LOGIN

tampa-bay-buccaneers-old-logo

For a sixth straight season, Razzball will be interviewing NFL-team blogs for some actual in-depth football knowledge to shed some additional light on our fantasy football knowledge.  Keep your eye out for an interview for every NFL team for our Team Preview Series through the summer.  This installment comes courteous of Sander Philipse from the leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers blog: Bucs Nation.

1. Right now, Mike Evans is listed as a starting wide out on the right side. What are your thoughts about his production. Could he see over 1,000 yards and double digit scores? What round do you feel is appropriate to draft him, if at all?

I would probably not draft him, or at most use a really late flier on Evans. Even rookies drafted in the top 10 average just 500 receiving yards, and Evans has a number of things working against him. He’s entering a very complicated system, but played in a very simple system in college. He’s missed a large part of the off-season with a hamstring strain, setting him back further. And while he may be a good red-zone target, so are Vincent Jackson, Tim Wright and Austin Seferian-Jenkins. Finally, the Bucs want to run a run-heavy offense.

2. Is it safe to take Doug Martin in the first round of this year’s fantasy drafts? Will he reach the 1,000 yard mark with double digit scores? Would it be safer if players targeted him in the second round of their drafts?

I’d certainly be a little hesitant to target him very high. The Bucs will want to run the ball a lot, which will help Martin, but they’ve also said they’ll run it with more of a committee approach. Martin will still be the lead back, but he’ll lose more carries to players like Charles Sims and Mike James, he won’t be the third-down back, and he may see fewer goal-line carries – in part because of the slew of 6’4” targets the Bucs have acquired. Making things harder on him is the fact that the Bucs don’t have a solid offensive line, with massive question marks at offensive guards, and the fact that the Muscle Hamster struggled to produce last year. Overall, I’d probably try to target Doug Martin in the second round or later.

3. The tight end position seems to be up for grabs, who do you feel will emerge as the clear cut starter? Do you feel that this player will have any fantasy value?

I don’t think you’ll have a clear-cut starter, and given the different profiles of the different tight ends, you’re likely to see more of a shared approach. Brandon Myers is likely to see the most snaps, and he may be most productive. But Tim Wright will be used as a receiving tight end, while Austin Seferian-Jenkins has been asked to line up all over the formation as well, and his blocking prowess will get him on the field more frequently. Of the three, Myers will probably the most reliable producer while Wright may have the most upside. But given all of the question marks, I wouldn’t really touch any of them in the draft.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers  2014 Offense Depth Chart

Position First Team Second Team Third Team
QB Josh McCown Mike Glennon Mike James
RB Doug Martin Charles Sims Mike James
WR Vincent Jackson Chris Owusu Lavelle Hawkins
WR Mike Evans Louis Murphy Robert Herron
TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins Brandon Myers Timothy Wright