Bucs' WR depth chart crowded by injury news for Mike Evans, Jalen McMillan

Billy Heyen

Bucs' WR depth chart crowded by injury news for Mike Evans, Jalen McMillan image

Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, all of a sudden, have a very crowded WR depth chart.

Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan both appear likely to return from injury to play on Thursday Night Football against the Atlanta Falcons to open Week 15. And if that happens, the Bucs will have more wide receivers than they'll know what to do with.

It's a good problem to have for the Bucs, who enter the week at 7-6, tied atop the NFC South with the Carolina Panthers.

For any fantasy football managers with a Tampa Bay receiver on their roster, though, things are a lot more confusing.

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR depth chart

It's hard to know exactly how the Bucs will run the offense on Thursday, especially with the players coming off injury.

But the expectation is that the group will essentially be split into two tiers.

When the Bucs go three wide, expect this trio most often:

  • Mike Evans
  • Chris Godwin
  • Emeka Egbuka

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And when the Buccaneers need something a little different, this trio might play:

  • Tez Johnson
  • Jalen McMillan
  • Sterling Shepherd

It seems likely that Kameron Johnson will be a healthy scratch. The Bucs may even keep inactive one of the players from that second grouping, too.

The good news for those needing productivity from Tampa Bay's receivers is that the Falcons are reeling and just gave up 37 points in their last game. There might be plenty of Baker Mayfield passing to go around.

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Staff Writer