At the very end of last Friday's Performance Preview article, as I was making the last choice in our weekly pick to click-style competition, I wondered aloud (in print) if I was making a mistake by not choosing a different player. This was the final sentence of the article:

"I just wonder if I'm making a mistake by not taking the low-hanging fruit of Bucky Irving, who has averaged 136.0 yards from scrimmage in four career games against Carolina."

The answer? Yes and no. Irving did go off, rushing 24 times for 106 yards and two touchdowns to lead a ridiculous 258-yard ground game that was the fourth-most in a single contest in Bucs' history. Definitely a missed opportunity. However, the player I picked instead was outside linebacker Yaya Diaby, so the story still had a happy ending. For me at least. Perhaps not for my competitors, Staff Writer/Reporter Brianna Dix, Buccaneers.com Contributor Gabriel Kahaian.

Diaby racked up 3.0 sacks and the output was all the more emphatic in terms of our competition because he had zero sacks heading into the Week Seven contest. There have now been 25 individual three-sack games in franchise annals, recorded by 16 different players, but this is the first time since Chidi Ahanotu in 1999 that a Buccaneer had a three-sack game that accounted for his first three sacks of the season. Fun fact: This is the first time a Buc has had three sacks in a game after I picked them as my choice in Performance Preview.

So, enough bragging. I extended the 24-hour rule a bit but now last week is done. Let's wipe the slate clean and do it all again.

The rules to this competition are simple: Each week, Bri, Gabe and I pick one Buccaneers player apiece on Friday and explain why we think that player is poised for a big game. We can't duplicate picks so order may matter, and that's why we rotate that order each week. Following the game, Team Reporter Casey Phillips serves as our unbiased judge, picking which of the three selected players had the best game, in her opinion. She is also allowed to issue a "push" if there simply isn't a best choice. (And apparently, she can split a win down the middle, which is a thing she invented this season and explains our strange scoreboard.)

While I picked Diaby last week, Gabe went with Chris Godwin and Bri went into uncharted territory by selecting kicker Chase McLaughlin. Our esteemed judge didn't have to think too hard on this one, which is good because doing so gives here a headache. (She doesn't read these articles, by the way.)

"Scott is on a roll here just like the Bucs pass rush. What a prediction to correctly guess the game Yaya would break out! Choosing Yaya and then him getting 3 sacks means players should now be begging Scott to choose them for the upcoming game."

That's a good idea. I'm very open to bribery. Here are the updated standings:

Scott: 3.0

Gabe: 2.5

Bri: 0.5

Push: 1.0

Our rotation has Brianna going first this week, followed by me and then Gabe.

Brianna Dix: Antoine Winfield Jr.

We all remember THE play. A Week Eight matchup with the Falcons in 2024. Antoine Winfield Jr. shot across the field like a missile to punch the ball loose at the goal line after Kyle Pitts broke free on a 49-yard reception. He jarred the ball out but after the replay officials reviewed the play, due to the FOX broadcast lacking a down-the-line camera angle/pylon shot to prove the ball did indeed come free, the call stood as a touchdown. Despite the call not going in the Buccaneers' favor, the effort by Winfield on that singular play is an encapsulation of his hair-on-fire, contagious play style.

The defensive leader will make his return on Sunday after missing three games with a rib injury. Winfield has been in a non-contact jersey for several weeks during practice, but the tone-setter made progress this week. The team's free safety seems to have a knack for making game-shifting plays against the Falcons and I predict Sunday will be another vintage performance for No. 31. Winfield, a ball-hawking playmaker, plays with a high football IQ and range from the post. He takes effective angles to the football and will play a pivotal role in limiting explosive plays in Week Eight to Bijan Robinson, Drake London and Kyle Pitts.

Scott Smith: Cade Otton

I'm trying to get lightning to strike twice with this pick after the Yaya selection in Week Seven. Yaya had zero sacks on the season and then got three. Otton is coming off a zero-catch game (though his blocking for that explosive ground game was superb) and has just four receptions for 29 yards in the past three outings combined. Why would I think he's poised to have a significantly larger output this weekend.

Well, let's look at the context. Two of those past three games came with rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels at the helm of the offense. I think Otton has a very good connection with Baker Mayfield, who is now back in the saddle. Yes, Mayfield returned last week and only targeted Otton once, but he also only threw 11 passes in the game. Nobody was cleaning up in the Bucs' pass-catching corps in that one. Carolina had one of the worst run defenses in the league before that game, but Atlanta actually ranks fourth in that regard, giving up just 88.9 rushing  yards per game. I'm pretty sure Baker is going to throw the ball quite a bit more than 11 times, so there will be more balls to go around for everyone.

In addition, Atlanta's defense has been a little bit susceptible to tight end production. The Falcons have allowed 47 receptions by tight ends this season, the third most by any defense, for 439 yards, the eighth most. Just last week, San Francisco's George Kittle drew 10 targets against the Falcons and turned them into eight catches for 88 yards, making him the single most productive weapon in the 49ers' offense that day. What's more, Otton has had some good outings against Atlanta in the past. In seven games against them he has 26 catches for 232 yards and three touchdowns, tied for his most scores against any opponent. For all these reasons, I see it coming together for Mayfield and Otton this week and the latter having his first really big game of the season, which will include a touchdown. For the record, that one target that Otton drew from Mayfield in Carolina was in the end zone.

Gabriel Kahaian: Jacob Parrish

I am on a bit of a cold streak, but I am going to see if I can jump into one of the Bucs' secondary meetings since they have been on fire to start the 2026 season. The Bucs' defensive backs have been able to effectively lock down some potent pass attacks throughout the first seven weeks of the season. With Atlanta's Drake London coming into town, the unit is going to need to have another big day to go 2-0 in the division. A great way to increase your odds at victory is to create takeaways and the defense is currently on a five-game streak with at least one interception. I believe Jacob Parrish will be able to extend it to six.

Parrish entered the season facing questions about whether his size would hold up on the outside, even after logging 1,144 boundary snaps at Kansas State. His elite coverage has silenced those doubts and he is quickly becoming one of the best young corners in the league. Parrish leads the league with 11 passes defensed and ranks as PFF's 10th-highest graded cornerback. He already has one interception, a fourth-quarter pick against the Green Bay Packers, where he read Jordan Love perfectly and aggressively jumped the route to come up with the big play. With Zac Robinson able to share insight on his former quarterback's tendencies, do not be surprised if Parrish gets the best of Michael Penix Jr. and nabs his second interception of the season against the Falcons.