2023: Pre-Season Rank: Unranked.  Peak Period 2020-23*

The first Tampa Bay Safety to make a First Team All-Pro since John Lynch, Antoine Winfield Jr. is one of the best pass-rushing Safeties in the NFL, has 15 career sacks and was the co-leader in Forced Fumbles last year (6).  

*Winfield has only played four seasons.

We have done profiles on athletes for our futures section before, and we know we didn’t have to explain their accolades, but with all due respect to those men, there is only one Tom Brady.

So, maybe you will forgive us if this seems a little brief.

You all know his story. Brady was a steal for the Patriots in the 6th Round of the 2000 Draft, and he took over the starting job early in the following season following an injury to Drew Bledsoe. TB12 did what no other Quarterback did, leading the Patriots to their first Super Bowl win.  Annually, he kept getting better, taking New England to five more titles, and late in his career, he defied the odds by leading Tampa Bay to their second Super Bowl win and a record seventh for Brady.

What couldn’t he do?  Brady rarely made mistakes; whenever they were down, his team was always in it, and countless times, he lifted them up to victory.  Not only does Brady have the most wins by far from any quarterback, but he also needs a U-Haul to transport his trophies.  Look at this list:

7 Super Bowl Rings

5 Super Bowl MVPs

3 AP MVPs

3 PFWA MVPs

1 Bert Bell Award

1 NEA MVP

1 Sporting News Player of the Year

2 AP Offensive Player of the Year Awards

2 PFWA Offensive Player of the Year Awards

2 Sporting News Player of the Year Awards

3 First Team All-Pros

15 Pro Bowls

He also left the gridiron as the all-time leader in Approximate Value (326), Completions (7,753), Attempts (12,050), Passing Yards (89,214), Touchdown Passes (649), Game-Winning Drives (58) and Comebacks (46). 

Brady is not just the GOAT among NFL Quarterbacks; he is the GOAT of the entire history of the league.

Gerald McCoy was a highly sought-after player in the 2010 NFL Draft after his impressive college career at the University of Oklahoma, where he was a two-time All-American. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected him as the third overall pick, joining a long list of defensive stars in their team.

From day one, McCoy won the starting position as the Left Defensive Tackle. Although his statistics don't fully showcase his value, McCoy was a consistent disruptor, overpowering most of his opponents, and blocking lanes to make way for his teammates to rush the quarterback. In his third season, he began a six-year streak of Pro Bowls, including a First Team All-Pro in 2013. He remained with Tampa until 2018, when he was released due to salary constraints.

McCoy then played for Carolina for one year before signing a three-year contract with Dallas. Unfortunately, he never played a single game for them as he suffered a ruptured quad and was subsequently released. He sat out the entire 2020 season and signed with Las Vegas, but his time with them was cut short after he sustained a knee injury in his first game. That was his last time playing.

Throughout his career, McCoy achieved 59.5 sacks and 334 combined tackles.

Ali Marpet made history in 2015 as the highest ever draft pick from a Division III school (Hobart) when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected the Offensive Lineman in the Second Round.

Marpet won the starting job at Right Guard as a rookie, where he played two years before he was shifted to Center for a year as Tampa Bay had a need to fill, and thought he could perform adequately.  The year after, Marpet was moved back to the Guard position, this time on the left side, and held his ground for four years, including his final one where he was chosen for the Pro Bowl, and protected the legendary Tom Brady on the road to a Super Bowl win.

2023 Pre-Season Rank #105, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #119.  Peak Period: 2020-23*

Wirfs was the highest-drafted offensive lineman in the 2020 draft, and there is no doubt that he has met Tampa’s expectations. He moved from Right Tackle to Left Tackle last year without missing a beat and is on a three-year Pro Bowl streak.

*Wirfs has only played four years.

2023 Pre-Season Rank: #53, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #63, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #83, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #94. Peak Period: 2012-16

We argued that Lavonte David was one of the most underrated players of the 2010s, and that is even more true in overall football history.  Let's say that is true, as underrated players (in their time) have made the Hall, but it is challenging for the career Buccaneer to crack the plane that will give him Canton consideration.

Hopefully, the Bucs will honor him in some capacity when his career concludes.

2022 Pre-Season Rank #35, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #58, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #73.

How can so much production seem so quiet?  Last year, Mike Evans broke 10,000 Yards and 80 Touchdowns, and in the first nine seasons of his career, he has never failed to break the four-digit mark in Receiving Yards.  So, why so unassuming?   In four of those seasons, Evans did not reach 1,100 Yards, and in two of them he was less than 1,010.  Although Evans made the top ten in Touchdwon Receptions five times, he has only reacjed the top ten in Receiving Yards twice, and has never been a First Team All-Pro and only has one Second Team All-Pro.  Evans also has only appeared in four Pro Bowls.   Still, we have an outstanding compiler, who is a Super Bowl Champion.  If he ties Jerry Rice's 11 consecutive 1,000 Yard years, can we not look at him as Canton bound even if those 11 were inferior to Rice?

The pro career of Simeon Rice began in 1996 when he was drafted third overall by the Arizona Cardinals.   Playing at Defensive End, Rice proved his worth instantly with a 12.5 Sack year and won the Defensive Rookie of the Year.  Rice played with the Cardinals for five seasons and had three 10 plus Sack years there, peaking with 16.5 in 1998, which was good enough for second overall.

Anyone who plays 225 Games defensively in the National Football League is without question a double-tough competitor, and that is what we have in the run-stuffing Linebacker, Hardy Nickerson.