It's a celebratory week in the U.S. as the nation gears up for its 250th anniversary on Saturday. It's also a relaxing period for Tampa Bay Buccaneers players and coaches are enjoying a final break before training camp kicks the 2026 campaign off in earnest.

Here at Buccaneers.com, we have another Fourth of July week tradition to go along withbarbecues and fireworks. Each year, we take this time to look ahead to the upcoming season with a series of Roundtable discussions and make a few bold predictions. Staff Writer/Reporter Brianna Dix, Buccaneers.com Contributor Gabe Kahaian and I are ready to get these debates underway, so let's set the scene for our first one.

The NFC South looks like a wide-open competition in 2026. The Carolina Panthers are defending division champions after snapping the Buccaneers' four-year run at the top, but their actual final record of 8-9 was matched by both Tampa Bay and Atlanta. Meanwhile, the Falcons won their last four games in 2025 and the Saints won four of their last five, looking like teams on the rise. As such, the margins could be pretty thin in the division race, and one or two emerging stars on any of those four rosters could tilt the balance.

The Buccaneers obviously hope that things tilt in their direction. The pieces are in place for another top-10 offense if there is better injury luck in the receiver and offensive line rooms, and multiple key additions to the front seven on defense will hopefully produce more pressure and better coverage over the middle of the field. Still, it would make a big difference if a handful of young players took their games to another level in 2026. In our first Fourth of July week Roundtable, we're going to try to predict who those players might be.

Here is the full schedule for this week's Roundtable series:

Monday, June 29: Which Buccaneer will make the biggest leap in 2026?

Tuesday, June 30: What player would you steal from another NFC South roster?

Wednesday, July 1: Which Buccaneer could win a major NFL award in 2026?

Thursday, July 2: What specific statistical goal would you like to see the Bucs achieve in 2025?

Friday, July 3: What is your prediction for a surprising statistical achievement for one or more Buccaneers?

One note on our approach to this topic: We are not going to consider rookies. The idea here is to identify a player who has already reached a certain level of play in the NFL and predict that he is going to go up a level or two in 2026. We can choose an established star, like Tristan Wirfs or Baker Mayfield, but that's risky because the bar is already set very high. Ideally, we're talking about a player still fairly early in his career who has established himself as a good player but is ready to ascend to greatness.

Who might make such a leap on the Bucs' roster in 2025? Let's hash that topic out right now! Since we are not going to be duplicating answers, order matters, and through a random draw we came up with Bri going first, me second and Gabe third. We'll rotate that order from one Roundtable to the next. What are you thinking, Bri?

Brianna Dix: WR Jalen McMillan

There were several names that I mulled over for this prompt but I think Jalen McMillan is going to have a breakout 2026 campaign. His 2025 season ended abruptly due to injury and my gut says he is coming back with a vengeance and newfound zeal on the field. McMillan suffered a serious neck injury in the 2025 Week Two preseason contest with the Steelers, landing him on injured reserve. He wore a constrictive brace for several months and returned against the Falcons in Week 15. McMillan played 138 snaps last season, and engineered his first 100-yard receiving game against the Dolphins in Week 17. He hauled in seven catches for 114 yards in that contest, including a 33-yarder off a Baker Mayfield pump fake in the matchup.

There were question marks as to whether McMillan would be able to return at all during the 2025 season and not only did he work his way back and overcome the physical and mental hurdles that the significant injury entailed, but he had one of the best games of his career against Miami. His production in that game showcased his iron resolve and love for the game.

McMillan went from a potentially seeing his career in jeopardy to becoming a key cog in the Buccaneers' offense to finish out the year. He has the ability to play all three receiver spots and as opponents try to account for the weapons in Tampa Bay's arsenal, including Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin Jr., there will be opportunities for McMillan. The long-strider is adept at creating separation mid-route with fakes. McMillan has elite stair-step ability and possesses a stellar feel for coverage and manipulating defensive backs at the top of routes. He has only scratched the surface and I look for McMillan to have an inspiring comeback in 2026.

Scott Smith: S Tykee Smith

This is probably unprecedented, but I am choosing the exact same player I landed on a year ago. And I would argue that I got it right last year and that Tykee Smith did make a significant leap in his second season. I just think there's plenty of room for him to do it again in 2025, potentially becoming one of the NFL's rising stars at the safety position.

Head Coach Todd Bowles has said on multiple occasions since the end of the 2025 season that Smith was probably the team's best defender for most of the year before he got nicked up near the end. After playing mostly in the slot as a rookie, Smith was allowed to settle into a role at safety next to Antoine Winfield Jr. and he thrived in it, recording 100 tackles, six tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, five quarterback hits, one interception and a team-leading 13 passes defensed.

It's that passes defensed total that has me thinking Smith will take his game up another notch in 2026. He just has a nose for the football and a knack for making big plays. He clearly enjoys contact and is one of the surer tacklers on the team. As good as his numbers were in 2025, it wouldn't be a stretch to think he will be able to come up with more interceptions, sacks and forced fumbles in 2026. I'm not going to predict something as gonzo as Winfield recording 6.0 sacks, six forced fumbles and three interceptions in 2023 – which made him a first-team All-Pro – but I could see three of each and some consideration for the Pro Bowl. If the Buccaneers' succeeded in significantly pumping up their pass rush with the additions of Rueben Bain Jr., Al-Quadin Muhammad and David Walker (technically not an addition but getting his first chance to play), the team's defensive backs will be put in better positions to make plays. Smith will capitalize.

Gabriel Kahaian: OLB Yaya Diaby

When you take a look at the landscape of the Buccaneers' defense, Yaya Diaby should be primed for his best year yet. Drafted in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, the outside linebacker has been the team's most productive pass rusher, posting 19.0 sacks throughout his first three campaigns. He has also become one of the league's best at making quarterbacks uncomfortable, tying for eighth in the NFL last year with 68 quarterback pressures, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

Diaby will be poised to turn a significant number of his pressures into sacks in 2026. This offseason, retooling the defense was a big point of emphasis and the Bucs went ahead and invested heavily in their front seven.

They added high-ceiling defensive talent in the 2026 NFL Draft in Rueben Bain Jr. and Josiah Trotter. During free agency, the Bucs signed veterans Alex Anzalone and Al-Quadin Muhammad who have both found success throughout their time in the league. Finally, the team is getting back Calijah Kancey and David Walker, who were unable to make an impact in 2025 due to injury.

More talent means more opportunities, especially for Diaby, who has shown he can wreck an offensive line. With another year of development and a contract year on the horizon, he is set up to be a problem all season long.