Overall outlook: Doug Martin and Vincent Jackson are the fantasy studs here. Mike Williams isn’t bad, either.
Bye week: 5
Quarterback: Josh Freeman
Was viewed by many as a 2012 disappointment, but finished 13th with 300.5 fantasy points … Ranked ninth with 4,065 passing yards and T-7 with 27 touchdown passes, but damaged fantasy value with 17 interceptions … Cut back running from previous seasons, with just 39 carries for 139 yards … Job security appeared in jeopardy after Bucs drafted Mike Glennon, but head coach Greg Schiano says Freeman is his man … Might be underrated as a mid-level QB2.
Running back: Doug Martin
Muscle Hamster! … Ranked second among running backs with 262.6 fantasy points … Ranked fifth with 1,454 rushing yards, and fifth among backs with 472 receiving yards … Got 368 touches, fewer than only Adrian Peterson and Arian Foster … T-4 among backs with 12 touchdowns … Racked up 19.5 percent of his fantasy points during a monster 251-yard, four-TD game in Week 9 versus the Raiders … Three-down back, and consensus RB2 behind only Peterson this season.
Running back: Peyton Hillis
Ran just 85 times for 309 yards and a TD during lost season with Chiefs … Will compete for backup job with Mike James, and is listed here only to remind you that no matter what he did in 2010 (1,654 yards from scrimmage, 13 TDs), he won’t be able to get Martin off the field very often.
Wide receiver: Vincent Jackson
Ranked sixth among wideouts with 188.4 fantasy points in 2012 … Ranked 20th with 72 receptions, but fifth with 1,384 yards and T-12 with eight touchdowns … Fantasy value tied to league-leading 19.2 yards per catch ... Less valuable in PPR leagues … Consensus rank is as a low-end WR1.
Wide receiver: Mike Williams
Ranked 18th with 154.7 fantasy points in 2012 … Ranked 32nd in receptions (63) and 20th in yards (996), but a T-10 in touchdowns (nine) vaulted Williams in the rankings … Drafting him higher than WR3 status would be expecting more targets, and that’s far from a lock.
Tight end: Luke Stocker
Stocker caught 16 passes for 165 yards and a score as a backup last season … We had to list one Bucs’ tight end here, but we didn’t say you need to draft him.
Placekicker: Lawrence Tynes
Connor Barth was supposed to kick for the Bucs, but he’ll miss the season with a torn Achilles tendon … Barth ranked eighth with 138 fantasy points in 2012 … Barth was T-10 in attempts (38), T-12 in field goals made (28) and T-11 in extra points (39) … Tynes spent the last six seasons with the Giants, and has an 81.5 percent career field-goal conversion rate … Borderline top-12 fantasy kicker on draft day.
Team defense (DST)
Struggled to a T-23 with 103 fantasy points in 2012 … Porous unit ranked 29th in yards allowed (6,078), 23rd in points allowed (394), T-29 in sacks (27) and T-22 in fumble recoveries (eight) … Can Darrelle Revis make the Bucs’ D better? Maybe, but there’s no need to draft them among the top 12 DSTs.
