Fantasy Football 2017 Team Preview: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

This is the 2017 fantasy preview of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In this preview I will provide the Must-Own players, Sleepers, and Longshot players with upside very deep in drafts.

Must-own players are those who should be owned by someone in any league. Handcuff RBs can qualify, as they are often very important to a fantasy team over the full schedule. Sleepers are secondary players that you may find on the waiver wire at some point in the year, or may go undrafted in shallower auction-style leagues. The Longshots are players with microscopic ADP, who are being drafted at the very end of drafts, or more likely not drafted at all. 

All ADP data is courtesy of FantasyPros.com.

**I will list all kickers, but I cannot give analysis on them. Sorry :-/

MUST OWNS

Mike Evans, WR (ADP: 9): Evans exploded last season, but I wasn’t surprised. I have been high on Evans since his rookie season, and last year was just him showing where he’ll be for several years to come. His freakish size makes him pretty rare; he’s a target hound who thrives on volume, but also scores a ton of TDs. Another phrase for that is “first round pick.” Evans has scored 12 touchdowns in two of his three NFL seasons, and gone over 1,000 yards in all three campaigns. He’s a rock solid stud that you can feel comfortable taking anywhere from pick No. 6 on.

Doug Martin, RB (ADP: 66): Martin is suspended three games, so that explains the depressed ADP. However, he really does have the upside to be a Top 5 RB, so it seems like him going 27th among rushers is a pretty big discount. Unlike Le’Veon Bell last year, Martin’s got a significantly lower floor; in five NFL seasons, the Muscle Hamster has failed to hit 500 yards in three of them. The other two, however, saw Martin eclipse 1,600 total yards, and as a rookie he scored 12 total touchdowns. At this ADP he’s as high-upside as it gets, and taking him even earlier is probably not a reach.

Jameis Winston, QB (ADP: 72): Winston certainly has all the tools around him to succeed. Jameis has topped 4,000 yards in each of his first two years and he flirted with 30 TDs in 2016. He will likely rise even further to around 35 touchdowns with the addition of DeSean Jackson to the mix, but unless he gets his interceptions under control he won’t be elite in real life or a fantasy sense. Winston is an underrated source of rushing numbers, carrying the rock more than 50 times in both of his pro seasons. If he puts up closer to six rushing touchdowns like he did as a rookie, rather than one as a sophomore, he is a dark horse Top 5 candidate at the QB position.

DeSean Jackson, WR (ADP: 89): D-Jax is always painted with the boom-or-bust brush, and it isn’t entirely unwarranted; it’s just important to note that since 2013 Jackson can be consistently relied upon for 1,000+ yards and has the potential to flirt with double-digit TDs. Normally, D-Jax will score about 4-6 touchdowns, which explains why his ADP hangs around the No. 100 area. This year, though, he has Jameis Winston throwing his way, which means his yards per reception might get back into the 20ish range rather than 17. I think fantasy owners should consider D-Jax’s higher-scoring seasons as the expectation, and therefore he’ll provide value as the 35th receiver off the board.

Jacquizz Rodgers, RB (ADP: 130): Rodgers has a three-game window of fantasy relevance, but it’s the first three games of the year. His 4.3 yards per carry surprised us all last year, and it was way better than he’d ever done before. I think his production was fluky, so although he might get some TDs early, he won’t matter once Martin is back.

SLEEPERS

O.J. Howard, TE (ADP: 146): The rookie TE has been ignored the entire preseason, and I’m not entirely sure why. Yes there are lots of mouths to feed in Tampa Bay, but have you seen O.J. Howard play? He was taken in the first round for a reason, and you can throw away his seemingly low numbers in Alabama; that offense was run-heavy, was loaded with receiving talent and was low on QB talent. Howard could become a touchdown machine for this offense with Evans drawing all the attention, and Jackson being more of a long-range threat.

LONGSHOTS

Charles Sims, RB (ADP: 236): Sims will have a role when Martin is back, whereas Rodgers likely won’t. Sims is the Bucs’ passing downs back, and even if his value is limited to PPR leagues, he’s worth mentioning as a very late flier with early-season upside if the Bucs are forced to pass a lot.

Adam Humphries, WR (ADP: 368): Humphries has a little bit of Adam Thielen upside to him, and that’s not just because they’re white fellas named Adam. Humphries saw 83 targets in 2016, and he racked up 622 yards and two touchdowns. Humphries doesn’t have Thielen’s TD upside, but he may become a Cole Beasleyish FLEX option in PPR formats.

KICKER

Nick Folk.