aid the media in coverage of their upcoming game. Within that release are a number of documents regarding the player roster, including a depth chart, which lists the pecking order at every position on offense, defense and special teams.
Each game week, we will be taking a closer look at that depth chart, pointing out any changes or relevant notes from the previous game. Let's start on offense. Rookies are marked with an asterisk. Players we will be discussing in depth are highlighted in bold text.
OFFENSE
- WR: Mike Evans, Trey Palmer
- WR: Sterling Shepard, Ryan Miller
- LT: Tristan Wirfs, Justin Skule
- LG: Ben Bredeson, Royce Newman
- C: Graham Barton*, Robert Hainsey
- RG: Cody Mauch, Elijah Klein*
- RT: Luke Goedeke
- WR: Jalen McMillan*, Rakim Jarrett
- TE: Cade Otton, Payne Durham, Ko Kieft, Devin Culp*
- QB: Baker Mayfield, Kyle Trask
- RB: Rachaad White, Bucky Irving*, Sean Tucker
(On the practice squad: WR Marquez Callaway, OL Luke Haggard, WR Dennis Houston, WR Tanner Knue, OL Lorenz Metz, T Raiqwon O'Neal, QB Michael Pratt, TE Tanner Taula, RB D.J. Williams)
While the Buccaneers continue to make use of all six wide receivers on their active roster, rookie Jalen McMillan has clearly settled into the number-two role alongside Mike Evans. McMillan has started the last three games, coinciding with Evans' return from injury, and against the Raiders he was on the field for 79% of the offensive snaps (49 of 62). That paid off in the form of four catches for 59 yards and two touchdowns. Similarly, veteran Sterling Shepard has assumed the third-receiver role, in this case playing 48% of the snaps and getting six targets that resulted in four receptions for 63 yards.
Rookie running back Bucky Irving, the team leader in rushing yards and yards from scrimmage, played only 10 snaps against the Raiders before leaving with a back injury. Irving had out-snapped starter Rachaad White in each of the two previous games but White stepped up in his absence and on 47 snaps produced 109 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. Sean Tucker also filled in with 11 snaps and had 47 yards on just three carries.
Cade Otton didn't quite play every offensive snap as he has done on occasion over the past two seasons, but he got close. He was only off the field for two of the Bucs' 62 plays, and he pitched in in the passing game with 70 yards on three catches, including a career-long 44-yarder. The Bucs continued to lean more and more on "12" personnel, which features two tight ends, and that led to 25 snaps for Payne Durham.
DEFENSE
- DL: Calijah Kancey, C.J. Brewer, Earnest Brown
- NT: Vita Vea, Greg Gaines
- DL: Logan Hall, William Gholston
- OLB: Yaya Diaby, Anthony Nelson
- ILB: K.J. Britt, Vi Jones, Antonio Grier
- ILB: Lavonte David, J.J. Russell
- OLB: Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, Chris Braswell*, Jose Ramirez
- CB: Jamel Dean, Josh Hayes
- CB: Zyon McCollum, Tyrek Funderburk*
- S: Antoine Winfield Jr., Christian Izien, Tavierre Thomas
- S: Tykee Smith*, Mike Edwards, Kaevon Merriweather
(On the practice squad: S Marcus Banks, CB Dallis Flowers, DL Mike Greene, OLB Daniel Grzesiak, S Ryan Neal, S Rashad Wisdom)
The Bucs started the game without safeties Jordan Whitehead (on injured reserve) and Mike Edwards, then lost All-Pro Antoine Winfield Jr. to a knee injury after just 16 defensive snaps. That led to quite a bit of shuffling in the secondary and abundant snaps for Christian Izien, Kaevon Merriweather, Tykee Smith and Tavierre Thomas.
Izien started the game as the slot corner but then moved to safety, with Smith taking over in the slot. Izien logged 65 of a possible 67 defensive snaps, his highest total since Week Five. Merriweather, who just rejoined the team from Detroit's practice squad last week, was instantly pressed into 55 defensive snaps, or 82% of the total. He finished the game with seven tackles and a sack. Smith didn't start the game but ended up with 43 snaps, one of which ended in his interception at the Bucs' seven-yard line in the third quarter. Thomas got his playing time near the end of the game and logged 11 snaps.
Outside linebacker Anthony Nelson continued to see an increase in his playing time in the absence of Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. Nelson was on the field for 46 snaps, playing both on the edge and as an off-ball linebacker in certain packages. He contributed two tackles and a pass defensed. Linebacker Vi Jones played whenever the Buccaneers had two traditional off-ball linebackers on the field and recorded a career-high 40 snaps.
SPECIALISTS
- P:
- PK: Chase McLaughlin
- KO:
- H:
- LS: Zach Triner
- PR: Trey Palmer, Jalen McMillan*
- KR: Bucky Irving*, Rakim Jarrett
- KR: Sean Tucker, Trey Palmer
(On the practice squad: P Jack Browning)
The blank lines above are not an accident. The Buccaneers technically do not have a punter on the active roster at the moment, which means they don't have a kickoff specialist or a holder to list, either. Of course, the Bucs do have a punter after last week's release of Trenton Gill, he just currently resides on the practice squad. That would be rookie Jack Browning, who made his NFL debut against Las Vegas and punted three times for a gross average of 42.7 yards each. He also sent four of his five kickoffs into the end zone, producing three touchbacks.
Unsurprisingly, the Buccaneers chose not to use Irving on kickoffs in Week 15 as he was dealing with a handful of injuries. Initially, wideout Rakim Jarrett joined Sean Tucker deep on kickoffs, and he had a 23-yard game-opening return, but he was later replaced by cornerback Dallis Flowers, who has previous kick return experience in the NFL.
Nelson continued to see his special teams workload reduced to a degree as he takes on a larger role on defense. In this case, he played 12 of the 23 kick-and-coverage snaps. Thomas and Jones led the way with 19 snaps each and tight end Ko Kieft played 18.
