Which Bucs Player MUST Improve In Week 3?

Pewter Report’s PR Roundtable
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A new Pewter Report Roundtable debuts every Tuesday on PewterReport.com. Each week, the Pewter Reporters tackle another tough Bucs question. This week’s prompt: Which Bucs Player MUST Improve In Week 3?

Scott Reynolds: Antoine Winfield Jr. Is Not Even Close To Being A $21 Million Man

There are a lot of different directions I could have gone in here. Inside linebacker Alex Anzalone has played poorly due to several costly missed tackles. Outside linebackers Rueben Bain Jr. and Yaya Diaby have been virtually invisible as pass rushers. Nose tackle Vita Vea has been a disappointment and a non-factor since getting his big new contract. Baker Mayfield, fresh off his $165 million contract extension, has more turnovers than touchdowns through two weeks of NFL play. But I’m going to call out someone else.

Safety Antoine Winfield Jr. hasn’t lived up to the four-year, $84.1 million contract extension he signed after his All-Pro season in 2023. That’s not hating on Winfield, that’s just a fact. He’s making $21 million per year, which makes him the fifth highest-paid Buccaneer, and the second highest-paid defender on the team behind Vea ($27 million) – and he’s not living up to his paycheck. The reason why the Bucs made him the league’s highest-paid defensive back following his 2023 year? Winfield’s ability to create splash plays – sacks, forced fumbles, fumble recoveries and interceptions.

In 2023, Winfield had 122 tackles, six sacks, six forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and three interceptions – Herculean numbers that are nearly impossible to replicate each season. But what about half of that splash play production? Maybe three sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and perhaps two picks over the course of the season? Doesn’t that seem reasonable for one Todd Bowles’ most prized chess pieces? The Bucs defense could use some of Winfield’s heroics right about now.

Since the 2024 season Winfield has played in 28 games, including both games so far in the 2026 season. During that 28-game span he’s produced just a total of three sacks, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble. Those are pedestrian numbers – not Pro Bowl-caliber statistics. I know Winfield “made the Pro Bowl” in 2025, but I think that distinction even surprised him when it happened last year.

Through two games Winfield has yet to make a splash play, and has allowed 4-of-5 targets to be caught for 51 yards and a touchdown, which happened to be Blake Whiteheart’s go-ahead score for Cleveland. That proved to be Sunday’s game-winner. On that play, Winfield lost track of the tight end in man coverage in Cover 0 and Whiteheart waltzed into the end zone untouched. That simply can’t happen to a team captain who is entering his seventh year in Todd Bowles’ scheme making as much money as he is.

Matt Matera: Alex Anzalone Has Slowed Down The Bucs Defense

In all reality Bucs inside linebacker Alex Anzalone should be benched for his performance through two games. But, his two-year, $17 million contract along with wearing the C on his jersey as a team captain will postpone that for the time being. It’s harsh commentary, but it’s also not hyperbole to say that Anzalone hasn’t been the worst player on Tampa Bay’s defense thus far in 2026.

According to Pro Football Focus, Anzalone is the worst-graded Bucs defender with a 29.1 overall grade and a team-low 30.1 coverage grade – despite him being signed this offseason for his coverage abilities. He currently ranks as PFF’s 110th-ranked linebacker – out of 112 graded linebackers. Yeah, it’s that bad.

The missed tackles have been a major issue. During Week 1 Anzalone looked like he was on a slip ‘n slide as he fell past ballcarriers on a consistent basis. Then in Week 2 a missed tackle on Denzel Boston was made even worse as he collided into Antoine Winfield Jr. and Tykee Smith, allowing Boston to escape and run free for a 55-yard touchdown that tied the game at 16-16.

There have been no splash plays from Anzalone, either. It’s been nothing but missed tackles and blown coverages. He was considered to be a top free agent acquisition, but it looks like the Bucs may have buyer’s remorse after two games. I hate to bash him in this moment as Anzalone is celebrating a birthday today (Happy Birthday, Alex)  turning 32 years old. That’s young in overall age, but old in football years. Hopefully he can right the ship because it feels like the game is literally passing him by.

Adam Slivon: Baker Mayfield Is The OBVIOUS Choice Here

I’ve participated in plenty of PR Roundtables, and picking Baker Mayfield is the easy layup choice this week. Mayfield was given an easy layup of his own as the Bucs faced the Browns in the season home opener. The story practically wrote itself for him to turn it around, but his performance was one of the most disappointing aspects of Sunday’s game. There is no question that No. 6’s play has been a worst-case scenario for an organization that just gave him a three-year, $165 million contract extension.

