Bucs Special Teams Got Faster Through Draft

There’s understandably plenty of excitement over the Bucs’ 2023 draft class. Many of these rookies are going to help the organization improve – some sooner than later. One way that each draft pick will immediately impact the Bucs is on special teams, particularly with the return and coverage units for kicks and punts.

Tampa Bay had its struggles covering punts and kicks last season. The Bucs allowed 374 punt return yards, which was the third-highest in the league.

While kick returns are much more rare in these days, the Bucs still found themselves in the bottom 10 of the NFL in kick return yardage allowed with 595 yards on the season and an average of 25.82 per return.