We are now on the eve of the United States' celebration of its 250th anniversary, and it's time to finish off our annual Fourth of July week of Roundtable debates with a fireworks finale sort of bang. Like Paul Revere spreading the word, we're going to go as bold as possible for our final discussion and give you a handful of over-the-top predictions for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 2026 season.

Hopefully, in honor of this momentous national occasion, we fare better with our predictions than we did last year. Staff Writer/Reporter Brianna Dix, Buccaneers.com Contributor Gabriel Kahaian and I collectively whiffed with our predictions from this time in 2025, though Gabe at least gets half credit. His prediction was that Baker Mayfield would win the NFL's MVP award, and to be fair, Mayfield was getting "MVP!" chants from the Raymond James Stadium crowd around midseason. Alas, the second half saw the Bucs spiral into a 2-7 finish and the award rightfully went to the Rams' Matthew Stafford.

Bri's prediction was that Chris Godwin would win the Comeback Player of the Year award after returning from a devastating ankle injury suffered in the middle of what had been shaping up as an incredible 2024 season for him. Unfortunately, Godwin missed another eight games in 2025 and did not receive a single vote for this award, which went to San Francisco's Christian McCaffrey. Honestly, he could be a stronger candidate for the same honor this year, given that he will be coming into the season fully healthy.

My prediction was probably the worst of the three. I suggested that Calijah Kancey would be the Bucs' first interior defensive lineman to reach double digits in sacks since future Hall of Famer Warren Sapp and also Marcus Jones did so in 2000. I would have loved to see Kancey chase that mark, but unfortunately he suffered a pectoral injury in Week Two and only made it back for the season finale. Kancey did not have 10-plus sacks in 2025; he had zero. As with Godwin, I have high hopes for a similar pursuit in 2026.

But we won't be running back those same predictions this year, even if Gabe remains fixated on Mayfield. It's time for new set of bold predictions, and this time we're going to get all three of them right!

Here is the full schedule for this week's Point-Counterpoint 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?

Since we are not going to be duplicating answers in any of these debates, order of selection matters, and the order for our final Roundtable is Gabe going first, Bri second and me third. Let'sget bold, Gabe.

Gabriel Kahaian: Baker Mayfield Makes Buccaneers' History and Then Some

Baker Mayfield has had some of the best seasons of his career while in Tampa Bay. In just three years, Mayfield has steadily climbed up the record books, placing himself in the top-10 rankings of the franchise all-time passing totals, and he even landed 38th in the Bucs' Top 50 Players in History ranking that celebrated the team's 50th season. When you actually take a look at those all-time passing records, you will begin to notice that Baker Mayfield is inching closer to the top spot in one of them and I think not only will he hit it, he will surely surpass it in the upcoming season. Curious? Let's take a look at the chart below.

All-Time Franchise Passing Touchdowns, Buccaneers

Mayfield is only 27 passing touchdowns away from taking the top spot, an accomplishment he could reach in just four years.

As mentioned in my intro, the gunslinger is no stranger to putting up big numbers. Mayfield has averaged 27 touchdown passes per 17 games across his career and had his season-high best in a Buccaneers uniform with 41 in 2024. It does seem like the quarterback has some extra motivation heading into training camp.

During the Bucs' 2026 mandatory minicamp, Mayfield reiterated something he has said more than once throughout his career, saying that he hates losing more than he loves winning. That is saying a lot when you consider the competitor No. 6 is. Mayfield is ready to put 2025 behind him and is fully focused on doing whatever he can to right the wrongs of the season before. Taking into consideration that this is also a contract year for a starting quarterback, Mayfield has all the motivation and tools to make Bucs history and then some. I wouldn't be surprised if he bested Jameis Winston's number by 10 or more by the time January rolls around.

Just for fun, here is an extra one for you.

All-Time Franchise Quarterback Regular-Season Wins, Buccaneers

Mayfield needs 12 wins to surpass Trent Dilfer as the most wins as a starting quarterback in Buccaneers history. I don't think the number is out of the question heading into next season. With the team built around Mayfield, the sky is the limit.

Brianna Dix: Rueben Bain Jr. Gets Double-Digit Sacks

This is bold considering we have not seen Rueben Bain Jr. play a single snap of NFL footballyet, but I am going to dream big and predict that Tampa Bay's 2026 first-round pick will be the first Bucs rookie to get double-digit sacks since Santana Dotson accomplished the feat in 1992. He was also the only rookie ever in club history to get that esteemed achievement. It has been over 30 years since a player donning a Bucs' jersey racked up double digits and it is long overdue. Why not Bain?

Bain, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2025, nabbed 54 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks for Miami. He plays with a staggering power profile and strikes with intensity. Bain possesses rare bend with a tight angle at the top of the rush for his frame and quickly sheds tackles with ease. He can collapse the pocket with bull rushes and can effectively transition from speed to power. Bain plays with consistent effort and aggression, which will undoubtedly translate to the NFL level. Todd Bowles will find ways to weaponize Bain in the rotation and in my hopeful estimation, it is to the tune of 10 or more sacks in 2026.

Scott Smith: Somebody, Anybody on the Bucs' Defense Snares Seven Interceptions

There was a time when this would not have been a bold prediction at all. Cedric Brown had nine interceptions for the Buccaneers in 1981, Jeremiah Castille had seven four years later and Wayne Haddix had all seven of his career interceptions in 1990. Donnie Abraham did it two years in a row! Ronde Barber set a Bucs record with 10 picks in 2001 and he only tied for the NFL lead. Brian Kelly had eight picks and only tied for the league lead in 2002, which nobody remembers because that defense featured cacophonous seasons from the likes of Barber, Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp and John Lynch.

But the interception in the NFL is likely the penny in American circulation; it's slowly fading away. Last year, the entire league combined for 380 interceptions, the lowest total in an NFL season since the 1970 merger, discounting the nine-game, strike-marred 1982 campaign. On an individual basis, in 1983, fourteen different players had at least seven interceptions. In 1988, 10 payers did it. In 2001, Barber and seven others hit the mark. In 2006, the number was down to six, and in 2012 it was down to four. There hasn't been a season with even three players hitting that mark since 2018. Chicago safety Kevin Byard was the only one to do so last year. The last Buccaneer to have a seven-interception season was Kelly in that 2002 Super Bowl season.

So, yes, this is a very bold prediction, though I'm watering it down a bit by not singling out a specific Buccaneer defender who will hit the mark. Recent NFL history suggests its more likely for a safety to get seven interceptions than a quarterback, and I will note that both Antoine Winfield Jr. and Tykee Smith are clearly big-time playmakers. Neither has approached anything close to seven picks in a season yet, but you never know. Maybe it's Jacob Parrish, who seems to have a knack for being around the football.

Mainly, I'm basing this somewhat outlandish prediction on the idea that the Buccaneers are going to have a fierce pass rush in 2026, and they're going to be able to do it more often when only rushing four. You see Bri's prediction above. We also have Yaya Diaby, who keeps racking up big QB pressure numbers but has not yet seen that turn into similarly high sack totals. Al-Quadin Muhammad is in the mix. There are high hopes for David Walker after his rookie season was wiped out by a knee injury. More four-man pressures, more guys back in coverage, more quarterbacks pressured into mistakes, more interceptions. And in this case I'm betting on one player in particular cashing in with a lucky seven.