Latest news with #Bucs
USA Today
18 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
NFL Draft Summer Scouting Report: Aamil Wagner, RT, Notre Dame
NFL Draft Summer Scouting Report: Aamil Wagner, RT, Notre Dame Summer is here, and it is everyone's favorite time of the year, scouting time. Every year, we do Summer Scouting to preview college football for Bucs fans, but also give them an idea of names to follow and watch in the fall as needs pop up for Tampa Bay. Are we going to write about quarterbacks? You know it, but why? Because other NFL teams will draft them, just as they will draft every other position. It all matters whether these players end up on the Bucs, the Bears, or the Steelers. We write these so Bucs fans can be the most informed fans. So if you are still with us, enjoy our latest Summer Scouting report as we prepare you for the Fall. Player Information Player: Aamil Wagner School: Notre Dame Height/Weight: 6-6/290 lbs. Player Background - 4-Star Recruit - Adidas All-American - Two-Time First-Team All-Ohio in High School Career Stats Heading into the 2025 Season - 22 Career Games - 15 Career Starts Notable PFF Numbers Heading into the 2025 Season - 79.7 PFF Run Blocking Grade - 80.9 PFF Pass Blocking Grade - 481 Run Blocking Snaps - 544 Pass Blocking Snaps Player Traits - Quick thinking to be able to handle blitzers - Solid anchor ability - Great length and size to handle bigger edge defenders - Great athlete who can be a lead blocker when tasked with it Player Summary If you want an offensive tackle on your team who will be an enforcer for your entire offense, Aamil Wagner is your guy. If he had skates on, he would be on a Stanley Cup-winning hockey team playing a pivotal role in how they intimidate teams. Instead, he is just playing at Notre Dame and taking out edge rushers who try to get around him. He is constantly taking them out of plays completely, or is simply anchoring well enough to the point they give up on the rep. He needs to get more agile when kicking out, but the raw power and physical traits are there for teams to work with and develop further.
USA Today
18 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
NFL Draft Summer Scouting Report: Iapani Laloulu, C, Oregon
NFL Draft Summer Scouting Report: Iapani Laloulu, C, Oregon Summer is here, and it is everyone's favorite time of the year, scouting time. Every year, we do Summer Scouting to preview college football for Bucs fans, but also give them an idea of names to follow and watch in the fall as needs pop up for Tampa Bay. Are we going to write about quarterbacks? You know it, but why? Because other NFL teams will draft them, just as they will draft every other position. It all matters whether these players end up on the Bucs, the Bears, or the Steelers. We write these so Bucs fans can be the most informed fans. So if you are still with us, enjoy our latest Summer Scouting report as we prepare you for the Fall. Player Information Player: Iapani Laloulu School: Oregon Height/Weight: 6-2/325 lbs. Player Background - 4-Star Recruit - Under Armour All-American - Freshman All-American in 2023 - All-Big Ten Honorable Mention in 2024 Career Stats Heading into the 2025 Season - 28 Career Games - 15 Career Starts Notable PFF Numbers Heading into the 2025 Season - 66.6 PFF Run Blocking Grade - 79.9 PFF Pass Blocking Grade - 623 Run Blocking Snaps - 760 Pass Blocking Snaps Player Traits - Excellent awareness to pick up defenders - Great balance and footwork - Has the power to handle anyone and knock defenders on their heels - NFL size and length to plug and play as a rookie Player Summary Iapani Laloulu immediately emerged as one of the top-tier options in this class at the center position, alongside Jake Slaughter. Laloulu has excellent awareness to pickup defenders who try to swing inside the middle of the offensive line to break through. He never gets caught off guard, allowing for some excellent pass rush reps. He generates excellent power off the snap and can punch defenders back on their heels. To top it all off, he has the size to be able to do all of this to NFL-sized players when he is drafted next April.
USA Today
20 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
7 former Buccaneers make ESPN's All-Quarter Century NFL team
7 former Buccaneers make ESPN's All-Quarter Century NFL team Every once in a while, a unique collection of talent gets published together in a team. We have seen All-Madden teams, All-Century teams, and NFL Media has even done teams over the entirety of the league's history. On Wednesday, ESPN released a unique one: their NFL Quarter Century team, which showcases the best players in the league since 2000. The Bucs were heavily represented by seven players who made the cut. While they had seven players, just two were homegrown, while the rest came to the team down the road in their careers through free agency or trade. The following players made the list: - Tom Brady, Quarterback - Rob Gronkowski, Tight End - Julio Jones, Wide Receiver - Lavonte David, Linebacker - Ronde Barber, Cornerback - Darrelle Revis, Cornerback - Richard Sherman, Cornerback There is a trend with most of these players as they came to the Bucs at the tail-end of their careers. Players like Revis, Sherman, and Jones all came with just a year or two left in their careers. Florida is a retirement state after all, right? As for the homegrown talent, it is in line with the Bucs' history of being able to have an eye for defensive talent. In 2000s, it was David and Barber; before them, in the 90s, it was John Lynch, Derrick Brooks, and Warren Sapp. Who will be next in the 2020s?
