2014 Review

Former quarterback Josh McCown failed any fantasy owners who thought he might produce as well as he did when he covered for Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler in 2013. Unfortunately, McCown put up horrible numbers in the 11 games he played with the Bucs, which included only 11 touchdowns compared to 14 interceptions. For that, he finished the season ranked 28th in fantasy points.

Backup quarterback Mike Glennon was worse and is not much worth the mention in this article. Surely everyone had better quarterback options last year.

An embarrassing fantasy pick last season was running back Doug Martin. Surely some steered clear after an uneventful and injury-riddled 2013 season. For those who thought it wise to take their chances with Martin again, he performed horribly in the 11 games for which he played in 2014 putting up only 494 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Owning Martin’s so-called backup Bobby Rainey was not much better. Rainey held a bit of value in PPR leagues where his 315 receiving yards may have helped a few out.

Veteran receiver Vincent Jackson was the wrong Bucs wideout to own in 2014. He ranked 39th in fantasy points after posing 1,002 yards and only two touchdowns. For those who took a flier on rookie Mike Evans, he rewarded his fantasy owners big-time. Evans totaled an impressive 1,051 yards and 10 touchdowns off of 68 catches. He was an absolute viper in the red zone.

The Bucs rookie tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins who barely earned more fantasy points than letters contained in his name had no business being on anyone’s fantasy team last year. He ranked 43rd overall in his class.

Veteran Additions

None.

NFL Draft

The name Jameis Winston should sound somewhat familiar to those who follow football. Using their precious overall first pick in the 2015 NFL Draft very wisely, the Buccaneers went the route most expected and snagged the Florida State quarterback.

During his two seasons at Florida State, Winston passed for a total of 7,964 yards and 65 touchdowns all while maintaining a pass completion rate of 66 percent. Not much of a rusher, Winston only totaled 284 yards on the ground in his two college seasons. However, with this little yardage, the quarterback managed seven rushing scores, which proves he is not shy to go pedal to the metal in ideal red zone opportunities.

Winston breathes some life into a franchise that really has nowhere to go that up. He certainly has the potential to make a quality backup quarterback who could eventually surprise and wind his way into a top 20 quarterback. Winston should continue to add to Evans’ fantasy value as well as revive that of Jackson’s this season.

Potential Breakout Player

We will let Winston have the spotlight here. How awesome would it be to draft him as a backup in final rounds then find out he could be a matchup play some weeks? He has fabulous wide receivers and may just make an impact greater than that of current struggling quarterbacks such as Robert Griffin III, Geno Smith, Alex Smith and Andy Dalton.

Winston will definitely be one to monitor in the preseason when things start to get real.

Potential Disappointment

Fool me once, but fool me twice would have to see Martin under this headline. Unless he is drafted in later rounds as an RB3 or lower, Martin comes with too much risk after failing to make a mark since his stellar rookie fantasy season.

Since his 12 touchdowns in 2012, Martin has totaled only three scores in the 17 games he has played the last two seasons. This is just scary-bad. Additionally, Martin has only managed an average of 3.65 yards per carry the last two years compared to 4.6 in his rookie debut.

Let Martin fall to another teammate or choose him only as a deep resort in 2015.