The Bucs’ have a loaded and diverse passing attack with a full stable of quality receivers.
Is it the best receiving corps in the NFL? No chance says a buddy of Todd Bowles and a former personnel man.
Joe’s referring to Pat Kirwan, the former Jets linebackers coach and Jets front office chief. Bowles appears often on Kirwan’s SiriusXM NFL Radio show with co-host and former Bucs backup QB Jim Miller.
Kirwan and Miller finished their annual deep dive into every team’s receiving corps this week. Damn, these guys agonized over grading the Bucs, especially Kirwan.
Simply stated, Kirwan can’t put his finger on the Bucs’ plan and isn’t 100 percent on board with their roster-building at the position.
“Why did you draft this kid (Emeka Egbuka) when you could have gone out and maybe taken a pass rusher?” Kirwan asked rhetorically. “If you love [Jalen] McMillan that much, why’d you do it and pay [Chris] Godwin? There’s the problem.”
Now Kirwan doesn’t think having a lot of receivers is a “problem;” it just makes the Bucs hard to grade at receiver.
In Kirwan’s mind, there is no possible way Godwin sits on the bench, even if he’s still getting back to full health. And, per Kirwan, any first-round-pick receiver would be on the field ahead of McMillan — no matter how McMillan plays.
Joe always finds it interesting to explore the politics and egos of NFL teams. Joe has talked about this on the Ira Kaufman Podcast. Godwin got huge money on a new three-year contract, but what if Egbuka clearly is a better player from Day 1 of the 2025 season?
No shame there, but how might Godwin handle a reduced role if he’s healthy? And would the Bucs dare to do something like that? Teams want players with fat contracts on the field.
Baker Mayfield has said the Bucs offense very much revolves around Mike Evans, and it’s obvious, so Joe is confident Mike Evans’ role will stay the same. But what if McMillan continues his late-season surge from last year?
These are great potential challenges/problems for the Bucs, but a potentially tough spot for a rookie offensive coordinator who would be under tremendous pressure to keep players and management happy.
Kirwan speculated that former Bucs assistant GM Jon Spytek and his new receiver-needy team, the Raiders, will be looking for a Bucs receiver that doesn’t make the roster or falls on the Tampa Bay depth charge. Of course, it’s unclear who that might be.
Overall, Kirwan ranked the Bucs as the No. 6 receiving corps in the NFL, though he struggled to pin that down because he doesn’t know who will be on the field and in what roles. Miller put the Bucs at No. 5.
