Where to the Bucs land in The Athletic's NFL power rankings?

It’s that time of year, as NFL training camps are opening up across the entire league, and preseason projections start flooding in from every national outlet.

The latest set of NFL power rankings for the upcoming 2024 season comes from The Athletic, and they’re not sold on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers keeping up their streak of NFC South titles this year.

Tampa Bay comes in at No. 22 on this list, still ahead of the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers, but below the Atlanta Falcons.

Here’s what The Athletic’s Josh Kendall had to say about the Bucs:

Most of the Buccaneers’ offseason work consisted of holding on to their own free agents — quarterback Baker Mayfield, wide receiver Mike Evans and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. chief among them. The status quo feels fine to the Bucs these days after four straight seasons making the playoffs. That has happened only once before in the team’s 47-year history. A fifth straight trip would set a team record but likely will require holding off a restocked Falcons team in the NFC South. Given the recent history of both teams, the Bucs probably like their chances.

It seems like most national outlets are expecting the arrival of Kirk Cousins in Atlanta to immediately make the Falcons the favorites to win the division, but that’s a strange gamble to make. Meanwhile, the Bucs proved last year that they don’t need Tom Brady to win the division, as Baker Mayfield led them to a third straight NFC South crown.

To check out The Athletic’s full power rankings for the 2024 NFL season, click here.