Tampa Bay Buccaneers Week 7 Stock Report

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers head into Week 7 with a 2-3 record, preparing to take on the Washington Redskins with a chance to get back to .500 on the year.

The Bucs have already matched their win total from the entire 2014 season, thanks to a divisional win on the road against the New Orleans Saints and a shootout victory at home last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

As the team's 2015 picture continues to take shape, certain players are rising to the top, while others are seeing their stock slip because of disappointing play.

Let's take a look at who has their arrow pointing up or down at this point in the season for the Bucs.

Up: RB Charles Sims

Brian Blanco/Associated Press

Tampa Bay's third-round pick in 2014, Charles Sims is finally looking like the explosive playmaker the Bucs envisioned when they opted to select him over filling more pressing needs on the roster last year.

Sims had a breakout game last week against the Jaguars' fourth-ranked rushing defense, carrying the ball 12 times for 51 yards and catching four passes for a team-high 85 yards.

After missing the first half of his rookie year thanks to ankle surgery, Sims never seemed to really get up to full speed in 2014. Now that he's fully healthy, he's showing the explosiveness and vision to make big things happen when he gets the ball, especially in space.

He looks like the perfect complement to Doug Martin moving forward, especially on third downs, where he puts his receiving skills to good use.

Down: DE George Johnson

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

When the Bucs traded their fifth-round pick in 2016 for George Johnson and a 2016 seventh-round pick, they hoped they were getting a starting defensive end who could potentially be the edge-rusher the team so desperately needed.

Instead, Johnson looks like a disappointment, failing to register a single sack so far this season and recently getting benched in favor of William Gholston.

Johnson spent his first three NFL seasons with the Bucs and then two with the Minnesota Vikings before landing with the Detroit Lions last season. He tallied six sacks in 2014, but they were the first sacks of his NFL career and still the only ones.

Gholston has outplayed Johnson in just about every way, especially as a run defender, and it doesn't look like the new addition will be getting his starting spot back anytime soon.

Up: DE Howard Jones

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

Tampa Bay's pass rush got a huge contribution from an unlikely source last week, as newcomer Howard Jones tallied two of the team's six sacks against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

An undrafted free agent in 2014 out of Shepherd University—a Division II school in West Virginia—Jones spent his entire rookie season on the Pittsburgh Steelers' practice squad. After spending the early part of this season on the Bucs' practice squad, Jones was signed to the active roster on October 7 and made an instant impact just a few days later.

Undersized for a traditional 4-3 defensive end at 6'4", 238 pounds, Jones makes up for his lack of ideal size with quickness and explosion off the edge, something the Bucs desperately need more of. After his performance in Week 5, there's no doubt he should get more opportunities moving forward.

Down: CB Tim Jennings

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Tampa Bay signed Tim Jennings to bring a veteran presence and Tampa 2 experience to the secondary, but he's struggled since joining the team just before the start of the regular season.

With Johnthan Banks nursing an injury over the past two games, Jennings has entered the starting lineup, and the results haven't been encouraging. At just 5'8", his lack of height allows opposing teams to pick on him with bigger, more physical receivers, and at 31 years old, he doesn't have the speed and athleticism he once had.

Banks should return to the starting lineup soon, but until then, Tampa Bay needs one of its reserves to kick their performance into another gear. Jennings hasn't done much with his opportunity so far, but he has plenty of season left to turn things around.

Up: Head Coach Lovie Smith

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The Bucs went into Week 5 looking at a must-win scenario for their head coach, as Lovie Smith had yet to earn a home win in 10 tries.

But the team came up with the victory, earning its first win at Raymond James Stadium since late in the 2013 season. Fans were already clamoring for Smith's firing should the Bucs have lost that game against the Jaguars, but the team responded with six sacks and a huge day on the ground in a shootout win.

Smith is still just 4-17 so far as Tampa Bay's head coach, so he's not out of the woods yet when it comes to being on the hot seat. But the win over the Jags proves things are moving in the right direction, which turns Smith's arrow up as the Buccaneers look ahead to the rest of the year.