3 Buccaneers who must step up for a second-half playoff push

It is fun times once again in Tampa Bay as the Buccaneers are off to a blazing 6-2 start to begin the season. Their 6-2 mark is good enough for the third overall spot in the NFC and first place in the NFC South.

Things haven't been perfect by any means for the Bucs to open the season, but they continued to battle to get to this point and have their bye week to rest, refocus and prepare for the second half of the year.

Speaking of the second half of the season, the Bucs' schedule doesn't lighten up as they face three contenders immediately following the bye before finishing off the season with four of their last five coming against division competition.

The Bucs will need to continue playing at a high level in the back half of their schedule if they want to continue making a push for the playoffs, and they will need these players to step up during that time.

WR Tez Johnson

The Bucs' seventh-round rookie was buried on the depth chart to begin the season, but has since seen his playing time tick up due to injuries to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.

In his brief playing time, Tez Johnson has emerged fairly quickly, albeit with a few minor rookie lapses and mistakes, seeing increased snaps on his way to hauling in multiple touchdowns.

Johnson currently has the 10th most receiving yards for rookies and could see himself climb in that category as the season progresses with his snap count now increased. With the workload ahead and defenses looking to double Emeka Egbuka, Johnson could find himself in favorable positions for Baker Mayfield to get him the ball. And with the way the offense has looked coming into the bye, they would greatly appreciate Johnson becoming more involved.

ILB SirVocea Dennis

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were hopeful that inside linebacker SirVocea Dennis would be completely healthy for the first time in his career this offseason and during the season, and so far, things have gone well in that area.

However, one thing that hasn't gone well is Dennis' coverage in space. Dennis has struggled mightily in this area, specifically when it comes to covering elite players such as Bijan Robinson, Christian McCaffrey and Jahmyr Gibbs.

The Bucs are thin at the linebacker level, so it will be important for Dennis to pay close attention to this as the second half of the season unfolds. He has started to turn it around a bit, especially against the Saints, but the Bucs will need him in pivotal moments with some tough matchups still left ahead.

OLB Chris Braswell

The Bucs selected Braswell early in the draft last season with the hope he would contribute as a strong pass rusher off the edge. Things have yet to materialize on this front early in Braswell's career, but he could find himself with extra playing time due to injury.

Braswell was a specialty rusher for the Crimson Tide while at Alabama, but the Bucs have yet to get what they saw then out of him. With Haason Reddick hurt, Braswell will see more time as he did this past week (although Anthony Nelson clearly outplayed him) and he will need to take advantage of every opportunity moving forward.

The positive is that Braswell is still young and could break out at any moment. If Braswell were to find himself here in the back half of the season, it would be huge for a Bucs team that is looking to wreak havoc on opposing offensive lines and quarterbacks.

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