The Bucs are entering their 50th season since first donning the Bucco Bruce helmet and creamsicle uniforms in 1976. So it’s only fitting that Pewter Report unveils its Top 50 All-Time Bucs list.
The Buccaneers asked yours truly, Scott Reynolds, to provide my Top 50 list to the team for their media poll and I’ve decided to release my rankings to you over the next two weeks in the form of 10 articles – each with five Bucs greats. My list contains 25 Super Bowl champions – either from the 2002 or 2020 teams – as well as nine members of the 2025 team.
Top 50 All-Time Bucs: 26-30
Top 50 All-Time Bucs: 31-35
Top 50 All-Time Bucs: 36-40
Top 50 All-Time Bucs: 41-45
Top 50 All-Time Bucs: 46-50
So let’s continue with the next five players who make up the Top 50 All-Time Bucs and we’ll finish with the top 5 at the end of this series.
All-Time Bucs: 21-25
No. 21 – RB James Wilder
Still Tampa Bay’s All-Time Leading Rusher
Before Mike Evans, before Mike Alstott and Warrick Dunn – even before the Bucs were even remotely competitive – there was do-it-all running back James Wilder. If you’re a longtime Tampa Bay fan, you know the name. Wilder was the offense throughout the 1980s, carrying the ball, catching passes and scoring touchdowns.
Drafted in the second round in 1981, Wilder spent nine seasons in Tampa Bay and left as the franchise’s all-time leading rusher – a title he still holds today 30 years after he hung up his cleats. Wilder racked up 5,957 rushing yards and 37 rushing touchdowns for Tampa Bay, while also adding 3,492 receiving yards and 10 more scores through the air. That’s nearly 10,000 total yards, which makes him one of the franchise’s most potent weapons of all time.
Former Bucs RB James Wilder – Photo courtesy of the Buccaneers
Wilder’s 1984 season is the stuff of legend. He totaled 2,229 yards from scrimmage, which is a franchise record that still stands. Wilder led the NFL in touches with a jaw-dropping 492 that season and he handled it like a workhorse, accounting for nearly 50% of Tampa Bay’s total offense that year.
Wilder made one Pro Bowl and one All-Pro team, which happened during that magical 1984 season, but he played most of his career on struggling Tampa Bay teams that never gave him much help or national attention. Still, to fans who watched him grind week in and week out, he was a star.
Wilder topped 1,000 yards rushing twice while being a go-to option in the passing game. In fact, his 85 catches in 1984 led all running backs and ranked third in the entire league. Wilder still holds multiple franchise records and it’s a crime that he isn’t in the Bucs Ring of Honor yet.
No. 22 – DT Gerald McCoy
The Smiling Sacker Who Carried the Bucs Defense for a Decade
The Bucs were mired in a playoff blackout for over a decade of darkness between the team’s last playoff appearance in 2007 and the Super Bowl season in 2020. But there were a couple of shining lights in an otherwise dark era of Tampa Bay, and former defensive tackle Gerald McCoy was one of them. Drafted third overall in 2010, McCoy was supposed to be the next Warren Sapp. While the team around him never quite clicked, McCoy carved out an impressive career as one of the NFL’s most disruptive interior defensive linemen.
From 2010 to 2018, McCoy started 123 games for Tampa Bay, racking up 54.5 sacks, which was third-most among defensive tackles in that span, along with 79 tackles for loss, 140 QB hits, and six Pro Bowl selections. And McCoy earned every one of them despite playing on defenses that were often overmatched and outcoached.
Former Bucs DT Gerald McCoy – Photo by: Mary Holt/PR
What made McCoy so special was his get-off – a lightning-quick first step that gave guards fits. McCoy constantly collapsed pockets and forced quarterbacks off their spots. While he didn’t always get the sack, McCoy always got noticed.
He also brought a rare blend of professionalism and personality. Whether it was his anime fandom or his trademark smile, McCoy brought juice to the locker room and press conferences alike. Yet for all his individual accolades, McCoy never got to play in a playoff game in Tampa Bay.
That was the tough part. He gave everything to Tampa Bay, but the team never surrounded him with enough talent to make a deep run. The team released him in 2019 as his body began to break down and injuries mounted. He was replaced with Ndamukong Suh that year and Suh, who never missed a game in Tampa Bay, helped lead the Bucs to a Super Bowl in 2020 and a franchise-record 13 wins in 2021.
McCoy had brief stints with the Panthers, Raiders and Cowboys, but injuries kept him from making much of an impact elsewhere. He officially retired in 2023. Still, McCoy’s legacy for community service and his play on the field lives on as he is still a fan favorite and one of the best Buccaneers to never wear a Super Bowl ring.
No. 23 – OLB Jason Pierre-Paul
JPP’s Arrival Sparked Buccaneers’ Super Bowl Pass Rush
When Jason Pierre-Paul landed in Tampa Bay via a 2018 trade with the New York Giants, it was the big splash needed to bolster the Bucs’ lagging pass rush. By the time he left after the 2021 season, JPP had cemented himself as one of the most impactful pass rushers in team history and was a key piece of a championship defense.