Hindsight is 20/20, but I would have much rather seen him play pissed off in a contract year than whatever we have seen from him so far.

Through two games, Mayfield has just 398 passing yards and one touchdown, with one interception and three fumbles. He has done all this while being fully healthy; there is no excuse for his turnovers and erratic play. There have been chances for him to turn it around, but nothing has clicked. He has held on to the football for too long trying to be a hero, which has welcomed pressure and sacks, while his deep ball accuracy has been abysmal.

It is getting harder to find positives about the state of this team through this 0-2 start. The problems extend beyond Mayfield, but he must be the problem-solver and reason the team can claw back and find ways to win. Looking ahead to Week 3 against the Vikings, it does not get any easier.

Defensive coordinator Brian Flores will surely send plenty of blitzes Mayfield’s way to prevent him from settling in, and Minnesota is 2-0 after shutting down Caleb Williams and limiting the Bears to just three points last week. I can’t lie – I am worried for what lies ahead for the Bucs. Things can go from bad to ugly in the coming weeks. While every player listed here must improve, Baker Mayfield is the highest-paid player on the team at the most important position. It is time for him to play like it.

Bailey Adams: Cody Mauch

While the Bucs’ entire offensive line unit needs to be much better going forward, it’s particularly the play of the guards that needs to see the biggest improvement after two exceptionally poor games to start this season. In particular, right guard Cody Mauch needs to figure it out — and fast.

You could argue that Mauch may still be getting his legs underneath him after missing 15 games a year ago with a knee injury. But the fourth-year guard has been healthy since the summer and got plenty of training camp reps in addition to making a brief cameo in the preseason to get back into the swing of things.

To start the 2026 regular season, Mauch has had a rough go of it. He allowed three pressures, committed a penalty and graded out with just a 51.1 mark as a run blocker in Week 1, according to Pro Football Focus. And things got worse in Week 2. He allowed FIVE pressures, graded out with a 39.9 overall grade as a result of his 34.2 run blocking mark and 55.9 pass blocking grade.

So, over two games, Mauch has already allowed EIGHT total pressures. This comes after he allowed only 19 over 722 pass blocking snaps in 2024, his last full season.

This is a critical season for Mauch, as he’s in a contract year. But that needs to be the last thing on his mind right now. He has to round back into form quickly if the Buccaneers offensive line and the offense as a whole have any chance of reaching their full potential in 2026.

Josh Queipo: Ben Bredeson Is Bringing The O-Line Down

The saying goes, “The offensive line is a weak link system.” The Bucs have known Ben Bredeson has been their weak link for some time. But it’s near impossible to put together an offensive line full of superheroes, so the goal for most teams is to make sure the weakest link is passable. And for two years Ben Bredeson has been just that. An average-ish starter, next to better players. And that has been good enough to have the Bucs as one of the 3-5 best lines in the NFL when healthy.

But Bredeson has come out of the gates in 2026 looking like a lesser version of himself. He’s allowed five pressures and two sacks through the first two games of the season. And those metrics don’t include the reps that aren’t charted as a pressure, but he still condenses enough to make quarterback Baker Mayfield feel jittery. Bredeson has struggled to pick up stunts as well.

The Vikings bring two things to this week’s matchup that will stress Bredeson. Jalen Redmond, who is the best defensive tackle you may have not heard of, and a stunt and blitz-heavy scheme. If Bredeson doesn’t step up his play and have the best outing of this young 2026 season, Mayfield could be in for an even longer day than his past two Sundays.

Nick Geddes: It’s Time For Vita Vea To Show Us Something

Through two games, I’m not sure if I’ve heard Vita Vea’s name said once on the game broadcast. That is, unless, he’s come up in the context of his new contract, which he signed before the start of the season after going public with a trade request.

The Bucs decided to guarantee $48 million to Vea through 2027, of which then he’ll be 32 years old. So far this season, all Vea has to show for himself is a pair of tackles, zero sacks, and no tackles for loss. In fact, I’d even go as far to say that Elijah Roberts has been more of a standout in a reserve role. That simply can’t happen moving forward if the Bucs want to climb out of the 0-2 hole they’ve dug themselves into.

There’s been no impact from a player now costing in the realm of Jeffery Simmons, Dexter Lawrence, and Leonard Williams, arguably the three best players in the world at the defensive tackle position. Vea, even in his prime, was never as impactful as those guys, but welcome to life of being paid this way. Yet with higher pay come higher expectations, and Vea is currently failing to meet them.

Most of Tampa Bay’s highest-paid players have been underwhelming in 2026, but it’s particularly time for Vea to dig in, starting this Sunday against the Vikings.