Bucs training camp kicks off in 12 days. Here are 12 predictions

As sure as Bucco Bruce winks, the oppressive summer humidity has hit our region. And the Bucs rookies aren’t far behind.

Only 12 days from Wednesday, Bucs newbies report for training camp, signaling the start of another NFL season. The dog days are about to be supplanted by demanding ones; the soupy heat will test character and core strength, while presumably clarifying the depth chart.

As the 12-day countdown commences, we offer 12 bold training-camp predictions. If they don’t pan out, blame the humidity.

Tristan Wirfs’ pseudo summer ‘holdout’ will end

Tristan Wirfs’ decision to skip the organized parts of the Bucs’ mandatory June minicamp provided badly needed grist for bloggers and talk-radio types. Which is to say, it was an overblown storyline. The Pro Bowl left tackle prudently chose not to practice — and risk injury — until getting his multiyear deal, which we believe he’ll secure before camp commences.

Kalen DeLoach will be here on opening day

Recent history indicates at least one undrafted rookie (Olakunle Fatukasi in 2022, Christian Izien in 2023) will make the 53-player, opening-day roster. We project DeLoach — a first-team All-ACC linebacker as an FSU senior in 2023 — perpetuating that trend. DeLoach made a solid summer impression at inside linebacker, where the competition remains fierce behind Lavonte David, K.J. Britt and SirVocea Dennis. His versatility — he can play either inside linebacker spot and seems adept at special teams — won’t hurt his cause.

Jalen McMillan will emerge as the No. 3 receiver

By summer’s end, we see the Bucs’ third-round pick being pegged as one of the steals of the 2024 draft. McMillan was Michael Penix Jr.’s top target at Washington in 2022 (team-best 79 catches, nine touchdown receptions) and might have been the following year had it not been for an early season knee injury. A smooth, sleek route runner, McMillan displayed his chops during minicamps and organized team activities, and should build on that solid first impression in August. Bonus prediction: He’ll lead the team in catches in the preseason.

Competition will get edgy

The edge-rush competition will be entertaining to watch, especially when the pads come on. Second-round draftee Chris Braswell — a second-team All-SEC pick for Alabama last season — joins a scrum that includes 2023 rookie sensation Yaya Diaby, fourth-year veteran Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, underrated veteran Anthony Nelson and some intriguing youngsters (second-year guys Jose Ramirez and Markees Watts). Speaking of Tryon-Shoyinka ...

Joe Tryon-Shoyinka will break out

He really has no choice, if he wants to remain with this team long-term. The Bucs’ first-round pick in 2021 has seemed on a perpetual plateau, with four sacks his first two seasons and five last year. But if the rookie-year splash of Diaby (team-high 7-1/2 sacks) and the drafting of Braswell in the second round doesn’t invigorate Tryon-Shoyinka, nothing will. Something tells us Tryon-Shoyinka will compete for his football life in training camp and carry it over into autumn during his contract year.

Randy Gregory? Your guess is as good as ours

The unexcused absence of this veteran edge rusher — who signed a one-year deal with Tampa Bay in April — from the team’s mandatory minicamp seems like a story destined to not end well. Gregory is suing the NFL for discrimination, claiming he was fined more than $500,000 in the past year-plus for taking medications for disabilities that include THC. Moreover, he’s on his third team in two seasons, after being traded by the Broncos to the 49ers last October. This may all resolve itself, but we’re not holding our breath.

Vita Vea will rise to the challenge

By behemoth standards, nose tackle Vea has evolved from stocky to svelte following a two-week regimen in Portland with former fellow lineman Ndamukong Suh. Though he wouldn’t discuss his weight loss during June’s mandatory minicamp (he’s still listed at 347 pounds), we expect his performance to say it all. Look for Vea, who has missed six games in the previous three years due to nagging injuries, to respond to the not-so-subtle challenge from Bucs coaches with a ruthless, resurgent training camp.

Devin White will diss the Bucs

Few Bucs stars have fallen so rapidly as White, who in a one-year span failed to obtain a new conract, lost his starting job, refused to play a backup role for one game (at Green Bay), then signed a one-year, prove-it deal with the Eagles. While White maintains a strong relationship with Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles, we envision him feeling his oats at some point during the Eagles training camp and venting with a few anti-Buc sound bites. Just you wait.

John Wolford will seriously push for the backup QB job

This stands to reason. John Wolford, who has four NFL starts on his resume, already has spent a year in new Bucs coordinator Liam Coen’s system (with the Rams in 2022) and has attempted far more NFL regular-season passes (104) than Kyle Trask (10). Both will log a ton of preseason snaps, and if Wolford appears more astute in the offense, why wouldn’t he be the No. 2 guy? Hard not to sympathize with Trask, who was set to be given a crack at the starting job in 2022 before Tom Brady unretired. Instead, he has three completions in as many NFL seasons.

Graham Barton will shine

While there’s no such thing as a can’t-miss NFL prospect, the Bucs’ first-round pick seems as safe a bet as thunderstorms in August. A cerebral center with a nasty streak (a la Ryan Jensen), Barton appears to have digested the Bucs’ playbook and already has asserted himself as a leader. We’ll learn more when the pads go on, but all indicators suggest the Duke graduate will ace that test, too.

Most pundits will pick Atlanta to win NFC South

Everyone loves a sexy pick, and few are sexier than a Falcons team with a franchise quarterback (Kirk Cousins), another in the wings (Michael Penix Jr.), a potential 1,000-yard rusher (Bijan Robinson) and a transformational tight end (Kyle Pitts). Then again, the Bucs were widely picked to bring up the rear in the NFC South last season, and we all know how that turned out.

Logan Hall remains on the roster ... for now

The No. 33 overall pick in 2022, Hall has yet to make a resounding impact on the defensive front, and time may or may not be running out. He appeared in 52% of the Bucs’ defensive snaps last season yet managed only 22 tackles and half a sack. Moreover, Pro Football Focus credited him with only 17 pressures in 330 pass-rushing snaps. Competition abounds up front, with nose tackle Vita Vea flanked by second-year star Calijah Kancey and veterans William Gholston and Greg Gaines, with undrafted rookie Judge Culpepper (nine sacks for Toledo in 2023) in the mix. Hall must assert himself, and now.

Contact Joey Knight at jknight@tampabay.com. Follow @TBTimes_Bulls

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