hey everybody this is your gm your back row dominance
your gm who currently is not on the team right
now but don't you worry about it kale here to
bring you episode 16 of the stack and shed series
now in this series we're covering all 32 teams
so everybody gets a chance to be talked about
all right now in this series we're covering a
few different topics and they include what went
wrong what do they need stack or shed their draft
picks one move i would do in their cap space
right now in this episode we're talking about
the buccaneers so load up those cannons let's
get this thing going All right, let's get into
it. So what went wrong in the Buccaneers season?
And I will eventually say it was a regressing
offense and defense. With the controversial departure
of Liam Cohen, I had more questions than answers
on the identity of the offense, how well it would
function, and which positions would show the
first signs of regression. And as the season
progressed, I started to sense there was a disconnect
between the coaching staff and the players. Now,
I believe this is one of the many factors that
led to the coaching shakeup this offseason and
the departure of Mike Evans. Looking at the offensive
production from 2024 to 2025, it shows a major
decline in both the run game and the pass game.
So in 2024, the Bucks had the third best offense
in the league and they averaged 29 .5 points
per game, 399 .6 yards per game, 6 .2 yards per
play, and 57 touchdowns. They also averaged 250
.4 passing yards per game, 7 passing yards per
play, 149 .2 rushing yards per game, and 5 .5
rushing yards per play. However, in 2025, the
Bucs were 21st in offense and they averaged 22
.4 points per game, 320 .4 yards per game, 5
.1 yards per play, and 39 touchdowns. They also
averaged 205 .9 passing yards per game, 5 .9
passing yards per play, 114 .5 rushing yards
per game, and 4 .1 rushing yards per play. In
the last few years, the Bucs defense has shown
signs of regression that can no longer be ignored.
From the pass rush being hot and cold all season
long, to the secondary becoming leaky at times,
this defense has once again failed to meet expectations.
So in 2025, they were 19th in defense and they
allowed 24 .2 points per game, 337 .2 yards per
game, 5 .7 yards per play, and 46 touchdowns.
Now they also allowed 238 .2 passing yards per
game, 6 .7 passing yards per play, 99 .1 rushing
yards per game, and 4. Now, if you compare that
to the 2024 season, this is what we have. They
were 18th in defense, and they allowed 22 .6
points per game, 341 .8 yards per game, 5 .5
yards per play, and 40 touchdowns. They also
allowed 243 .9 passing yards per game, 6 .1 passing
yards per play, 97 .8 rushing yards per game,
and 4 .3 rushing yards per play. Although the
defensive coaching staff underwent some changes,
I don't believe it was enough to resolve their
problems. I believe Todd Bowles should have brought
in a defensive coordinator to slightly tweak
his scheme and challenge his play calling. Now
with that being said, what do the Bucks need?
And that is more offensive and defensive production.
With the hiring of Zach Robinson, I believe he
will make the offense more consistent, versatile,
and explosive than what it's been in the last
few years. Now, increasing the defensive production
is a little tricky due in part to the lack of
playmakers and schematic changes. Now, I'm not
saying this defense is barren of talent, but
in order to compete with the NFC powerhouses
such as the Bears, the Vikings, the Packers,
the 49ers, the Rams, the Seahawks, even the Eagles,
you need personnel that can not only make splash
play, but can force offenses to be one -dimensional.
Now, with that being said, the question we all
need to ask ourselves is stack or shed? And I
would venture to say stack. And the reason why
I say that is because the Bucks are the best
or the second best team in their division and
a dark horse for the playoffs. There's no need
to scrap what you've already built. Instead,
you need to tweak what you currently have and
position this team for success. Now, I don't
think they're a Super Bowl team right now, but
I think that can change depending on their draft
class and how they address their additional needs.
Looking at their draft picks, they have their
first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and
seventh. Now they have the 15th pick in the first
round, which I think is the tail end of the sweet
spot for premium prospects. But with Levante
David retiring, how high should the Bucks find
his replacement? Do you draft C .J. Allen in
the first round? Do you draft Jacob Rodriguez
in the second round? Or do you go after someone
in the later part of the draft? Because if I'm
Jason Light, which I will be in just a moment,
you have one of three options. You can be aggressive
knowing that you don't have to give up a lot
to make that move. You can be complacent and
just see how the board falls. Or you can be reserved
and say, you know what? Let's trade down so that
we can be players on that second and third day
of the draft. Because if you ask any of the major
draft experts. from Dane Brugler to Mel Kiper
to Phil Yates to Todd McShay to Daniel Jeremiah,
they're all probably going to say the same thing,
and that is they have more players with second
and third round grades than first round grades.
Even if you trade down just two spots, you're
still in a good place. Because let's be honest
here, outside of Sonny Styles, Arvel Reese, Ruben
Bain, and Caleb Downs, who do you believe is
a premium player that everybody's going to be
clamoring after? Jordan Tyson, Carnell Tate,
Akeem Mesidor, Mansour Delane, Colton Hood, Gerard
McCoy. Because what we're seeing right now is
that multiple teams are preparing for the 27
draft class, as many speculate that that class
is going to be better than this draft class.
Now, the one move that I would do if I was the
GM for the Bucks is draft a pass rusher. Now,
we all know they're out of the sweepstakes for
Reuben Bain and Arvel Reese. But would you be
open in taking David Bailey, TJ Parker, Mason
Thomas, Akeem Mesidor, or Cassius Howell? Because
the Bucks have been lacking a dominant pass rusher
since they won the Super Bowl. According to PFF,
Yaya Diaby led the edge rusher room with 9 sacks,
followed by Mohamed Kamara and Hasan Reddick
with 3 sacks. Regardless of how you feel about
some of these edge rushers, you have to address
pass rusher within the first two rounds. Hasan
Reddick has been a bust, and you need somebody
to pair with Yaya Diaby. Looking at their cap
situation, they have $15 million, which I think
is more than enough to sign all of their draft
picks. But if I'm the Bucks, I want to move some
money around just so I can be players in the
second and third wave of free agency. Because
there's still a lot of highly productive veteran
free agents that are available that you wouldn't
have to break the bank for. You have veteran
free agents such as Joey Bosa, whose market value
is only $13 .7 million. You have people like
Najaria Snee that are still available. You have
Leonard Floyd that's still available with a market
value of only $8 .9 million. David Onyemata is
still available and his market value is only
$8 .5 million. You have a lot of people that
you can bring in that can come in and be the
week one starter and can add that necessary juice
that you need for the defense or the offense
if you want to take that route as well. But I
guess we just have to wait and see. I'm going
to end this episode here. If you guys like what
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