Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 5 offseason needs

1. Defensive End

The lack of pass-rush crippled Tampa Bay’s pass defense last year, as the Buccaneers measly 22 sacks was the fewest in the NFL. This is a scheme that plays a lot of zone coverage and doesn’t blitz often. Therefore, it is imperative to get a consistent rush with just four men. To say the least, that didn’t happen in 2017. Losing Noah Spence in Week 3 was a big blow for sure.

Spence will return and has a lot of upside to his game, but is coming off his second major shoulder injury. A breakout season from Spence is quite possible and could go a long way to fixing this huge current problem. Robert Ayers is a quality all around player and is coming off a strong season, but he has never been an upper-tier pass-rusher and he is entering the final year of his contract. That being said, Tampa Bay must get proactive to get more pass-rush.

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Of course that means adding more defensive end help, but they also shouldn’t balk at adding an interior pass-rusher and their defensive tackle depth chart is very space right now as well. Still, the greatest need for this team is at end. Adding a difference maker here would go a long way.