Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 5 offseason needs

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are facing a make-or-break season in 2018, after being one of the most disappointing teams in football a year ago.

After what looked like an excellent offseason, many were very excited about the Buccaneers heading into the 2017 season. Tampa Bay ended up winning just five games, which was five less than any other NFC South team.

However, while it didn’t result in wins, the Buccaneers were quite competitive to finish up the regular season. And maybe more importantly, Jameis Winston returned from injury to play some of the best football of his career down the stretch.

With their 5-11 season, Tampa Bay has earned the seventh overall pick in the draft. They are also loaded with available salary cap space, so this roster could once again look vastly improved on opening day from where it sits right now. The Buccaneers have a few very distinct areas of their roster that they need to address.

5. Safety

Tampa Bay’s pass defense needs a significant upgrade, as it was one of the worst in football last year. Tampa Bay was the worst defense in the league on third downs in 2017 as well as having the league’s fewest sacks. At safety, T.J. Ward and Keith Tandy have expiring contracts. Chris Conte played the most snaps of any Bucs safety last year and was adequate, but certainly is not a high impact player.

Tampa Bay did use a second round pick a year ago on Justin Evans, so the cupboard isn’t completely bare here. Still, considering the state of Tampa Bay’s awful pass defense, adding more quality on the back end of the defense should clearly be a huge part of the offseason plan off attack.