Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2020 Preview - NFL Odds, Picks, & Betting Predictions

Players and fans alike have high expectations for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020 following a 2019 season in which the Buccaneers finished tied for second place at 7-9 but were six games behind first-place New Orleans. Tampa Bay shocked the NFL during the off-season by signing 20-year veteran Tom Brady and shortly thereafter convincing former tight end Rob Gronkowski to come out of retirement and play alongside Brady.

Brady is considered by most to be the best quarterback to ever play in the NFL but the soon-to-be 43-year-old could find it difficult to remain uninjured during the entire 16-game schedule. Ronald Jones II, who rushed for 724 yards and six touchdowns in 2019, will be the starting running back for the Buccaneers although Ke’Shawn Vaughn was drafted by Tampa Bay and well pressure Jones for playing time. Tampa Bay's offensive line will be led by Donovan Smith, Ali Marpet, Ryan Jensen, Alex Cappa and rookie first-round pick Tristan Wirfs who will slide in at the right tackle position.

Brady will have plenty of targets to throw to including wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin as well as the aforementioned Gronkowski. Evans has six consecutive seasons to start his NFL career with over 1,000 yards receiving and has four straight seasons of 8 or more touchdown receptions. While playing for New England before retiring, Gronkowski between 2010 and 2018 Gronkowski caught 521 passes for 7,861 yards and 79 touchdowns.

The defensive line for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be led by Vita Vea, Ndamukong Suh and William Gholston, who helped Tampa Bay finish first in run defense last season and will be the leaders in the trenches once again in 2020. Leading the linebackers corps will be Jason Pierre-Paul, Devon White, Shaq Barrett and Lavonte David. Many consider the linebackers the most talented group on the team after resigning Pierre-Paul. Barrett is coming off a season in which he led the NFL in quarterback sacks with 19.5 and reached the Pro Bowl for the first time.

The top two cornerbacks for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be Carlton Davis and Sean Murphy-Bunting who became starters late last season. Jamel Dean will see action when the Buccaneers play their nickel defense and several other cornerbacks will back up these three. At safety, Jordan Whitehead and Antoine Winfield Jr. are the expected starters for the Bucs. However, if either player is injured or is not playing well several backups such as Justin Evans, Andrew Adams and Mike Edwards will be ready to step in as well as play in special defensive packages.

The headlines in Tampa Bay are all about Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski joining the team and leading them to a Super Bowl victory. However, it may be the defense that is the big difference for Tampa Bay this year as the Buccaneers have a strong front three, one of the best linebacker units as a whole in the NFC and a very deep secondary. With Brady at the helm on offense and a much-improved defense Tampa Bay will battle to the wire with New Orleans in the NFC South. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will finish second in the division with an overall record of 11-5.