Fantasy Football 2019 Team Previews: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Must Own

Mike Evans, WR (ADP: 21): Evans is the underrated monster at the WR position, because he catches passes from Jameis Winston. He’s averaged 15.5 yards per reception for his career, and he’s surpassed 1,000 yards receiving each of his five seasons. The only downside to Evans are two blips, in 2015 and 2017, in which he scored three and five touchdowns, respectively. Evans is a lock for 1,000 yards and has double-digit touchdown upside. He’s also going to benefit from the addition of head coach Bruce Arians, who authored some sick offenses in Arizona and Pittsburgh, as well as the departures of DeSean Jackson and Adam Humphries. If Arians’ presence can unlock consistency for Winston, Evans will have a real chance to be the No. 1 receiver in fantasy football.

Chris Godwin, WR (ADP: 45): Godwin has become a darling of a sleeper, to the point where he’s just being drafted as a clear-cut WR2. I like Godwin’s potential as much as anyone, and I believe he’ll benefit the most from the absence of Jackson and Humphries, but this ADP is too high when Winston hasn’t shown he can support two elite receivers. I believe in Godwin’s talent, and the situation is ripe for a breakout, but at this ADP you’re paying for him as if he’s already broken out. Hopefully he drops in your draft, but inside the Top 45 overall I’m taking a pass.

O.J. Howard, TE (ADP: 54): Howard is another favorite of mine with Arians taking over the offense, because of his big-play potential, the mismatches his size and speed create, and the vacated targets of Jackson and Humphries. He’s averaged almost 17 yards per catch in back-to-back seasons, and caught 11 touchdowns despite battling for red zone opportunities with Evans and fellow TE Cameron Brate. Howard has the potential to post numbers like Eric Ebron last season, but with more receptions and yardage because of how he’s used. It’s not inconceivable for Howard to finish as the No. 1 TE in fantasy, but he’ll have to stay healthy. Howard hasn’t made it through 16 games yet in his career, which makes this ADP very reasonable.

Jameis Winston, QB (ADP: 104): My optimism for the Buccaneers’ pass-catchers cannot exist in a vacuum. I’m also higher than most on Jameis Winston, the man who must orchestrate all these talented receivers. Winston is wildly inconsistent, and a risk for being benched as we saw last season. He’s also prolific from a fantasy standpoint, ranking well inside the Top 10 in points per game started. Both Bucs QBs last season were fantastic for fantasy owners, with Winston falling a mere eight yards shy of 3,000 passing yards despite playing in only 11 games. With Ryan Fitzpatrick gone, he’ll make 16 starts barring injury, and with Arians leading the way, those will be weeks of immense opportunity and production. Lastly, the Bucs had one of the worst defenses in the NFL last season, and not much should be different in 2019 on that front. With six games vs. the Falcons, Saints and Panthers, there will be plenty of pass-heavy game scripts for Winston to just pile up numbers. I will never think that Winston is a great NFL QB, but I love him for fantasy purposes in 2019.

Fantasy Relevant

Peyton Barber, RB (ADP: 141): Barber was the primary back for the entire season last year, and he made very little impact. He rushed for just 3.7 yards per carry, and finished with 871 yards, five touchdowns and a minimal contribution to the passing game. He was consistently okay, and occasionally good, but this year he should face a stiffer challenge from Jones, whom the Bucs invested in with a second round pick. This ADP is fine, because it’s late, but I really don’t have any interest in owning someone with so little upside.

Ronald Jones, RB (ADP: 159): Jones, still just 22 years old, was a massive bust last year. He failed to crack just two yards per carry last year on 23 rushing attempts, and was a healthy scratch for much of the season. I still hold out some hope for him because his main competition is Peyton Barber, who is just not good, but the jury is out on whether Jones is either. He was certainly a big play back at USC, posting back-to-back 1,000+ yard seasons that included 31 touchdowns. The talent is there, and he’ll receive opportunity. But even if he improves dramatically, his upside is probably capped in 2019 because he doesn’t project as a pass-catcher in a pass-heavy offense.

Handcuff(s)

Dare Ogunbowale, RB (ADP: 204): Ogunbowale has a cool name, but will probably be irrelevant this season. Feel free to ignore.