2026 Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Three Players
The offseason is upon us. Let's take a look at all 32 teams.
The 30th edition of our offseason series is here!
Instead of reviewing all 32 drafts and adding casual commentary, I will be doing this instead.
We will go through every single team, in alphabetical order, and quickly discuss three players:
a favorite free agent signing
a favorite draft pick
and a player already entrenched on the roster
Not necessarily the best, or the top, or the one's who will play the biggest role, just one of choice.
Onto the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Free Agent Signing
DE Al-Quadin Muhammad
A former 6th round pick of New Orleans in 2017, Muhammad is playing for his 5th NFL franchise. His longest tenure was 2018-2021 with the Indianapolis Colts, but he set a career high in sack in 2025 with Detroit, putting up 11.0 sacks and 9 TFLs.
Tampa Bay signed him to a 1 year contract worth up to $6m for 2026.
Here is a cut-up of the good from Muhammad's 2025 season.
Tampa Bay really emphasized improving their front seven this offseason, assuming Vita Vea plays in 2025.
Alex Anzalone and Josiah Trotter are the new starters at LB, which would be impossible to be a downgrade from 2025. DT A'Shawn Robinson comes in to beef up the front. DE Rueben Bain was a 1st round pick, and of course Muhammad was signed coming off a career year.
This group joins three already talented starters in YaYa Diaby off the edge, Calijah Kancey on the interior, and Vita Vea at nose tackle. Plus some intriguing 2025 rookies.
Muhammad projects to fit perfectly within this group, without stretching his role too far.
Despite a career high 11 sacks in 2025, Muhammad only saw 40% of defensive snaps. And under 20% of his total snaps came against the run. While his size, 6'4, 250lbs, seems like it could play against the run, Detroit decided against that, despite a thin defensive end group.
Luckily, with guys like Diaby, Bain, and even veteran Anthony Nelson, Muhammad's role should not change.
He is a rotational defensive end, with more of an emphasis on the pass rush, who can slide inside and rush the QB from the interior.
25% of Muhammad's snaps came from the interior. His production dipped a bit, posting just a 10.3% pressure rate, as opposed to his 20.4% off the edge.
Muhammad has really good power in his rushes, although wins more in a finesse fashion from the inside. His motor is really incredible, he stands out as a relentless pass rusher. Whether in terms of his pursuit or refusal to go down without a fight in the rush, Muhammad is a great player to have on your defensive line.
The pass rush plan Muhammad has seems to be strong. His approach is really solid, with a decent get-off as well. He thrived off his one on one matchups in 2025.
Al-Quadin Muhammad is an all-encompassing pass rusher that is great to have in a rotational role, especially on a front like Tampa Bay's. He will be able to contribute however they would like, and should help this Bucs team finish more plays. They ranked towards the top of the league in pressure rate(6th), but only 19th in sacks.
This is a fantastic use of resources for Tampa, nabbing a productive pass rusher to fit into your rotation.
Draftee
LB Josiah Trotter
Trotter was the 46th pick of this years' draft out of the University of Missouri. At just 21 years old, Trotter spent his first two college seasons at West Virginia, the first of which he redshirted due to injury.
Trotter started the final 23 games of his college career, racking up 176 tackles and 17 TFLs over two seasons.
Here is a cut-up of some of the good form Trotter's 2025, courtesy of @NFL_DF on Twitter/X.
As mentioned, Trotter is a part of a revamped front seven in Tampa Bay.
Lavonte David retired, and playing next to him in 2025 was a combination of some of the worst LB play in the entire NFL. Tampa is heavily relying on Trotter to have positive contributions immediately in the NFL.
And if he gets to play behind Vita Vea, things could be easy for Trotter as a rookie.
The 6'2, 237lb backer is the son of an All-Pro NFL LB, and he has a talent for getting into the backfield.
Trotter excelled as a blitzer in college, being able to win up the middle, off the edge, with power, and with finesse, including his euro-step rush move.
With 90th percentile sized hands, Trotter has unreal power for a 20 year old. He heavily impacts blockers with a punch, which only adds to his elite downhill game.
Outside of that, Trotter is great at understanding where the run goes, and has the movement ability to match his IQ. On top of this, the timing coming downhill is fantastic, whether Trotter is blitzing or splitting the gaps in the run game.
Despite his solid movement ability, Trotter did not perfect the coverage game in college. RBs can slip him and college TEs combination of route running and size are often a rough matchup. And his movement in zone was less than ideal.
Josiah Trotter should start Day 1 for the Buccaneers, and his impact coming downhill along should be an upgrade over the Bucs backers in 2025. Hopefully the surrounding elements of Tampa's defense allow Trotter's potential struggles in coverage to be masked, and he can focus on coming downhill to attack the ballcarrier.
I liked this pick for Tampa, drafting NFL lineage is never a bad idea. And Trotter should be in a decent defensive environment to have early success.
In-House Player
WR Jalen McMillan
McMillan was a 3rd rounder of the Bucs in 2024. He had 8 TDs as a rookie, but missed all but 4 games in 2025 due to fracturing 3 vertebrae in the preseason.
Here is a cut-up of McMillan's short 2025 season.
The Buccaneers have an exciting receiver room, despite the departure of Mike Evans.
Chris Godwin is a veteran, coming off a down season due to a brutal 2024 ankle injury.
Emeka Egbuka was on pace to in OROY in 2025 before a hamstring injury slowed his pace.
Ted Hurst III is a 3rd round rookie with an incredible profile out of Georgia State, who is getting lots of love out of training camp.
And Tez Johnson and Kameron Johnson, two slighter guys who filled in admirably in 2025 in wake of injuries, fill out the depth chart.
However, even with Evans missing time in 2025, he still saw 62 targets. Does Hurst inherit those on the perimeter with his big frame? Is Godwin due for an increase in production in a possible bounce back season? Does Egbuka break out into superstar form, taking more snaps on the outside?
Or does Jalen McMillan take over a role permanently?
I have liked Jalen McMillan since he was at the University of Washington, and felt vindicated during his rookie season. He was the third highest WR drafted in 2024, from his own school! And yet had the best rookie year.
He is such a fluid mover. If I had one word to describe McMillan, it would be smooth. Everything he does is just so smooth. His route running, his hands, the way he moves, all smooth.
The way he navigates his routes against zone coverage is so nice, so smooth with his movement. McMillan is such a fluid mover who makes playing wide receiver in the NFL look so easy.
He's got solid speed, and he can even bounce off the occasional tackle. He's a decent option in the screen game because he can make things happen after the catch.
Because of his above average speed and smooth movement, McMillan is a good route runner. Even if he's not Davante Adams and breaking every CB off, he's rarely locked up. And if he's matched up against a safety, he'll get wide open.
McMillan is a different player than Mike Evans. But he is more than capable of taking those outside reps for Tampa in 2026. He has the separation ability to live on the outside, and the speed to take advantage of Baker Mayfield's big arm.
Jalen McMillan is not a particularly flashy player, but smoothness is his game. He is capable of winning all over the field because of it. I will say, he was not tested in contested catch situations, even back shoulder throws, last season. Of course, the sample size was small.
The Buccaneers have multiple options of how to situate their WR room rotations, and I believe McMillan should be a staple in their offense. The passing offense really has no excuse to fall-off, even without Mike Evans.
Thanks for reading through our 29th edition of previewing all 32 teams in 3 players!
The preseason is almost upon us!
Let me know who else on the Bucs is worth monitoring this season, good or bad!
Stay tuned for more NFL and 49ers articles, news, and opinions!
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