Top takeaways from Bucs’ 1st unofficial depth chart for 2022
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers released their first unofficial depth chart for the 2022 season Tuesday, giving fans some insight into how every position is stacking up as training camp turns into preseason.
Here’s what jumped off the page as we looked at this year’s first list:
Stinnie leads at LG
(AP Photo/Steve Luciano)
The Bucs still have a wide-open competition for the starting left guard spot, but there’s a familiar face leading the race.
Aaron Stinnie is listed as the starter for now, edging out rookie second-round pick Luke Goedeke and others. It makes sense, given Stinnie’s experience and success as a spot starter at both guard spots over the past two seasons, especially during the Bucs’ playoff and Super Bowl run back in 2020.
It won’t be surprising if Goedeke eventually beats him out, but for now, the Bucs are sticking with a more proven commodity in Stinnie.
Johnson, Miller lead tight battle for last WR spots
(Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
The Bucs are loaded at the top of the wide receiver columns, with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Julio Jones and Russell Gage locked in as their top four pass-catchers.
After that, there’s a logjam of worthy candidates for two (maybe three) spots on the final roster. Based on this initial depth chart, Tyler Johnson and Scotty Miller are the early leaders, with Jaelon Darden, Cyril Grayson Jr. and Breshad Perriman behind them.
Perriman has been injured for most of training camp, while Grayson has been fairly quiet. Darden has been impressive in practice, and is still the front-runner for the return job, which could help him force the Bucs to keep him as the seventh receiver.
SMB over Dean at CB2
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The Bucs only list two cornerbacks in the starting lineup, though NFL defenses are in nickel personnel most of the time these days, making the third corner a full-time starter.
Still, it’s intriguing that Sean Murphy-Bunting is listed as the other starter opposite Carlton Davis III, with Jamel Dean on the second team.
Murphy-Bunting was inconsistent at best last year after returning from a broken arm suffered in Week 1, while Dean had his best season as a pro in 2021, and appeared primed for a breakout campaign this year. Both are in contract years, so both team and players would love to see career bests from them this season.
Edwards tops veterans Ryan, Neal at safety
(Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
The Bucs prioritized experience at safety this offseason when they allowed Jordan Whitehead to walk in free agency, replacing him with a pair of more experienced defenders in Logan Ryan and Keanu Neal.
Even so, this initial depth chart has both of those veterans in backup roles, with Antoine Winfield Jr. being joined by Mike Edwards in the starting lineup.
Edwards has been a rotational player for all of this three seasons in Tampa Bay, but always seems to come up with big plays whenever he’s on the field. It won’t be surprising if the Bucs try to get this ballhawk onto the field more often this year, even with the more experienced additions they made in free agency.
Succop still leads kicking competition
(AP Photo/Mark LoMoglio)
The Bucs have a two-way competition for the kicking job this year, after veteran Ryan Succop’s numbers dipped last season, and didn’t match his level of consistency from their Super Bowl campaign.
Jose Borregales is the challenger, and while it might make sense for the Bucs to go younger and cheaper given their salary cap situation, they won’t go with a lesser kicker just to save a few bucks.
It’s been a close race in training camp so far, with both kickers performing fairly well, but it’s not surprising that Tampa Bay is giving the early edge to the more established player.
Trask still QB3
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After spending a second-round pick on Kyle Trask back in 2021, the Bucs might have hoped he could wrestle the backup quarterback job away from veteran Blaine Gabbert this year.
Trask’s training camp has been a roller-coaster, with a handful of impressive throws weighed down by numerous interceptions and head-scratching throws. That being the case, it’s not surprising to see him still listed as the third quarterback behind Gabbert and Tom Brady.
Having a second-round pick be inactive on game day for two straight years isn’t a great return on your draft investment, but unless Trask looks way better in preseason games than he has in practice, that might just be the case.
