Few people brought up the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots as Super Bowl contenders last summer. An ESPN analyst believes the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are similarly capable of exceeding expectations this season. Domonique Foxworth identified the Buccaneers as a championship threat on Monday's "Get Up." The former NFL defensive back likes them to make noise because of a rookie addition.
"Tampa Bay Buccaneers are Super Bowl contenders," Foxworth declared. "And it's all because of Rueben Bain." Foxworth joked about wanting to discuss Bain for weeks on ESPN programming before the 21-year-old's impressive preseason debut Saturday. Pro Football Focus gave the linebacker an 88.8 grade in limited snaps, the highest of any defensive first-round picks.
After watching him maneuver past an offensive lineman on a "Reggie White hump move," Foxworth has high expectations for this year's No. 15 selection. "Rueben Bain is gonna be Defensive Player of the Year," Foxworth predicted. "He'll be the blue-chip player on their defense, along with (Antoine) Winfield and Vita Vea." The Buccaneers remain favored to win the NFC South after an 8-9 season, but that may say more about their division opponents.
They trail 19 teams with +5500 odds to win the Super Bowl on DraftKings Sportsbook, which places their season win total at 8.5. Foxworth would go against the grain by expecting a deep playoff run. The Buccaneers haven't advanced beyond the NFC Divisional Round since Tom Brady led them to a Super Bowl title five years ago.
Tampa Bay also lost two franchise cornerstones when linebacker Lavonte David retired and wide receiver Mike Evans signed with the San Francisco 49ers. The Buccaneers at least appeared to solve another potential conflict when reworking Vea's contract after the Pro Bowl defensive tackle requested a trade.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