USA Today
21 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
ESPN analyst suggests Bucs' Baker Mayfield may be 'sorta shaky' ahead of 2025
ESPN analyst suggests Bucs' Baker Mayfield may be 'sorta shaky' ahead of 2025 The NFL dominates almost an entire calendar year's worth of headlines. Of course, there are all the happenings of the regular season starting in September through the culmination of the season with the Super Bowl in February, and every sort of power ranking you could think of every week. For some, there is no rest for the wicked because free agency opens in March. Which, of course, means post-free-agency power rankings and grades. As that is going on, we are preparing for the NFL Draft in April. Which leads into watching college game film, understanding a team's needs, creating at least 400 mock drafts each year, and debating it with anyone who will listen. What happens after the Draft? Grades and power rankings. April is also the month when minicamp begins, with rookie minicamp starting in May and running through OTAs and mandatory minicamp in June. June 19th is the last day for remaining teams to hold their mandatory minicamps, which naturally means that this provides more opportunities to grade and rank teams because we really don't do that enough. On The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny, ESPN's Kimes and Ben Sloak ranked their Top 10 offenses heading into the 2025 NFL season; they each had the Bucs sliding in at ten and seven, respectively. Kimes said that she watched more of the Bucs from last season than any other team to try and prep, because the numbers last season were "so insane for them and it feels slept on for how good they were last year." So why the ranking so low for a team that had one of the most prolific offenses in 2024, returning all 11 starters, and added a first-round pick at wide receiver in Emeka Egbuka in the Draft? Is it because Mike Evans is a year older, and Chris Godwin is coming off a brutal ankle injury? Nope. "I have to ding them for sorta shaky quarterback," Kimes said of Baker Mayfield. "He's good, I'm just saying, that and the loss of the coordinator [Coen], so that was it for me," she continued. As we know, Mayfield loves it when the media discredits his body of work, and is always looking for a reason to play with a chip on his shoulder. Maybe there is a bit of natural regression down from the 4, 500 yards, 41 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions due to the Coen leaving for Jacksonville. It's a safe bet that Mayfield will still fall into the Top 10 range simply because there are too many offensive weapons on the Buccaneers roster, paired with one of the best offensive lines in the league, for the Bucs offense to hang on to a Top 10 position by a thread.
USA Today
21 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
2025 Tampa Bay Buccaneers projections: Will Mike Evans break 1,000 receiving yards?
2025 Tampa Bay Buccaneers projections: Will Mike Evans break 1,000 receiving yards? At this point, betting against Mike Evans hitting 1,000 yards is like betting against the heat during a September game in Raymond James. Since entering the NFL in 2014, Evans has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards every single season, 11 years in a row. That ties Jerry Rice's all-time record, and in 2025, Evans has a chance to stand alone in that category. Considering his chemistry with quarterback Baker Mayfield and a favorable schedule, there's every reason to believe he'll do it again. Evans has a Favorable Schedule Tampa's 2025 opponents provide Evans with plenty of opportunities to shine. In Week 3, the Bucs face the New York Jets, who ranked 20th in pass defense last season and lost cornerback D.J. Reed in the offseason. That secondary should be vulnerable to Evans' downfield threat, especially with added artillery in the pass game. Week 4 brings the Philadelphia Eagles, who finished first in pass defense in 2024. However, they lost key defensive linemen Josh Sweat and Milton Williams, which could weaken their pass rush and allow Baker Mayfield more time to find Evans downfield. Week 6 is a home game against the San Francisco 49ers, whose 21st-ranked pass defense got even shakier this offseason after losing safety Talanoa Hufanga and cornerback Charvarius Ward. Evans should have no problem finding soft spots in their secondary. The best matchup of all may come in Week 10 against the New England Patriots. They ranked 30th against the pass last season, and although they have added ex-Buccaneer Carlton Davis to pair with Christian Gonzalez, that game has all the makings of a 100-yard performance. He remains the Bucs' WR1 Despite entering his 12th season, Evans is still Baker Mayfield's No. 1 target. In 2023, the duo connected for 1,255 yards and 13 touchdowns. With Chris Godwin drawing attention and young receivers in Emeka Egbuka and Tez Johnson adding depth, Evans will continue to see favorable coverage looks and red zone opportunities. Offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard inherits a top-five offense and will likely keep the system rolling with Evans as the focal point in critical moments. Combine that with Evans' contract-year motivation and the chance to break a Hall of Fame record, and you get a player with every reason to dominate again. Final Prediction: Mike Evans finishes the 2025 regular season with over 1,000 receiving yards, becoming the first player in NFL history with 12 consecutive 1,000-yard seasons
