Dolphins vs. Buccaneers previews: Five players who can win starting jobs

Austin Seferian-Jenkins

The hype continues! Seferian-Jenkins looked really good in his first preseason game as a receiver, though he struggled as a blocker. He got playing time throughout the entire game then, but the key for him will be to secure playing time with the first team. The best way to do that is to show up well as a blocker. If he can do that, there may be no need for someone like blocking specialist Luke Stocker -- or even Brandon Myers, who has done nothing to stand out so far this offseason.

Guards at every level

Hey, did you know the Tampa Bay Buccaneers still don't have any good guards? No? Well, they don't. Oniel Cousins (#75) will probably get his second chance to show he deserves to start (he failed miserably in his first), with either Jace Daniels (#64) or Patrick Omameh (#66) on the other side. This is the time when they can earn starting jobs -- or force the Bucs to look to help outside of the current roster.

But guards on every level have a chance to win this spot. Pay special attention to Kadeem Edwards (#71), who has a lot of potential but barely got a chance to show that last game. He'll probably get a lot of time with the second team, and if he does well there, he may earn a promotion to the first team by the crucial third preseason game.

WR Robert Herron (#14)

Who doesn't like fast, shifty wide receivers? Everyone loves them! Except they do have to catch the ball. Herron has struggled to do that in training camp, both on the field and during punt returns. Lovie Smith has consistently framed that as a rookie issue what will disappear with time, but it may prevent him from competing a lot early on in his career. Showing the ability to contribute on offense or special teams would help him quite a bit at this point.

DE William Gholston (#92) vs. DE Adrian Clayborn (#94)

William Gholston is a very talented player. He's also someone who's still young, raw, and not very consistent. He flashed against the Jaguars at times, but he still has to learn how to effectively rush the passer play after play. Too often he still gets stuck on an offensive tackle without making a move to get by him, or he tries to run through an offensive tackle but can't do it quickly enough to impact a play.

That's to be expected of an inexperienced fourth-round pick, though. It's not what you want to see out of a fourth-year first-round pick, but Adrian Clayborn has been showing much of the same thing the past two years. He simply struggles to beat an offensive tackle, whether that's from the left or the right side. At times he flashes that ability, attacking one shoulder of a lineman and effectively using pass-rush moves to get past him. But it doesn't happen often enough, and didn't happen at all against the Jaguars.

Clayborn doesn't genuinely appear to be in danger of losing his spot as a starter, but the Bucs need to see more out of him if they want to get an effective pass-rush going this year. And if he can't do that, players like Gholston may see some extra playing time instead.

WR Mike Evans (#13)

Mike Evans was the seventh overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft, and managed exactly 0 catches in his first game as a Buccaneer. Not that that was his fault: he was targeted all of twice, and neither ball was remotely catchable. But it'd be good to see whether he can contribute as a pass-catcher in this game.

We should have plenty of time to see him, though, because the Bucs are going to play their first team through a significant part of the second quarter, Lovie Smith noted yesterday. Evans has the size and speed to be productive early, but the question is whether he has developed the skills to earn significant playing in a scheme that will ask him to a lot more than he did in college.