Tampa Bay Buccaneers DVOA, Stats, & NFL Rankings

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Sterling Shepard (hamstring) has now been listed as questionable to return to Sunday's contest as he deals with a hamstring injury that he picked up in the second quarter. The Buccaneers are already dealing with a thin receiver corps, so they'll now have to rely on fewer pass-catchers. Cade Otton will be even more important while Jalen McMillan and Trey Palmer will be the top two receivers unless Shepard returns.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving (toe) will suit up on Sunday afternoon when the Buccaneers face the Atlanta Falcons. Irving did not practice on Wednesday and Thursday but was able to return to a limited participation on Friday afternoon. Fantasy managers should expect the rookie to be deployed as the N2. 2 option in the backfield behind Rachaad White. However, without Chris Godwin (ankle) and Mike Evans (hamstring) Irving could still see a heavy workload. He is worth starting as a low-end flex option.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Chase McLaughlin finally missed his first field goal attempt of the season during last week's loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Despite that, McLaughlin has been one of the more consistent fantasy options at the kicker spot this season. The biggest problem now is that the Bucs lost their top two wideouts in Mike Evans (hamstring) and Chris Godwin (ankle) for the foreseeable future. That will likely significantly hurt the Bucs offense that has been marching down the field all season long. McLaughlin could quickly see his workload decrease if the Bucs struggle to move the ball down the field.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton is coming off his best performance of the season. The 25-year-old hauled in eight of his 10 targets for 100 yards in the loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Otton has turned it on over the last few weeks and will likely see a bigger role going forward. The Bucs are going to be without their top wide receivers Mike Evans (hamstring) and Chris Godwin (ankle) for the foreseeable future. Both players were injured last week and as a result Otton saw 10 targets in that contest. The expectation is that the Bucs will continue to lean on Otton because he continues to produce when called upon. He has done enough lately that fantasy managers should be able to trust him as a TE1 for the upcoming Week 8 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Trey Palmer is expected to see a bigger role in the offense going forward. Palmer has been quiet this season with only five receptions for 61 yards heading into the Week 8 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. However, the Bucs are going to be without their top wideouts in Chris Godwin (ankle) and Mike Evans (hamstring) for multiple weeks. That means, Sterling Shepard, Jalen McMillan, and Palmer should all see increased roles. The 23-year-old only saw three targets last week, but Evans and Godwin were healthy for part of that game. He should see his usage increase, but his value is unpredictable right now. Palmer might have low-end flex value for this weekend's matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. He hasn't done enough to be trusted as a starter in most formats.