Baker Mayfield’s weapons take shape while defensive surprises emerge, as roster battles at linebacker and cornerback highlight Tampa Bay’s first official lineup ahead of Friday’s clash.
On Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicked off the first of two joint practice sessions with the New York Jets ahead of the two teams' matching up on Friday.
Simultaneously, the team released the first official depth chart of the year, with some surprises on the defensive side of the ball.
The offense was relatively obvious, with the same starters from last season manning their positions.
At wide receiver, Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin Jr., and Jalen McMillan are listed as the top three pass catchers, with Tez Johnson, Ted Hurst III, and David Sills V trailing behind them.
Both Johnson and Hurst have had strong camps thus far, with both players making highlight catches from starting quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Another interesting note is Mayfield's backup, which is currently listed as Jake Browning.
Browning, who was serviceable for the Cincinnati Bengals for many years, was the expected choice to play behind Mayfield, but some reports trickled in about how impressed offensive coordinator Zac Robinson was with rookie QB Jalon Daniels.
"Play within the scheme, play within the timing and the rhythm of the offense, get the ball where it needs to go, and then if it does break down, that's where you use your god-given ability and make a play," Robinson said after Tuesday night's practice.
The Bucs' OC went on to say that Daniels has one of the best arms he has been around, but still finds himself as Tampa's QB4 as of Tuesday.
The defensive side of the ball, however, had some unexpected positioning for certain players.
With the addition of Alez Anzalone this offseason, the Bucs locked down one of their interior linebackers, with question marks about who would play alongside him.
Josiah Trotter, rookie out of Missouri, has been a player highly-touted by his teammates and coaching staff, but finds himself lined up behind SirVocea Dennis on the depth chart.
While their hasn't been much noise about Dennis this offseason, he is coming off of a career-best season, recording 101 total tackles, three sacks, and interception, and five passes defensed.
After a limited start to his NFL career, Dennis posted multiple double-digit tackle games, including a 12-tackle performance against the Detroit Lions.
This was Dennis' career-best tackling mark for a single game, while he also found his way to the quarterback for a sack.
While it remains difficult to see Trotter being a backup for the majority of the season, Dennis' performance last year seems to be garnering him some respect on the chart.
The other surprising note was Jacob Parrish being listed as Tampa's CB2 on the outside.
Parrish, who spent most of his time in the slot as a rookie, is entering a new era in his professional career as the team looks to move him to the outside.
Parrish was taken behind Benjamin Morrison two seasons ago, but has been much more available and dynamic for the Bucs, earning his stripes as a starter heading into Friday's game.
Morrison has missed most of training camp for the second-straight season, with injuries becoming a real concern for the former Notre Dame standout.
While it is definitely early to put these rankings in stone, it is good to see the depth Tampa has, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
