NFL: Super Bowl LIII-New England Patriots vs Los Angeles Rams
USATSI

After an offseason that left the rest of the NFL stunned, the Buccaneers should be feeling pretty good about themselves heading into training camp. Tampa Bay was able to make league-shaking moves this offseason by signing six-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady to a contract and executing a trade for tight end Rob Gronkowski (while in the process luring him out of retirement). Not only that, but the Bucs were able to retain a number of key players on the defensive side of the ball including Ndamukong Suh, Jason Pierre-Paul, and Shaq Barrett. 

All this now puts Tampa Bay in legitimate Super Bowl conversations, which is especially tantalizing when factoring in that the franchise will be the host city for Super Bowl LV in February. Of course, this all brings tremendous expectations for head coach Bruce Arians and everyone else on the roster to live up to in 2020. 

The Buccaneers will need to be a well-oiled machine out of the gate, which makes training camp all that more important. On top of getting Tom Brady up to speed, there are a handful of positional battles that will be worth keeping an eye on as August rolls on. 

1. Tight end 

Tampa Bay has no shortage of talent at the tight end position, but it will be fascinating to see what the pecking order is. Rob Gronkowski is by far the most decorated player of the Bucs trio, but O.J. Howard is a former first-round pick and Cameron Brate has shown the ability to produce at a high level as well. Really, this will be determined by what version of Gronk went down to Florida. The 2018 version of the future Hall of Famer did seem to lose a step over the course of his final year in New England. You could say that was due to injury, but if he continues on that decline and isn't the generational player he was during his glory days with the Patriots, Howard and Brate could see extended snaps. 

All three of these players should see the field plenty as head coach Bruce Arian noted this offseason that Tampa Bay's base offense will be "12 personnel," which means that there will be two tight ends on the field at the same time. Arians even kept open the possibility of running "13 personnel" and having three tight ends out there at times. With that in mind, training camp may simply determine how the tight end masthead is structured.  

2. No. 3 receiver 

Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are firmly set as 1A and 1B on Tampa's wide receiver depth chart. It's behind those two Pro Bowlers where a battle for the No. 3 receiver is set to take place. In 14 games played (four starts) for Tampa Bay last season, veteran Breshad Perriman, who has since signed with the Jets, caught 36 passes for 645 yards and six touchdowns as the Bucs No. 3 receiver. Of course, a lot of that production came at the end of the year when Perriman was thrust into the starting lineup following injuries to both Evans and Godwin, but this position has the potential to be a productive one nonetheless. 

The Buccaneers did draft receiver Tyler Johnson in the fifth-round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Minnesota. He'll compete against Justin Watson and second-year receiver Scotty Miller. I would say that Miller has the inside track to claim that spot out of the gate after catching 13 passe in 10 games played 2019 for 200 yards and a touchdown. Watson, meanwhile, logged 159 yards receiving over 16 games. 

3. Running back 

The Bucs backfield was already going to be an intriguing battle to close out the summer, but it got even spicier after the recent addition of running back LeSean McCoy. The veteran, who spent the 2019 season with the Kansas City Chiefs, is now set to compete against Ronald Jones, Dare Ogunbowale, and rookie Ke'Shawn Vaughn, who was Tampa's third-round pick of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Vanderbilt. Jones was the Buccaneers leading rusher in 2019, totaling 724 yards on the ground with six touchdowns. He also hauled in 31 receptions for 309 yards receiving. 

Vaughn, meanwhile, is looked at as a possible pass-catching option for Brady in the backfield. At Vandy in 2019, he totaled 1,298 yards from scrimmage and 10 touchdowns. The rookie was recently placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list which may delay him getting acclimated to the NFL, but, if he's able to catch up to speed, Tampa will give him plenty of opportunities to succeed. 

4. Cornerback

Similar to the offensive side of the ball at the tight end position, defensive coordinator Todd Bowles will be looking to determine a pecking order at cornerback. Carlton Davis, Jamel Dean, and Sean Murphy-Bunting will all see a solid amount of time in the secondary and all could see starting action depending on what kind of lineups Tampa Bay will roll out in 2020. That said, a hierarchy does need to be hammered out and a starting rotation for traditional two-corner sets.  Davis started in all 14 of his games played in 2020 and led the team with 19 passes defended. Meanwhile, Dean was right behind him with 17 passes defended and Murphy-Bunting led the team with three interceptions. 

5. Safety

Jordan Whitehead likely has one of the starting safety positions locked up in the Buccaneers secondary. He was third on the team in tackles (69) in 2019, Pro Football Focus ranked him second among all safeties in total pressures and also graded him as the second-best pass-rushing safety in the league. It's the other starting safety spot that is worth some attention. Antoine Winfield Jr., who was selected in the second round of the 2020 draft, will likely get every opportunity to claim that spot. During his final collegiate season at Minnesota, Winfield Jr. totaled seven interceptions, 83 tackles, and three sacks. Mike Edwards and Andrew Adams will be his biggest threat to start out of the gate. Both started at various points in 2019. Edwards totaled 45 tackles and six passes defended, while Adams logged 46 tackles and an interception. Justin Evans is another name to keep an eye on, but the former second-round pick hasn't been able to stay healthy and was just placed on the PUP list.