Each week during the regular season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' communications department publishes a "Game Release" to aid the media in coverage of their upcoming game. Within that release are a number of documents regarding the player roster, including a depth chart, which lists the pecking order at every position on offense, defense and special teams.
Each game week, we will be taking a closer look at that depth chart, pointing out any changes or relevant notes from the previous game. Let's start on offense. Rookies are marked with an asterisk. Players we will be discussing in depth are highlighted in bold text.
OFFENSE
WR: Ted Hurst*, David Sills
WR: Chris Godwin, Kameron Johnson
LT: Tristan Wirfs, Benjamin Chukwuma
LG: Ben Bredeson, Billy Schrauth*
C: Graham Barton, Dan Feeney
RG: Cody Mauch, Luke Haggard
RT: Luke Goedeke, Justin Skule
WR: Emeka Egbuka, Tez Johnson
TE: Cade Otton, Payne Durham, Ko Kieft, Bauer Sharp*
QB: Baker Mayfield, Jalon Daniels*
RB: Bucky Irving, Kenny Gainwell, Sean Tucker
Second-year man Benjamin Chukwuma drew the start at right tackle with Luke Goedeke out with a calf injury and contributed to an unstoppable run game that finished with 258 yards, the fourth-most in a single contest in team history. It was the third career start for Chukwuma, who signed with the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent out of Georgia State in 2025, and Head Coach Todd Bowles said on Monday that the young blocker has a "huge future" as a full-time starter in the NFL.
Another second-year player, wide receiver Tez Johnson, also started the game in a three-receiver set with Emeka Egbuka sidelined by a concussion and a foot injury. Johnson was intricately involved in the offense, logging a season-high 41 snaps and leading the team with 33 receiving yards and a touchdown. He had three touches in the game: a 14-yard end-around that set up a field goal; a 19-yard catch on third-and-10 that kept the game-opening touchdown drive alive; and a 14-yard touchdown catch on a broken play just before halftime.
Running backs Kenny Gainwell and Sean Tucker made the most of their relatively limited playing time. Gainwell got 19 snaps on offense and turned them into 88 yards on 14 carries. Tucker only had nine snaps but he got a handoff on seven of them and produced 52 yards and a touchdown.
DEFENSE
DL: Calijah Kancey, Elijah Roberts
NT: Vita Vea, Rakeem Nuñez-Roches, Elijah Simmons
DL: A'Shawn Robinson, DeMonte Capehard*
OLB: Yaya Diaby, Anthony Nelson, David Walker
ILB: Josiah Trotter*, SirVocea Dennis
ILB: Alex Anzalone
OLB: Rueben Bain Jr.*, Al-Quadin Muhammad
CB: Zyon McCollum, Benjamin Morrison, Ayden Garnes*
CB: Jacob Parrish, Keionte Scott*, Kevin Knowles
S: Antoine Winfield Jr., Ifeatu Melifonwu
S: Tykee Smith, Miles Killebrew
Outside linebacker Yaya Diaby drew a significantly lower snap count than usual, playing 22 of a possible 56 snaps (39%) but that didn't stop him from having a big impact. Diaby produced the first three-sack game of his career and the first by a Buccaneer since 2020. Al-Quadin Muhammad also had a sack and a forced fumble that led to a Calijah Kancey touchdown, but he only played 16 snaps. The leader in reps for the Bucs' OLB crew was rookie Rueben Bain Jr. with 37, but it was David Walker who continued to see his playing time increase, with a season-high 30 snaps in this one.
With some late-game substitutions on both sides of the ball when the game was out of hand in the fourth quarter, the only two defenders to play all 56 snaps were cornerbacks Zyon McCollum and Jacob Parrish. McCollum had two tackles and his first interception of the game, setting up Johnson's touchdown, and Parrish added two stops and two passes defensed to increase his league-leading total to 11.
SPECIALISTS
P: Riley Dixon
PK: Chase McLaughlin
KO: Chase McLaughlin
H: Riley Dixon
LS: Evan Deckers
PR: Tez Johnson, Kameron Johnson
KR: Kenny Gainwell, Sean Tucker
KR: Kameron Johnson
Tez Johnson continued to fill the punt returner role and turned in a season-long 22-yarder on his only runback of the game. He also got one rep as a kickoff returner.
The Bucs had 13 combined tackles on special teams in the game, largely because they kicked off eight times and all eight were designed to invite returns. None of the Panthers' eight kickoff returns went for more than 28 yards. Defensive back Keionte Scott played 34 snaps on defense but was also active on special teams with one solo tackle and three assists. Linebacker SirVocea Dennis also had a solo tackle and an assist. In addition to his steadily increasing role on defense, Walker tied for the team high with 15 special teams snaps and added a kick-coverage tackle.