Pierre-Paul brought championship DNA from New York where he won a ring in 2011, and immediately made his presence felt in Tampa Bay. He racked up 12.5 sacks in 2018, becoming the first Buccaneer to hit double-digit sacks since Simeon Rice in 2005.
Former Bucs OLB Jason Pierre-Paul- Photo by: USA Today
Pierre-Paul overcame a neck injury from a car accident that cost him the first half of the 2019 season to make his first and only Pro Bowl in Tampa Bay in 2020. That year, he notched 9.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and two interceptions while playing through a knee injury. It’s crazy to think that Pierre-Paul was the lone Bucs’ Pro Bowler during the Super Bowl LV season, and he certainly deserved the honor.
In the NFC Championship Game against Green Bay, Pierre-Paul sacked Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers twice and hurried him all afternoon. And in Super Bowl LV, he helped harass Kansas City QB Patrick Mahomes in Tampa Bay’s 31-9 victory.
JPP’s leadership and grit were central to the Buccaneers’ championship run. He finished his Tampa Bay tenure with 33 sacks, 55 QB hits, five forced fumbles, and three interceptions in 54 games while playing through knee and shoulder injuries at times and also a broken hand. His 2021 season saw a dip in production due to injuries, and the team ultimately moved on from Pierre-Paul in 2022.
Yet JPP’s legacy in Tampa Bay is sealed. He was a culture-changer, a tone-setter, and a relentless competitor who helped bring a Lombardi back to Tampa Bay.
No. 24 – G Ali Marpet
From Hobart To Hero: Ali Marpet Dominated In The Trenches
Ali Marpet was one of the best offensive linemen to ever suit up for the Bucs and was the most talented guard in franchise history. Drafted in the second round in 2015 out of Hobart College, Marpet went from Division III curiosity to rock-solid starter faster than anyone expected. Marpet stepped in at right guard as a rookie and never looked back.
Over seven seasons in Tampa Bay, Marpet played in 101 games, starting every one of them. He shuffled between positions right guard, center and left guard, and handled them all with the kind of consistency and high football IQ that made him a coach’s dream. By 2020, he was a key cog in an offensive line that protected Tom Brady all the way to a Super Bowl LV title. That unit gave up just one sack in the entire postseason and Marpet’s physical presence was a big reason why.
Former Bucs LG Ali Marpet – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Marpet allowed just four sacks total in his final three seasons and should have made the Pro Bowl more than his lone appearance in 2021. His Pro Bowl appearance following the 2021 season turned out to be his final game with the Bucs and as an NFL player.
Marpet shocked the organization by retiring in the 2022 offseason at the age of 28 while still in his prime. He cited health and long-term well-being for the reason for his sudden retirement – a decision that earned him widespread respect, even if it left a big hole in Tampa Bay’s offensive line.
Marpet left several Pro Bowls on the table with his abrupt ending to his Buccaneers career. But there is no denying that his athleticism, intelligence, dependability and physicality were elite and helped key a Tampa Bay offense that averaged 30 points per game in his final two seasons.
No. 25 – C Ryan Jensen
“Big Red” Changed The Culture And Primed The Bucs For A Super Bowl Title
Ryan Jensen was the heart and soul of the Tampa Bay offensive line during the Tom Brady era. The fiery redhead nicknamed “Big Red” came to Tampa Bay as the league’s highest-paid center after four years with the Ravens. Not only did Jensen anchor the O-line, he set the tone up front and helped change the culture in Tampa Bay. His nastiness between the whistles became contagious, and his durability and leadership helped stabilize a front five that helped the offense average 30 points per game in 2020 and ’21.
Jensen started 65 straight games for the Bucs from 2018 through 2021 – not missing a single snap over those four seasons. He helped key the Buccaneers’ Super Bowl run in 2020 and was an important cog in Tampa Bay winning a franchise-best 13 games the next season.
Former Bucs C Ryan Jensen – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Jensen typically graded out as one of the top pass-blocking centers in multiple seasons, especially 2021, when he earned his first Pro Bowl nod. He gave up just two sacks that year, all while anchoring a line that allowed the fewest sacks in the NFL while blocking for Brady.
That Pro Bowl berth and his bullying playing style earned Jensen another huge contract and Tampa Bay made him the highest-paid center again in 2022. Unfortunately, disaster struck in training camp and Jensen suffered a devastating knee injury that derailed what could’ve been a few more Pro Bowl seasons.
Though he made a heroic return for the 2022 playoff game against Dallas, Jensen was never the same and his knee never truly healed. He spent the 2023 season on injured reserve before he retired in 2024. Although Tony Mayberry had two Pro Bowls over Jensen, Big Red was the best center in franchise history and the enforcer up front that the offensive line needed to make a championship run.